Lansbury’s stunning debut in Gaslight certified her talent and honored her, at the age of l8, with the first of three Oscar nominations.
“Even though Gaslight was her first picture,” Cukor said, “she had the ability to transform herself into the character she was playing as soon as the cameras turned.” “Some people have experience, but still remain eternal amateurs,” Cukor elaborated, “but Angela was a pro from the very first day.” An ordinary-looking girl, when the audience saw Lansbury for the first time, all the character was right in her face she became the character by just drooping her mouth. When this eagerly-awaited day arrived, Cukor and Bergman threw a surprise party for her on the set.Ĭukor later said that, aside from Katharine Hepburn, Lansbury was the only other actress who took to film so quickly. The menacing smoking scene had to be postponed for several weeks, because the studio’s teacher would not allow her to smoke until she was 18.
Obtaining an agent, Earl Kramer, she was signed to a seven-year contract with MGM, earning $500 a week and using her real name as her professional name. Since Lansbury was only 17, a social worker had to accompany her on the set.
“They thought my towering over Ingrid would make me more sinister,” recalled Lansbury.Īnother unexpected problem was a scene in which she lights a cigarette, in defiance of her mistress. To add to her height, so as to contribute to the suspense of the scene in which she threatens Paula, Cukor made her wear platform shoes. At 5’8″, she was the same height as Bergman. There were some unanticipated problems with Lansbury, however. Cukor at MGM had signed her for a seven-year-contract at 500 dollars a week! When Lansbury told her Bullock’s manager that she had found a better job, he proposed to raise her pay to 27 dollars a week. In the end, Cukor liked her so much that he had her role rewritten and expanded. It turned out to be even better than the first. However, a week later, Cukor looked at Lansbury’ test again, and called her in for a second audition. “I don’t think you’re going to get the job,” Cukor told her, “but I think you’re a very talented girl.” Lansbury went back to Bullock’s with a mixed reaction of dejection and encouragement. Slightly overweight and spotty, Lansbury looked like a real department-store salesgirl. But she was too young and didn’t seem seductive or sexy enough. The young actress had the right poise and her Cockney accent was quite authentic. To make ends meet, the entire family was working at Bullock’s in the Christmas rush.Ĭukor asked Lansbury to a test, which went excellently. Van Druten told Cukor of the British actress Magna Margia, who was in town with her daughter Angela and her two sons. Looking for a girl to play the sluttish maid, Cukor knew one thing: she had to be English.Īt a party hosted by her mother, Magna Margia, the young Lansbury met John van Druten, who had recently co-authored a script for Gaslight, a mystery-thriller based on Patrick Hamilton’s 1938 play. Lansbury was to play the important role of Nancy Oliver, the shrewdly conniving maid who attempts to lure Anton (Charles Boyer) away from his tormented wife Paula (Ingrid Bergman). We love it and are thrilled to talk about it on the show this week.George Cukor’s big casting coup was not getting Ingrid Bergman, but the hiring of a young British girl, Angela Lansbury.
It’s an incredible film that people need to see (really, the 1940 version needs to be seen as well). And we look at the gorgeous and noirish cinematography here and talk about how it lends to the overall tone of the film. We chat about Cukor and his working relationship with the women in his films.
We look at Bergman paired with Charles Boyer and Joseph Cotten – not to mention Angela Lansbury in her screen debut – and what they bring to the table. We discuss the idea of gaslighting and why it makes for such a successful story here. We talk about this film and the 1940 version directed by Thorold Dickinson and how MGM almost gaslit that film out of existence.
Join us – Pete Wright and Andy Nelson – as we continue our Ingrid Bergman series with George Cukor’s 1944 film Gaslight. In the end, she delivered a stellar performance and was very proud of the film and her role in it. She was nervous about playing such a weak-willed woman. Ingrid Bergman took home her first Oscar for her portrayal of a woman who is psychologically broken down by her husband in Gaslight, but it was a film she was hesitant to star in.