
After the death of her famous opera-singing aunt, Paula Alquist (Ingrid Bergman) is sent to study in Italy to become a great opera singer as well. While there, she falls in love with the charming Gregory Anton (Charles Boyer). The two return to London, and Paula begins to notice strange goings-on: missing pictures, strange footsteps in the night, and gaslights that dim without being touched. As she fights to retain her sanity, her new husband's intentions come into question.... (Full plot summary below)
Enjoy FREE movies and series with your Prime (USA) subscription or when you start a 30-day free trial!
Links compiled using automated software. Availability of offers subject to change / might be region specific / out of date.
After the death of her famous opera-singing aunt, Paula Alquist (Ingrid Bergman) is sent to study in Italy to become a great opera singer as well. While there, she falls in love with the charming Gregory Anton (Charles Boyer). The two return to London, and Paula begins to notice strange goings-on: missing pictures, strange footsteps in the night, and gaslights that dim without being touched. As she fights to retain her sanity, her new husband's intentions come into question.
Leave your thoughts about Gaslight.
| VarietyVariety StaffPatrick Hamilton's London stage melodrama, is given an exciting screen treatment by Arthur Hornblow Jr's excellent production starring Charles Boyer, Ingrid Bergman and Joseph Cotten. |
| Chicago ReaderDave KehrGeorge Cukor carefully avoids the obvious effects in telling this story of a husband (Charles Boyer) attempting to drive his wife (Ingrid Bergman) insane; instead, this 1944 film is one of the few psychological thrillers that is genuinely psychological, depending on subtle clues—a gesture, an intonation—to thought and character. |
| EmanuelLevy.ComEmanuel LevySoaked in paranoia, Cukor's superb pyschological thriller is a period film noir, just like Hitchcock's The Lodger and Hanover Square, both set in the Edwardian age. |
| Chicago TribuneMichael WilmingtonIt’s canny, gothic fun, helped along by Lansbury (in her film debut) as a tarty maid who delights in overstepping boundaries. |
| Cinema-stacheRob VauxWe rely on the actors and the script to convey the mood, and director George Cukor matched no less a figure than Alfred Hitchcock with the results. |
| LarsenOnFilmJosh LarsenIt’s often asked why battered women don’t “just leave.” Gaslight evokes the sort of psychological intimidation and cruel mind games that make it so much more complicated than that. |
| Filmcritic.comChris Barsantia moderately entertaining variation on the old gothic thriller |
| ReelViewsJames BerardinelliYes, the ending is weak, and there are aspects of the story that don't stand up to scrutiny, but this is the kind of effectively-crafted, well-acted motion picture that rises above its faults to earn its "classic" appellation. |
| Fishnet CinemaJourdain SearlesGaslight serves as a fascinating depiction of psychological torture. What strikes me about it the most is the way patriarchy and male dominance play out in the narrative. |
| Los Angeles TimesJon MatsumotoThe climax is a workmanlike rise of psychological terror, but the whole exercise looks self-consciously careful. |