Home Dear Educator Letter Curriculum Connections Enroll Julius Caesar The Philadelphia Story Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Casablanca The Man Who Came to Dinner Brigadoon Ah, Wilderness! GASLIGHT Behind the Scenes Before/During Viewing Activities After Viewing Activities Elements of Drama Aspects of Film Evaluation

Suggested BEFORE/DURING Viewing Activities To introduce students to the theme of deception in GASLIGHT, have them write about a time they were deceitful by lying, cheating or hurting someone in order to gain something for themselves. Actress Ingrid Bergman won an Academy Award® for her performance. To prepare for her role, Bergman visited a mental institution and studied a woman who suffered a nervous breakdown. Have students participate in a role-play for which they first have to study someone. Students can conduct interviews, make appointments to observe others or watch clips from film or television to help them prepare for their scenario. Emphasis should be on portraying the role as realistically as possible. Foreshadowing is a necessary tool for creating a psychological thriller such as GASLIGHT. To familiarize students with this technique and prepare them for the film, prepare a list of "hints" the director gives throughout GASLIGHT (e.g. the footsteps in the attic, the letter to Aunt Alquist from an admirer, the gaslights dimming and the missing jewels). Have students get into pairs and compose a story using the "hints" to weave the plot. Share stories aloud and have students pay particular attention to foreshadowing during viewing. Read a scene from the play "Angel Street" aloud and have the students predict how it would be depicted in the film. Ask students to consider the key elements of a thriller movie and have them design a plot plan. Ask them to fill in their plot plan as the story unfolds. How did the director use lighting to build suspense? Camera angles and shots? Special effects? Students should include these strategies in their plot plan. Ask students assume on the role of a director and consider the differences between stage plays and screen plays. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages a screenplay might have versus a stage play. For example, most critics of Gaslight thought it didn't measure up to its theatrical version,"Angel Street." They felt the one room stage set kept the action claustrophobic and more suspenseful. During viewing, have students note instances in GASLIGHT where the director was able to use the "screen" to his advantage.