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In George Cukor's Gaslight (1944) Boyer gives what many believe to be his finest performance on film. He was indeed nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor, although it was co-star Ingrid Bergman who took home the Oscar for Best Actress for her portrayal of Boyer's tortured wife.

Boyer plays Gregory Anton, a smooth and cunning gentleman who seduces and marries the gullible Paula Alquist (Bergman).  They take up residence in Paula's childhood home, long abandoned since the murder of her aunt years previously.  After an all too brief period of honeymoon bliss, Paula begins to believe she is losing her grasp on sanity, and it is only the determination of a young detective (Joseph Cotten) that eventually intervenes -- he comes to believe that Paula is systematically being driven out of her mind...for a reason.

Boyer's performance --  the fleeting facial expressions, the sudden bursts of anger that pierce through his carefully calm facade --  is truly a masterpiece of film acting.  In a role that could easily have become florid and theatrical, his subtlety is superb.