The Spiral Staircase

Robert Siodmak (1946)

80min

A Certificate

Review

Our Score

by Sue Heal

Thought-provoking and disturbing, this masterly thriller is directed with touches of sheer genius by Robert Siodmak, who beckons us into a voyeuristic nightmare with taut, creeping camerawork that makes the hair on your neck stand up. However, while this is undoubtedly a classic of 1940s Hollywood Gothic, the movie treads a fine line between acceptable menace and uncomfortable sadism with its story of a serial killer murdering maimed and disabled women. That said, it remains a masterwork, with a fine central performance from Dorothy McGuire as the mute heroine.

Summary

A psychopath holds an early 20th-century New England town in his thrall with the serial killings of disabled girls. Meanwhile, a naive mute woman caring for an elderly invalid in an isolated mansion is warned to leave the house because she will be the killer's next target. Period thriller, with Dorothy McGuire, George Brent, Ethel Barrymore, Kent Smith and Elsa Lanchester.

Cast & Crew

Helen Capel Dorothy McGuire

Professor Warren George Brent

Mrs Warren Ethel Barrymore

Dr Parry Kent Smith

Blanche Rhonda Fleming

Steve Warren Gordon Oliver

Mrs Oates Elsa Lanchester

Nurse Barker Sara Allgood

Constable James Bell

Desk clerk Charles Wagenheim

Dr Harvey Erville Alderson

Mr Oates Rhys Williams

Director Robert Siodmak

Other Information

Language: EnglishBlack and whiteAvailable on: video and DVD

Drama

Full Episode Guide

Robert Siodmak (1946)

Review

Summary

Cast & Crew

Other Information

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