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This might be a gothic film set, a scene from a film noir, such as "The Long Goodbye" with Humphrey Bogart. But this type of lighting was beloved by the directors of the "B movies" in the 1940s in the USA who had little money to spend and all they needed was the suggestion of light and shadows to create their spell. They gained their specialist knowledge of theatrical Expressionism in Europe before they had to flee from the Nazis. Today, a thousand students of media studies still seek to re-create the powerful effects achieved well over half a century ago with some powerful lights and deep shadows in black and white. Nature does it without really trying, though, and we stand back in amazement. Is that Vincent Price lurking in the gloom behind the wall?