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His views prevail in every situation and make her a virtual prisoner. Paul imposes humiliating punishments as if she had no rights whatsoever. Bella Mallen (Diana Wynyard) has brought the money into the union but is completely at the mercy of male authority. Aristocratic Paul Mallen (Anton Walbrook) browbeats and tricks his wife until she believes she must be going insane, a process that's more than credible considering the view of marriage in Victorian times. Balderstonġ940 The Thorold Dickinson original version of Gaslight is a period melodrama with an interesting take on psychology, before the '40s Freudian fad hit Hollywood. Written by John Van Druten, Walter Reisch, John L. Starring Charles Boyer, Ingrid Bergman, Joseph Cotten, Rawlinson, Bridget Bolandįrom the play Angel Street by Patrick Hamiltonġ944 / 114 min. Starring Anton Walbrook, Diana Wynyard, Frank Pettingell, Hyde, and Warners is presenting us with some fascinating opportunities to compare Hollywood remakes.ġ940 / 84 min. Add in last month's double bill of two versions of Dr. This DVD treats this unsung first version as an added extra, as it did with the earlier Mystery of the Wax Museum on the House of Wax disc last year.

Minus the star power, it is probably the better all-round thriller. But the original English film has a lot going for it as well. The most famous is obviously the Ingrid Bergman remake with its top star cast and ritzy direction from George Cukor.

Rough), Cathleen Cordell (Nancy, the Parlour Maid), Robert Newton (Vincent Ullswater), Minnie Rayner (Elizabeth, the Cook).Patrick Hamilton's play Angel Street was given two very good filmic translations in the 1940s. Principal Cast: Anton Walbrook (Paul Mallen, aka Louis Bauer), Diana Wynyard (Bella Mallen), Frank Pettingell (B.G. Rawlinson, Bridget Boland, from play Angel Street by Patrick Hamilton Producers: John Corfield, Richard Vernon (associate) Vienna-born Walbrook (1900-1967) established himself as a star of stage and films in Germany and Austria before emigrating to England and becoming a Continental leading man in such films as The Red Shoes (1948) and La Ronde (1950). In the 1940s she was married for four years to the celebrated film director Carol Reed. London-born Wynyard (1906-1964) was a distinguished star of the British stage who also succeeded on Broadway and in American and English films, winning an Oscar nomination for Cavalcade (1933). Walbrook was singled out by critics of the day for particular praise as the husband, whose outward veneer of suave sophistication hides inner cruelty, greed and desperation. Bella at last finds an unlikely aide in an ex-Scotland Yard detective (Frank Pettingell) she has met socially.īoth roles offer plum parts for actors, with Wynyard delivering a convincing performance in the role that would win Bergman a Best Actress Oscar. In the British film, Walbrook plays Paul Mallen, who convinces his bride Bella (Wynyard) that she is losing her memory and indeed her mind while he searches her Victorian mansion for the rubies that had belonged to her late aunt. Luckily for film fans, the original somehow survived and may be enjoyed today.īoth versions of Gaslight were adapted from Patrick Hamilton's Angel Street, a long-running London stage mystery that also enjoyed success on Broadway in 1941 with Vincent Price and Judith Evans in the leading roles. Indeed, many critics still feel that the British version is superior, portraying as it does the casual cruelty of the English class system. Because the original had won high critical praise, the studio hoped in this manner to avoid unfavorable comparisons to the lavishly produced remake. When MGM bought the rights to remake this Victorian mystery-thriller with Charles Boyer and Ingrid Bergman in the leading roles, it ordered all copies of the British film destroyed. The original stars Anton Walbrook as the villainous husband in search of a fortune in rubies and Diana Wynyard as the unfortunate wife who is almost driven insane by his devious ways.

The British version of Gaslight (1940), also known in England as A Strange Case of Murder, preceded its American remake by four years.