MovieChat Forums > Gaslight (1944) Discussion > Watched this late night, as well as the ...

Watched this late night, as well as the 1940s version

posted 8 years ago by Catbookss (13664)
3 replies | jump to latest

Have to agree with most that the 1944 version with Ingrid Bergman was superior, despite a certain amount of overacting on the part of Bergman (which surprised me), and to a somewhat lesser degree, Boyer.

Had it not been for this board and old posts, I wouldn't have known about the 1940 version, which was interesting, but a somewhat different take on the original play. I saw it last night, back to back with Gaslight.

It was interesting to see them both, one after the other, particularly having never before seen the British 1940 version. The plot is slightly different as far as characters, and IMO the build-up of suspense was superior in the 1944 version, as was the ending.

I found the character Ingrid played in the earlier version to be less melodramatic and therefore, in that way, more interesting, but the script itself and cinematography was less so.

[–] godewey (16472) 8 years ago

But when you talk about destruction
Don't you know that you can count me out

[–] rudeboymurray (3271) 4 years ago

I think both films are very good, but neither is great. I actually think this is one of Bergman’s weaker major roles - she has little to do but simper and act weak. Boyer is excellent and commands the screen throughout.

[–] Ace_Spade (9548) 2 years ago

SPOILERS BELOW

I prefer the 1940 version, which surprised me when I watched them. I watched them one night after the other, first the '44 (which I heard of first and which was the more prominent version) and then found the '40 and watched that.

The 1940 version pulls ahead out of the gate with sharper writing and very clever storytelling. It uses the gardeners and the tree to show the passage of time, for instance, and shows us all the information we need in the prologue very quickly, efficiently, and with clever use of sparse dialogue and great camerawork. This writing is maintained throughout. I thought the lines were just a little cleverer, the characters more unique (particularly Mr. Rough), and the tone more claustrophobic and darker. Everything is more "contained". We stay in the square and the house more. We stay with the relationship. We don't bounce around to continental Europe for music lessons, we meet the couple in medias res so they're more mysterious to us, and so on. The plotting is more effective here.

That restraint carries on into the acting, which is more subdued. '44 dips into melodrama, and I don't mean this as an insult because it's all wonderfully done. A moment here shall I take to say that this is really "better/best" not "good/bad" for a comparison. While Bergman and Boyer are wonderful, Walbrook and Wynyard play things more high-strung but low-key, and that really makes moments of total breakdown (at the concert) pop a little more.

I'll give each version a standout performance that is much better than the other. Pettingell's Mr. Rough is charming, clever, and interesting, and having his physical presence is both imposing and unusual for his bulk. Cotton's character is more standard-issue hero, and to be honest, I found him a little bland. He's too everyman, and he doesn't fit as well into the shadow world of Gaslight.

On the other hand, 1944's version gives us Angela Lansbury, who rips into the material and comes out as a sly femme fatale type. 1940's Nancy the Maid is a flirt and a conniving little b****, but she doesn't have the same levels that Lansbury brought to the role.

The ending also works better in the original. The final shot is one of fresh air, light, and relief, finally dispelling the sinister shadows and fickle flames of the gaslight. In the remake, we get a cute "Oh, my!" moment from the busybody neighbour and a neat bow on the romance between the young couple. It's good, but it's not as freeing as the original, and it's a little too "tidy".

Two great thrillers, marvellous performances, wonderful work all-around, but I give the edge to the original, which is more contained, has more tension, more subtlety, and never lets up for its tight 90 minutes.