Stometer Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Chirphymium It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

Sharkflei Your blood may run cold, but you now find yourself pinioned to the story.

AshUnow This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

mstomaso This film centers around three people. We have retired constable Rough who is an affable and brilliant middle-aged gentleman haunted by one of his career's unsolved cases - the murder of Alice Barlow. And we have the relatively recently married and well-to-do Mallens, who have just moved into the house next door to the one where Mrs. Barlow was killed. Bella Mallen (Diana Wynyard) turns in a wonderful and sympathetic performance as a woman who is being driven to her wit's end by her obsessive, controlling and deceitful husband Paul Mallen (Anton Walbrook). The very first time Rough sees Paul, he becomes convinced that Paul is not who he says he is, and as the story unfolds, Paul Mallen's identity, his secrets and his intentions charge the film with powerful psychological distress and a Hitchcockian feeling of suspense. The behavior of Mrs. Mallens' gas light is the very clever device that eventually allows the film's central mystery to begin to unravel - hopefully before it is too late This film exhibits some truly startlingly well-created and detailed Victorian interiors, relatively typical but quite competent camera-work for its time, very strong performances - especially by Wynyard and Frank Pettingill (Rough) and a solid theatrical script. Gas Light was adapted from Patrick Hamilton's stage play of the same name, and it definitely retains some of the feel of a theatrical set piece. Well-directed by the talented if not prolific Thorold Dickinson (Queen of Spades, Secret People), I would recommend this over the more well-known and soapier American remake of 1944.

TheLittleSongbird It is inevitable that this 1940 film and the 1944 "remake" with Charles Boyer and Ingrid Bergman are going to be compared, and people will have different opinions as to which is the better version.To me, both 'Gaslight' films are great in their own way, and this reviewer ranks them equally, yet with one or two things in things that are done better in the other. Like the 1944 film (the only real drawback to that film was the uneven performance of Joseph Cotton), there is very little wrong here. The secondary characters could have been better fleshed out, and while Richard Adinsell's music score is suitably ominous Bonislau Kaper's score for the later version has more atmosphere, subtlety and tension.However, while not as glossy as the later film 'Gaslight' (1940) regardless is incredibly well-made. It's shot beautifully and menacingly, is hauntingly lit and has sets that are picturesque yet give off a great amount of dread while over-stating it. It's intelligently and suspensefully directed by then-famous-and-well-regarded, now-almost-forgotten (undeservedly) Thorald Dickinson.The script is thought-provoking and tense, everything feels relevant to what's going on and nothing seemed padded. Tighter-paced and more theatrical somewhat, the story never creaks and is leaden with tension and suspense with nothing obvious that came over as unnecessary or clumsy.Performances are great here and hardly inferior to those in the later film, despite being less familiar. Anton Walbrook, while not as subtle as Charles Boyer, is terrifying and a huge part as to why the film is as atmospheric as it is. Diana Wynward demonstrates Bella's vulnerability incredibly movingly with no histrionics and she's hardly dull either (though the character has more range and depth to her in the 1944 version).Frank Petingell looks more comfortable than Joseph Cotton, his performance is more even (though Cotton was hardly bad), the character is better written and he is more believable as a police officer (where Cotton's performance particularly fell down on). Robert Newton is a strong presence in an early role, and Cathleen Cordell is a hoot as Nancy.All in all, despite being in the shadow of the 1944 'Gaslight' in popularity the earlier 1940 film doesn't deserve to be, because it is every bit as great. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Leofwine_draca GASLIGHT, just one of numerous filmed versions of an old play, is a Gothic chiller and film noir combination loaded with atmosphere and mystery. It's one of those old-fashioned movies that has dated in the best possible way, with all the plot ingredients straight out of a Victorian melodrama: missing jewels, a husband trying to drive his wife insane, an unsolved murder, a killer on the loose.The film drips with atmosphere and a sense of Gothic dread, to the degree that it outdoes many all-out horror films of the era. It's also fun to watch, whether it's seeing the dastardly husband at work or watching the kindly detective gradually working out the details of the case. Anton Walbrook's villain chews the scenery in the best possible taste, while Diana Wynyard is effective as the wife who begins to suspect her own sanity.GASLIGHT falls just short of being a classic, but it's a creepily effective film for its genre and well worth watching for fans of this particular type of movie.

Lechuguilla The film gets off to a great start. A burglar, whose face we do not see, kills an old woman named Alice Barlow (Marie Wright) in a big, two-story house, in late nineteenth century London. Her murder goes unsolved.The plot then fast-forwards to a later era. Ladies' man Paul (Anton Walbrook) and his insecure wife Bella (Diana Wynyard) move into the creepy house. But the relationship between Paul and Bella is strained. And when Paul leaves each night, leaving Bella alone, she hears strange sounds above her bedroom, and the gaslight in the room mysteriously dims. Paul claims Bella is imagining things.With a tight plot and fine B&W lighting, the film is suspenseful, dark, and brooding. Which is a good thing, because the script's underlying premise is just a tad hokey. Lots of Victorian bric-a-brac in the old house conveys a claustrophobic feel, as if the walls are closing in on Bella. Maybe she is going insane. Costumes are elaborate. Acting trends melodramatic, especially the performance of Walbrook.Originating as a play, this 1940 screen version is superior to the 1944 MGM remake, which is long and drawn out. The 1940 film also looks better, with sharper visuals. Also, I didn't like Hollywood's attitude to this film relative to the later remake.An uneasy calm and psychological subterfuge pervade the plot of "Gaslight" (1940), giving the impression that Hitchcock had a hand in making the film. Although the premise is weak and contrived, there is enough suspense and creepy atmosphere to recommend it as a fine 1940 British thriller.