Fanny by Gaslight
Returning to 1870s London after finishing at boarding school, Fanny winesses the death of her father in a fight with Lord Manderstoke. She then finds that her family has for many years been running a bordello next door to their home. When her mother dies shortly after, she next discovers that her real father is in fact a well-respected politician. Meeting him and then falling in love with his young advisor Harry Somerford leads to a life of ups and downs and conflict between the classes. Periodically the scoundrel of a Lord crosses her path, always to tragic effect.
From the archive
“Pioneering, innovating film” “Very engrossing” “Part Dickens, part soap opera” “Entertaining” “Overblown Gainsborough gloop” (IMDB reviews quotes). Victorian romantic melodrama with a plot too risque for the prudish Hayes Office censors. It was banned in the US until 1948. Good cast and good period-piece production. IMDB rating 6.6. Directed by Anthony Asquith. UK release 1944. US release 1948. Complete print. A.K.A. “Man of Evil”
Why this is free to watch
Fanny by Gaslight (1944) is hosted by the Internet Archive as a public-domain or openly licensed work, which means its copyright has expired, lapsed, or was released by the rights holder. The uploader declared an explicit licence, linked in the source panel. Nitrate streams the file directly from the Internet Archive and hosts no video itself.
- Director
- Anthony Asquith
- Starring
- James Mason, Phyllis Calvert, Stewart Granger, Jean Kent, Wilfrid Lawson, Margaretta Scott, John Laurie, Cathleen Nesbitt
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