The Spiral Staircase
For the band, see The Spiral Starecase.The Spiral Staircase is a
psychological thriller from
1946 directed by
Robert Siodmak and starring
Dorothy McGuire,
Kent Smith,
George Brent,
Rhonda Fleming,
Elsa Lanchester, and
Ethel Barrymore. Cinematography by RKO regular
Nicholas Musuraca.
This thriller is set in early
19th century New England, about a
serial killer on the loose, murdering young disabled women in the community. The killer's next apparent victim is Helen (McGuire), a mute girl who works as a live-in servant for a wealthy old bedridden woman Mrs. Warren (Barrymore). Kent Smith plays Dr. Parry, a man who knows the real reason for Helen's loss of speech and wants to help Helen get her voice back.
Ethel Barrymore was nominated for an
Academy Award,
Best Actress in a Supporting Role, for her role. The screenplay was written by
Mel Dinelli. The film is based on a
novel by
Ethel Lina White,
Some Must Watch, in which the heroine was crippled rather than mute. The novel was first adapted into a radio production, starring
Helen Hayes.
Remade in
1975 starring
Jacqueline Bisset; and again as a TV movie in
2000 with
Nicolette Sheridan as Helen.
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Dorothy McGuire and Kent Smith in The Spiral Staircase |
