Rage in Heaven, one of Ingrid Bergman’s early Hollywood films, was something of a trial run for Gaslight, which she would make a few years later. Here, the man messing with her mind is Philip Monrell (Robert Montgomery), a manufacturing heir who quickly woos her and then begins to imagine/orchestrate a tempestuous love triangle involving them and his best friend (George Sanders). Montgomery mostly comes across as pathetic and ineffectual rather than a disturbing threat, while the clumsy plot and construction (W.S. Van Dyke is named as director, but some credits online suggest others were also involved) makes for a lurching viewing experience. Bergman gives her scenes everything she can—there’s more life in one of her sideways glances than Montgomery’s entire performance—but that’s not nearly enough to save the picture. Rage in Heaven should have been way weirder than it is.
(3/6/2023)
