Tuesday, March 3, 7:00 pm - Gaslight
Tuesday, March 10, 7:00 pm - Wuthering Heights
Tuesday, March 17, 7:00 pm - Dragonwyck
Tuesday, March 24, 7:00 pm - Rebecca

Shadows and Secrets: The Gothic Heroine on Film traces the evolution of women at the center of classic gothic cinema, from romantic obsession and peril to resistance and survival.

Set in shadowed houses and windswept landscapes, these four films explore how love, power, and secrecy intertwine -- and how women learn to see through the stories meant to confine them.

March 3: Gaslight

Ever wonder where the term "gaslighting" comes from? It's right here -- this 1944 thriller and the play it was based on.

After the death of her famous opera-singing aunt, Paula (Ingrid Bergman) is sent to study in Italy, where she falls in love with the charming Gregory Anton (Charles Boyer).

When the two return to London to take up residence in the late aunt's house, Paula begins to notice strange goings-on: missing pictures, strange footsteps in the night, and gaslights that dim without being touched.

As she fights to retain her sanity, her new husband's intentions come into question.

"To assist in the freezing of your bloodstream, the producers have told their eerie tale with a splendid cast." —Jack Karr, Toronto Star

Directed by George Cukor

Starring Ingrid Bergman, Charles Boyer, Joseph Cotten, Angela Lansbury

March 10: Wuthering Heights

An adaptation of Emily Brontë's classic novel set in 19th-century England, in which wealthy young Cathy Earnshaw (Merle Oberon) shares a loving bond with Heathcliff (Laurence Olivier), a poor childhood friend who now works in her stables.

Unfortunately, things become complicated when the affluent Edgar Linton (David Niven) decides to pursue Cathy, and Heathcliff leaves out of resentment.

Though Heathcliff later returns with a self-made fortune, he realizes he may have lost Cathy in his absence.

"Quite moving due to the way Wyler makes notes on prejudice, social class, and impossible love, with great performances and a very luminous visual style from (cinematographer Gregg) Toland." —Yasser Medina, Cinefilia

Directed by William Wyler

Starring Merle Oberon, Laurence Olivier, David Niven

March 17: Dragonwyck

For Connecticut farm girl Miranda Wells (Gene Tierney), moving to New York to live in Dragonwyck Manor with her wealthy cousin, Nicholas Van Ryn (Vincent Price), seems like a dream. However, the situation gradually becomes nightmarish.

She observes Nicholas' troubled relationship with his tenant farmers, as well as with his daughter (Connie Marshall), to whom Miranda serves as governess. Her relationship with Nicholas intensifies after his wife dies, but his mental imbalance threatens any hope of happiness.

Dragonwyck is rarely screened -- so much so that the Lincoln has paid Disney to create a DCP (Digital Cinema Package -- the standard for theatre projection) from existing elements. This may be your only chance to catch this film on the big screen!

"With its blend of historically accurate political debates and macabre mysteries, it plays like a fusion of Poe and Tocqueville." —Richard Brody, The New Yorker

Directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Starring Gene Tierney, Vincent Price, Walter Huston

March 24: Rebecca

Alfred Hitchcock's masterpiece of haunted atmosphere follows a young woman (Joan Fontaine) who marries a fascinating widower, Max De Winter (Laurence Olivier). Soon, she realizes that she must live in the shadow of his former wife, Rebecca, who died mysteriously several years earlier.

The young wife must come to grips with the terrible secret of her handsome, cold husband, while also dealing with the jealous, obsessed Mrs. Danvers (Judith Anderson), the housekeeper, who will not accept her as the new mistress of the house.

"[Hitchcock] has succeeded brilliantly In his initial Hollywood venture. In his Individual fashion, he has re-told in his own creepy, colorful way Miss du Maurier's forbidding, fascinating story of life and death, malignancy and murder." —Mildred Martin, Philadelphia Inquirer

"I didn't think they could do it! Capture the suspense, the horror, the beauty, and the strange eeriness of Rebecca, the book. But they have!" —Mae Tinee, Chicago Tribune

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock

Starring Joan Fontaine, Laurence Olivier, Judith Anderson, George Sanders

Film Prices

Lincoln Theatre Members get $3.00 off on the following prices when buying tickets at-the-door:

General: $12.00
Seniors, Students, and Active Military: $11.00
Children 12 and under: $9.50

All prices include a $2.00 Preservation Fee that goes directly into our capital account for the preservation of the Lincoln Theatre and its programs.

FILM SERIES: SHADOWS & SECRETS: THE GOTHIC HEROINE ON FILM

March 3: Gaslight

March 10: Wuthering Heights

March 17: Dragonwyck

March 24: Rebecca

Film Prices