Gaslight (1940)

After "Rebecca" I am now on a roll and I watched "Gaslight", a movie I'd heard so much about. It is so good that when I was forced to take a break, I was on pin-and-needles until I got back to it.

12 Pimlico Square! Alice Barlow is so busy knitting that she is oblivious to the ominous presence in her house. The cops arrive to only find Alice strangled and her house torn apart. Soon a "to-let" sign is up and that sign stays rooted for many years to come. A couple of decades later, 12 Pimlico Square can now boast residents. Newly wed Paul (Anton Walbrook) and Bella (Diana Wynyard) Mallen make a handsome couple but there is something sinister underlying their relationship. Paul keeps Bella on a short-leash accusing her of going crazy after she supposedly mislays a few objects like a brooch and pocket watch. Try as she may she is unable to account for the mishaps. While inevitably banished to her room she  notices the dimming gaslight and she is aware of spooky footsteps from the attic above.
What is the mystery surrounding 12 Pimlico Square? A gripping film that was way ahead of its time.

While I was doing some reading recently, I was intrigued to come across the term "Gaslighting". All psychologists and psychiatrists will be familiar with the term the definition of which is "an increasing frequency of systematically withholding factual information from, and/or providing false information to, the victim - having the gradual effect of making them anxious, confused, and less able to trust their own memory and perception."
Now I would like to know what came first - was it the movie or the term? 😕 Help please!

Word for the day :-
indolent - wanting to avoid activity or exertion; lazy

Rebecca (1940)

Rebecca is a thriller by Alfred Hitchcock and the first in his foray into American cinema. It is based on the novel by the same name that was authored by Daphne du Maurier's, in 1938. The movie won 2 academy awards out of 11 nominations and has been one of the best mysteries I have watched to-date.
A young and dumure woman (Joan Fontaine) from a humble background works as a paid companion to the rich Edythe Van Hopper (Florence Bates). While in Monte Carlo she meets the aristocratic and moody widower, Maxim De Winter (Laurence Olivier) and there is an instant attraction. A couple of weeks later they find they are in love and after Maxim proposes, they soon get married.
The wealthy Maxim is the owner of the imposing Manderley Mansion in Cornwall and the new Mrs. de Winter is awed by her new home. However, when she meets the household staff she is struck and is instantly vary after the chilly reception she gets from Mrs. Danvers (Judith Anderson), the housekeeper. Soon Mrs. de Winter realizes that she faces tough competition from the old Mrs. de Winter, Rebecca, who continues to have a strong influence over the house. The eerie Mrs. Danvers makes sure that Rebecca is not forgotten - her monogrammed stationery, pillows, handkerchiefs, a locked wing of the house that housed her room are constant reminders of her elusive presence and add to the mystery surrounding the late Rebecca. Mrs. de Winter soon gets the impression that Maxim is still deeply in love with his dead first wife. Deeply troubled and during her exploration of the surrounding grounds she happens upon a boathouse and therein lies the key to the enigma surrounding Rebecca's death.
The perfect movie to curl up and watch on a cold winter evening. Hats off to Alfred Hitchcock!

Word for the day : -

perfidy - the state of being deceitful and untrustworthy 

Madhumati (1958) - a movie shrouded in mystery and intrigue

Devendra (Dilip Kumar) is on his way to the railway station to pick up his wife and child. But enroute there is a heavy thunderstorm and the road he is on is blocked in a landslide, compelling him to seek shelter in a neighboring mansion. Here Devendra instantly feels a connection and he has a vague sense of having been there before. And he slowly begins to remember a previous life...

Anand is an employee for Raja Ugra Narayan (Pran) and he has been hired to manage a vast estate. Beautiful rolling hills, cloaked in mists and mystery enchants Anand and he is haunted by a melodic voice. Madhumati (Vyjayanthimala),  the beautiful owner - a local tribal girl, and Anand fall in love. However, when Anand and Madhumati's father have to be away for a few days, disaster strikes. On their return, Madhu has vanished without a trace. What is the mystery shrouding her disappearance? Will a love like the one that Anand and Madhu shared die a slow death or will it live to eternity. .

A beautiful Bimal Roy film that can hold its own to this day. Music by Salil Choudhury is absolutely mesmerizing. it's a story of undying and eternal love.

On of the beautiful haunting numbers

Word for the day :-
Wodge - a large piece or amount of something