Gaslight

George Cukor - 1944
This is the first film where we have seen Cukor really come into his own. His camera is a lot more autonomous, with a couple of great touches. These are some wonderful travelling shots, tracking from the street through a window, and also some shots where the space supercedes the characters. As the camera remains still the actors pass to another room, this is both reticence and a way to make the house seem to have a life of its own. The use of shadows is similarly done, as is the complex set design.
There is great detail in the edit from face to face, and some great views of the staircase, 'Vertigo' esque.
What is especially noticeable is Joseph Ruttenburg's depth of focus. This seems to really bring Cukor into his own, allowing more complex framing decisions, longer shots and longer takes. It frees him to use a more complicated dramatic space, and he replies by some nice depth staging, use of eyeline differences, framing decisions, and other quietly elegant devices. The best directed Cukor film I have seen.
Thematically, we again have a complex woman, distant at first, brought to reality by the vulgar decisions of a man in this case. Men competing for a women.