Lights flicker and dim. Footsteps sound from a sealed-off attic. Mysterious events only vulnerable young Paula sees and hears make her fear she’s losing her mind – exactly what treacherous spouse Gregory hopes.

Directed by George Cukor, Gaslight shines as a superb exercise in suspense. Ingrid Bergman won her first Academy Award as Paula, doubting her sanity while clinging to it. Fellow Oscar nominee Charles Boyer skillfully plays against type as smoothly evil Gregory. Joseph Cotten, Dame May Whitty, and then 18-year-old Angela Lansbury in her movie debut (also capturing an Oscar nomination) help make vivid a Victorian era realized in a production design that earned a Best Interior Decoration Academy Award.