Lady Lois

Repression, Obsession and Insanity

This atmospheric thriller is set in the well-ordered society of Victorian England, where class and propriety are of utmost importance. The tight suspense of the storyline is matched by the excellent performances of the cast, especially Anton Walbrook as the repressed patriarch.


Thorold Dickinson has created a heavy, intense atmosphere with fog, shadows and soft lighting as well as the recurring motif of gaslights. The interiors are decorated with heavy patterned wallpaper and cluttered with Victorian paraphernalia which creates a sense of repression. This feeling is further enhanced by judicious use of extreme close-ups and unusual camera angles. The frequent shots of stairs make the sets seem tall and narrow and add to the claustrophobic feeling.


The characters are a further expression of class, society and repression. Mr Mallen (Anton Walbrook) is dark and inflexible. His sense of order must be obeyed and he enjoys exerting his power over the women in the house. He is slowly driving his wife insane now that he has her money. He begins a frivolous affair with parlour maid Nancy (Cathleen Cordell) but ensures she knows her place. Mrs Mallen (Diana Wynyard) is soft, feminine and delicate. She is filmed peering through windows, curtains and shadows as though behind bars. Isolated from her family, trapped by the dominating patriarchal society (and a sense of propriety!) she is totally subservient to her husband. Mr Rough (Frank Pettingell) represents the classless man – an eccentric who damns convention and therefore has freedom. He exposes Mr Mallen as a ‘criminal maniac’ and sets Mrs Mallen free.


Anton Walbrook’s cultivated Austrian accent and overbearing presence creates a truly frightening character. His voice betrays his sadistic and violent nature beneath his rigid composure. His piercing, cold eyes and tight lips reveal his contempt for his suffering wife “You will die, raving in an asylum!” His loss of composure at the end is spectacular as his violence is unleashed – laughing without restraint before throwing a chair and bashing Jimmy Hanley’s head repeatedly on the floor. Diana Wynyard is marvellous as the suffering Mrs Mallen, who truly believes that she is going insane. Her delicately pale features, her soft voice and innocent eyes reveal her torment. She withers beneath Walbrook’s intense gaze. However, the roles are reversed at the end, when Mallen is tied up she torments him, “Knife? What knife?” The camera angle is such that the knife disappears and reappears – before she leans into Mallen, holding the glinting blade by his face…


MGM took this tight British thriller and remade it into a glossy Hollywood melodrama – removing all elements of Victorian repression and therefore diminishing its power. Ingrid Bergman’s hysterical performance and Charles Boyer’s languid charm could not recreate the torment and sadism of the original.

Steve Crook

But MGM still apparently attempted to buy up and suppress all copies of the 1940 Thorold Dickinson film with Anton Walbrook and Diana Wynyard. Luckily they didn't succeed and we can still see the better version

Steve

Windthrop

MGM had a habit of doing that - they tried to suppress the Fredrick March version of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde when remaking it with Spencer Tracy. Sadly the only prints surviving, that I am aware of, are the slightly shortened rerelease version which was edited to satisfy the new censorship regulations. Like Gaslight MGM could not improve on the earlier version despite better production values.

That's the joke that killed the Music Hall

batman

The Walbrook version of Gaslight is also truer to the play than the remake. Anton is a marvellous villain and the whole production is filled with menace. A classic!

Which bits are reported to have been removed from the March version DrJaMH .... the DVD I have contains some very racy dialogue and the scene with on Miriam Hopkins bed (which was removed from some early TV prints) is filled with sex. The savage Hyde attack on Hopkins later in the film is also intact.

Bats.

Don't miss out on a chance to win a rare film in Bat-Quiz 13 closing date - 31/8/8.

Windthrop

As I understood it the film was put on rerelease in the late '30s when censorship had toughened up and when MGM tried to destroy all prints only the censored copies survived. I am happy to be corrected if a much fuller version is available on DVD and will seek it out. It has been over 20 years since I last saw it and it still hangs on in the memory.

Have just seen some clips on youtube - yes it is filled with sex - more so that I remember it.

That's the joke that killed the Music Hall

batman

It is a fine film. Watching my DVD was the first time I had seen it for years as well. Seeing what's in that version just made me curious as to whether there's even more of the film out there that we haven't seen.

Bats.

Don't miss out on a chance to win a rare film in Bat-Quiz 13 closing date - 31/8/8.

asiamiles

If I remember correctly DR J & MR H was restored for its laserdisc release, and the full uncut version is now available on DVD.

ANNETTE MASTERS

Could anyone tell me where I could obtain a copy of the Anton Walbrook version of Gaslight . I am sure I remember seeing it as a child --- many moons ago !!

stevie boy

The remake is a reasonable film, the original is stupendous. Excellent film with great performances from all.

CaptainWaggett

It comes as an extra on the Region I dvd of the Cukor version if that's any help.