DVD 84

In Collection
#2522

Mystery, Thriller

Anton Walbrook	Paul Mallen
Diana Wynyard	Bella Mallen
Frank Pettingell	Rough
Cathleen Cordell	Nancy
Robert Newton	Vincent Ullswater
Jimmy Hanley	Cobb
Minnie Rayner	Elizabeth
Mary Hinton	Lady Winterbourne
Marie Wright	Alice Barlow
Jack Barty	Chairman of Music Hall
Ingrid Bergman
Joseph Cotten
Charles Boyer
Angela Lansbury
Dame May Whitty
Barbara Everest
Diana Wynard

Director	Thorold Dickinson; George Cukor
Producer	Arthur Hornblow; John Corfield
Writer	A.W. Rawlinson; Bridget Boland

The 1940 British production of Gaslight was the first of two cinema adaptations of Patrick Hamilton's play. Oozing faux continental charm, Anton Walbrook inveigles his way into the confidence of the young mistress ( Diana Wynyard ) of a large Victorian mansion. Walbrook is searching for the rubies that he'd stolen from the previous owner of the house—whom he'd also murdered. Suspecting that Wynyard is about to catch on to his secret, Walbrook enlists the aid of a sluttish maidservant to drive his loving bride crazy. The ploy almost works, but Wynyard is rescued by an unexpected ally. Gaslight was released in the US as Murder in Thornton Square , then withdrawn entirely on the occasion of MGM's expensive 1944 remake of Gaslight , which starred Charles Boyer and Ingrid Bergman . Partly to eliminate confusion, and partly to avoid unfavorable comparison to the shorter and far superior British film, MGM allegedly ordered that all prints of the original Gaslight be destroyed. Evidently that order was not honored to the letter, since the 1940 Gaslight is still safely available for both theatrical and TV exhibition. — Hal Erickson