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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Helen Capel was rendered mute in childhood due to a family trauma, now she acts as a companion to the bed ridden Mrs Warren. She's currently fretful because a serial killer is on the loose and he preys on women with afflictions...
Based on Ethel White's novel "Some Must Watch," The Spiral Staircase harks back to the days of the "old dark house" thrillers and encompasses a German expressionist sheen. The setting is an old Gothic mansion in New England at the turn of the century. Directed by Robert Siodmak, not one spooky house thriller genre convention has been neglected here. The tension builds amid creaking doors and gates, whistling winds, flickering candles, blowing curtains and cut-aways to the eyes of the unseen lurking madman waiting to add poor Helen to his roll call of victims. Mirrors, windows and shadows feature prominently as craftsman Siodmak spins his uneasy expressionistic web.
The cast are uniformly strong. Dorothy McGuire gives one of her best and most convincing performances as the under threat Helen. While Ethel Barrymore (nominated for Best Supporting Actress), Elsa Lanchester and George Brent all turn in brilliant performances. But perhaps it's not unfair to say that the real stars here are the technical staff? Siodmak expands his talent and knowing from his work at Universal Pictures (Son Of Dracula/The Suspect), Albert D'Agostino's sets are wondrous period delights and Nicholas Musuraca's deep-focus photography has the ability to make one keep looking over the shoulder to see if something is lurking in the room with us...
There's quite a few changes in this adaptation from the novel, notably the setting was in England and Helen was a cripple and not mute. But few could seriously argue that The Spiral Staircase in silver screen form is anything but a triumphant piece of classic cinema. 10/10
Based on Ethel White's novel "Some Must Watch," The Spiral Staircase harks back to the days of the "old dark house" thrillers and encompasses a German expressionist sheen. The setting is an old Gothic mansion in New England at the turn of the century. Directed by Robert Siodmak, not one spooky house thriller genre convention has been neglected here. The tension builds amid creaking doors and gates, whistling winds, flickering candles, blowing curtains and cut-aways to the eyes of the unseen lurking madman waiting to add poor Helen to his roll call of victims. Mirrors, windows and shadows feature prominently as craftsman Siodmak spins his uneasy expressionistic web.
The cast are uniformly strong. Dorothy McGuire gives one of her best and most convincing performances as the under threat Helen. While Ethel Barrymore (nominated for Best Supporting Actress), Elsa Lanchester and George Brent all turn in brilliant performances. But perhaps it's not unfair to say that the real stars here are the technical staff? Siodmak expands his talent and knowing from his work at Universal Pictures (Son Of Dracula/The Suspect), Albert D'Agostino's sets are wondrous period delights and Nicholas Musuraca's deep-focus photography has the ability to make one keep looking over the shoulder to see if something is lurking in the room with us...
There's quite a few changes in this adaptation from the novel, notably the setting was in England and Helen was a cripple and not mute. But few could seriously argue that The Spiral Staircase in silver screen form is anything but a triumphant piece of classic cinema. 10/10
36 of 38 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Turn off the lights and get ready for one of the best suspense films of the forties. The Spiral Staircase is perhaps not as well known as some classic Hitchcock movies, but the film is a true gem for aficinados of scary black and white thrillers. I was introduced to the film by my mother who saw it when she was 12 in 1946. It scared the hell out of her then and did the same to us both i 2009. The director is the most underrated Robert Siodmak, proberly best known for The Killers starring Burt Lancaster. The Spiral Staircase has all the ingredienses of a classic suspense film: Insane murderer, creepy old house, several suspects and superb black and white photography. Ethel Barrymore and specially George O'Brian give firstrate performances as two of the main characters in this unforgettable film.
21 of 22 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
If you like good old black and white thrillers then this film is worth getting. It stars Dorothy McGuire as a young woman who helps to look after an elderly lady who is dying. A number of women are murdered but at first there is no connection between the murders. Is McGuire in danger and if so from whom? They are the questions which slowly build the suspense, and like the staircase you go round from one suspect to another until the twist at the end.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Always Worth Watching
I must admit that over the years I have seen this many times on the telly, so I was more than happy when I decided to see if it was on dvd, and found it. Read more
Published 1 month ago by M. Dowden
Superb noir-ish film
Very suspenseful, a great plot and superb acting chops (check out Elsa Lanchester, the Bride of Frankenstein, playing the drunken cook!)
Published 4 months ago by Jinjapewbs
Just about okay
I was disappointed by this film after the good reviews on the site. Not half as good as an Alfred Hitchcock movie. I didn't watch it until the end as I got bored.
Published 8 months ago by anna
Historical horror
A thunderstorm, a gothic mansion, a young woman in peril, and an elderly lady who voices predictions of death'n'doom. Read more
Published 13 months ago by E. A Solinas
gothic shades and shadows excellent film noir
excellent film as they say they dont make classic masterpieces like this anymore the films of the nineeen forties like most films of that era were really superb classic shades... Read more
Published 16 months ago by Mr. Nigelecook
Good period drama
I have seen it many times and always find something new to pick up on. The acting is top class and the plot stands watching again and again. A must for b&w buffs.
Published 17 months ago by Mr. Anthony Russe
Who will live, who will die in this eerie mansion during a storm-swept...
A forbidding mansion far from town, a night of driving rain and thunder, a mute young woman who works for the ill matriarch, a spiral staircase that goes down to the shadowy... Read more
Published 19 months ago by C. O. DeRiemer
Better than today's cinema
If your requirements are a good storyline that keeps you interested until the end, decent acting and you don't mind black & white cinematography, this could be the perfect film for... Read more
Published 22 months ago by Peter J. Chambers
The Spiral Staircase
I have order this product as a present for a friend. I was very pleased with the service I received for the supplier.
Published on 21 Jun 2009 by Mrs. June P. Johnson
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