Witness to Murder
directed by Roy Rowland
Gaslighting is a form of emotional abuse and manipulation in which one person (usually a sexual intimate, trusted authority figure, or close family member) convinces his or her target that what they saw/experienced didn't happen, if it did happen then it's ok, and/or that the target is the one who is crazy/mistaken despite all evidence showing the exact opposite.
directed by Roy Rowland
If the man or woman employing this tactic is really skilled, well sometimes that's how you end up with men running harems or wives convincing their husbands that the wife's constant infidelity and public disrespect is all the husband's fault. If the husband wasn't such a punk then the wife wouldn't do what she did.
Gaslighting needn't necessarily be committed by intimates though I think that's when it's most effective. One could argue that white racists have been carrying out a successful 400 year gaslighting project on Black Americans.
The term comes originally from a 1938 play "Gaslight" that was later developed into multiple films, most notably one directed by Alfred Hitchcock.
Witness to Murder is a good but not great noir that references this phenomenon while being similar to other films such as Dial M for Murder, Rear Window (which came out shortly after Witness to Murder), and Sorry, Wrong Number (which had the same lead actress).
The film's suspense and drama don't come from trying to find out who did it. We know the killer immediately. The question is will he get away with it.
In Los Angeles, Cheryl Draper (Barbara Stanwyck) is an unmarried interior design artist who wakes up late one night because her bedroom is cold.
In the meantime Albert has moved the corpse and done his best to eliminate any evidence.
The cops arrive late, finally showing up in the persons of bored and overweight detective Eddie Vincent (Jesse White) and younger snazzy detective Larry Matthews (Gary Merrill whom you may remember from Where The Sidewalk Ends).
The two men receive permission from the smooth bass voiced Albert to search his apartment and find nothing. Speaking with Cheryl, both detectives try to convince her that she must have been mistaken. They have no evidence with which to arrest Albert.
Eddie is dismissive and abrupt. Larry is more sympathetic because he's a nicer person but also because he wants to get to know Cheryl.
But neither Albert nor Cheryl lets this go. Pretending to be a prospective renter, Cheryl gains access to Albert's apartment and discovers some seemingly innocuous evidence that the police missed.
Returning from disposing of the corpse, Albert sees Cheryl leaving his building, guesses where she's going, and creates a plausible story to explain what she found.
Albert later deftly turns all of Cheryl's questions and actions against her to the point where everyone, even her would be boyfriend, wonders just how sick Cheryl is. This is Stanwyck's film through and through.
Cheryl's stubbornness and self-belief never fail though they do waver from time to time. It can be rough to believe in yourself when no one else does or you face serious life altering consequences for telling the truth.
Sanders' strong English accent does not fit with his character's German background but there are reasons for that. I enjoyed the movie's lighting and sets. Outside of the barely seen titular murder, there is almost no violence. The music is a little intrusive.
