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The Spiral Staircase
Robert Siodmak
(1946)
80min
PG Certificate
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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
see more
Other Information
Language:
English
Black and white
Available on:
video and DVD
Drama
Full Episode Guide
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