I was excited at the opportunity to see Gaslight, the gothic melodrama from which the term “gaslighting” is derived.

Just so we’re all on the same page, let’s ask ChatGPT what the term means. (Surely AI would never lie!)

“Gaslighting is a form of psychological manipulation where one person or group deliberately makes someone question their reality, memory, or perceptions. The goal is often to make the victim doubt their own judgment, making them feel confused, anxious, or even mentally unstable.”

Does such behavior occur in the 1944 pre-noir film directed by George Cukor, starring Ingrid Bergman and Charles Boyer, along with a young Angela Lansbury and Dame May Whitty (who played the ‘kindly old lady’ role in nearly every film of the forties)?

I would say no, there is no gaslighting in “Gaslight.”

What’s that? You say you saw the film and saw plenty?

Are you sure? Perhaps your recollection is flawed. Or, god forbid, are you seeing things again? Why don’t you take a nice nap? Dr. Bennet will be here soon.

Anyway, yes, of course there’s gaslighting in the film. It’s the source of the movie’s squirm-inducing tension. We, the audience, know that Boyer’s husband character, Gregory, is lying to his wife, Paula, played by Bergman, and we yearn for her to see through the ruse. Instead, she starts to believe she’s responsible for moved or lost objects. To the viewer, there’s never any doubt what’s really happening.

Why does Gregory do it? There is a reason in the form of a twist that was so obvious, and broadcast so early, that I’m not sure we’re meant to be fooled.

“Gaslight” could be thought of as a feminist film, though Bergman’s character is heavily dependent on a police detective played by Joseph Cotten to uncover the ruse. Made today, this would be handled differently.

Also in contrast to modern filmmaking: the most action-packed scene, where a bad guy is fought with, caught and tied to a chair, takes place completely off camera. (Reminds me of idea I once had for a Godzilla-style movie in which the camera never shows giant monsters destroying the city, only the faces of astonished citizens looking on in terror. “Holy crap! He just ripped that bus in half!” Kind of low budget thing.)

All in all, “Gaslight” is a captivating movie and intriguing piece of cultural history.

I’ll make one final observation behind a SPOILER ALERT:

When Gregory lights the indoor (pre-electrical) gaslamps in the attic,  the lights dim in Paula’s room. However, He’s not doing this to screw with her, but because he needs the illumination. It’s the one thing he does in the film that isn’t designed to drive her crazy. So the gaslighting in “Gaslight” is not actually gaslighting.