You lot've probably heard the term "gaslight" earlier, or possibly the verb form of information technology, "gaslighting," just you may be surprised to learn the word'south origin. Gaslight was a film long before it was a pop term to describe a type of emotional abuse that leaves the victims constantly doubting themselves and their reality. The 1944 film Gaslight is still a classic of the suspense genre to this day. Information technology earns this reputation not just considering of its tense plot and atmosphere, but as well due to the amazing cast that brings the story to life. Ingrid Bergman, simply two years later her stunning turn equally Ilsa in Casablanca , plays Paula and Angela Lansbury (yeah, Murder She Wrote 'south Jessica Fletcher herself) plays Nancy.

Bergman won an Oscar for her performance and Lansbury was nominated for supporting actress. Charles Boyer also received an Oscar nomination for his performance in Gaslight. While Boyer may not be equally well known a name today as Lansbury or Bergman, he starred in over 80 films in his career and regularly played romantic leads in the 30s and 40s. Matriarch May Whitty plays the gossipy comic relief neighbor and Joseph Cotten of Denizen Kane and A Philadelphia Story fame likewise has a supporting role. A Philadelphia Story's director George Cukor was besides the director of Gaslight. Cukor eventually went on to win an Oscar for directing My Fair Lady .

Gaslight was nominated for an impressive vii University Awards and won for All-time Leading Actress and Best Fine art Direction in a Black and White Film. Gaslight lost Best Picture to Going My Style , a musical dramedy starring Bing Crosby. The film continues to be a dearest and respected classic and in 2019 the Library of Congress selected it to be included in the National Film Registry. Now, if you're wondering how to sentinel this classic motion picture, here's a handy guide that'll answer that very question.

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Paradigm via Loew's, Inc.

What Is Gaslight About?

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Image via Loew'due south, Inc.

Set up in Victorian London, Gaslight tells the story of Paula (Ingrid Bergman), a beautiful young woman who, after a whirlwind courting, moves back into her babyhood home with her new married man, Gregory (Charles Boyer). Paula finds returning home more upsetting than expected as information technology is the first time she has been in the house since her aunt Alice's murder. Alice, a wealthy and world-famous vocalizer, had raised Paula until her untimely and violent death. What follows is a psychological thriller that plays on the minds of the audience merely as much equally it does on Paula'southward sanity.

Gregory chop-chop merely subtly turns the alive-in servants, Nancy (played by Angela Lansbury) and Elizabeth (played past Barbara Everest), against Paula. When Paula tells Gregory that she worries Nancy doesn't like her, Gregory insists it'due south just in Paula's head and it "hurts [him] when she'southward ill and fanciful." Gregory tells Paula how worried he is virtually her, accusing her of being strangely suspicious and absent-minded since their arrival in London. Distressed, Paula tearfully admits to Gregory that she is "beginning not to trust [her] memory at all." Even when alone in the house, Paula keeps seeing the gas lighting in rooms dim and flicker, something that only happens when someone is adjusting the lights in some other room. Information technology isn't long before Paula is living in fearfulness of herself and her firm, convinced by Gregory that her behavior is too bizarre and inappropriate for her to fifty-fifty appear in public.

Paula's transformation from a woman who casually goes on vacations alone, to one who is scared to fifty-fifty go out her house without her husband is devastating to sentinel as Bergman shows why she won an Oscar for this performance. Charles Boyer's Gregory Anton is a villain for the ages, effortlessly manipulative and casually cruel. The movie'south championship being used equally a word to depict a specific type of manipulation isn't so surprising because how flawlessly the film depicts a textbook example of that.

Is There a Trailer for Gaslight?

Gaslight's trailer is a fascinating look at how it was initially pitched to audiences: "the foreign story of an international criminal's love for a great dazzler."

Where Tin can You Stream Gaslight?

In good news for anyone who hasn't had a hazard to spotter this classic still, Gaslight is available on multiple streaming services. The film is streaming for free on The Roku Aqueduct, which boasts a surprisingly deep library of classic films at no price. Gaslight is also bachelor to rent or buy digitally on Amazon. The less well-known 1940 British version of Gaslight is also bachelor for rent on Amazon and for streaming on Roku as well. If y'all prefer physical media, Gaslight is available to purchase on DVD or Blu-ray. It could make a fantastic gift for any classic film buffs in your life.

More than Classics similar Gaslight That You Tin can Scout Now

Casablanca, Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman
Image via Warner Bros.

Vertigo (1958): This paranoia-soaked classic directed by Alfred Hitchcock focuses on Scottie (James Stewart), a man suffering from vertigo and a crippling fear of heights following a traumatic accident. Scottie accepts a task working every bit a private detective keeping an eye on Madeleine (Kim Novak), a woman whose husband claims she may exist possessed. The tension builds slowly but inexorably as Scottie follows Madeleine through San Francisco, finding more and more than prove that something very foreign is happening. Vertigo is streaming for complimentary on Peacock and is available to purchase on DVD from Amazon and other DVD sellers.

Casablanca (1942): If Ingrid Bergman'due south emotional tour-de-strength in Gaslight has y'all curious to see more than of her piece of work, then be sure to check out Casablanca . Bergman is fantastic as Ilsa, a adult female trying to abscond to America with her husband Victor (Paul Henreid), a Czech war hero and resistance leader. With Nazis on their tail, they go far in Casablanca where their paths cross with Rick, Ilsa's contemptuous ex who claims to "stick [his] neck out for nobody." Played by Humphrey Bogart, Rick Blaine remains 1 of the well-nigh quoted and misquoted characters in cinema. Fantastic performances are turned in by the entire cast, from the leads to Peter Lorre, Conrad Veidt, Dooley Wilson, and the other supporting actors. This 1942 movie nigh honey, sacrifice, and idealism along the "tortuous, roundabout, refugee trail" out of Nazi-occupied Europe and to America is a must-watch. Casablanca is streaming on HBO Max and is available to rent or purchase on Amazon.

Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984): This adaptation of George Orwell's classic novel won Best British Film of the Year at the 1984 Evening Standard British Moving picture awards. John Injure plays Winston Smith, a man struggling to think and love in a country that, nether the watchful eyes of its leader "Big Blood brother," constantly rewrites its past and controls its citizens and then advisedly they are rarely even capable of thoughts that aren't approved past Big Brother. Winston Smith'southward desperate fight against a system that wants him to doubt his every thought and memory is an intense and thoughtful expect at how totalitarian systems and leaders gaslight their own citizens. 19 Eighty-Four can be rented or purchased on Amazon.