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By
NICK ZEGARAC
"I am going to make you
believe that you are mad and then push you over
the edge of sanity." With those intensions,
Gregory Anton (Charles Boyer) sets out to destroy
his wife, Paula's (Ingrid Bergman) mental
stability in "Gaslight"(1944). Greg's reasoning?
-- Paula's dead aunt, his former lover, has hidden
a fortune in jewels somewhere in the house that
Paula now owns. I suppose Greg could have just
sent Paula to the music hall to get her out of the
way, but then the prospects for high melodrama and
intense suspense wouldn't have been nearly as
diabolical or as fun.
The film opens on one of MGM's spooky and
unsettling soundstages, gussied up to look like a
typical English square. From one of the
brownstones a distraught Paula is taken away,
having just discovered her aunt's horribly mangled
body inside. In a state of shock, Paula is sent to
Florence where she falls in love with a piano
player, Gregory Anton. The two married. Returning
to London, Paula and Gregory set up housekeeping
in her aunt's old house. However, not long
afterward, Paula begins to become increasingly
absentminded -- or does she. Priceless antiques
are moved, paintings are switched on the walls and
a broach belonging to Gregory's mother vanishes
without a trace. Gregory, growing increasingly
impatient with Paula's emerging psychosis
(actually he's upset how long its taking to drive
her crazy), leaves her alone each night,
presumably to go off and paint portraits (his
profession). Actually, he sneaks around the back
of their house, reentering from an adjacent attic
into theirs to search for the aunt's missing
jewels. The tap, tap, tapping on Paula's bedroom
ceiling and the sudden lowering of gaslights are
attributed to figments of Paula's growing mental
instability. To create further doubt, paranoia and
suspicion, Gregory hires an upstairs maid, the
saucy Nancy (Angela Lansbury in an Oscar nominated
role) who delights at taunting Paula with coy
flirtations toward Gregory. Deception never looked
so good. The melodrama is first rate and the
performances will have you applauding in your
seat. Joseph Cotten costars as the police
investigator who does not believe that all of the
mysteries inside Gregory's home can be attributed
to Paula's failing mental health.
The transfer is rather disappointing. Though the
gray scale is very nicely balanced with black
levels that are solid and contrast levels that are
fully realized, nothing can eclipse the
distracting shimmering effects and edge
enhancement that plague many of the scenes
throughout this film. Fine details uncontrollably
shimmer and thoroughly distract in spots. The
audio is sharp and well balanced.
As part of the extras we are given the original
1940 British version of "Gaslight" that, I must
tell you, is just as compelling as MGM's remake.
In comparing the two versions, MGM's obvious
attention to ultra high gloss glamour becomes
instantly obvious. So does the fact that director,
George Cukor managed to create an overwhelming
sense of claustrophobia in the remake that works
well with the subject matter but is wholly lacking
in the original. The transfer elements for the
British version are much poorer than one might
expect but they are by no means awful -- leaving
you with twice as much sinister fun on this double
feature. Contrast and shadows on the British
original are poorly balanced but there appears to
be no aliasing, shimmering or edge enhancement
employed for a far more smooth presentation.
There's also a new retro-documentary on both
versions that is generally compelling if all too
short. |
