Shadows on the Stairs (1941)

Occupants of a London boarding house become suspects as a string of murders are discovered.

Director:

D. Ross Lederman

Writers:

Frank Vosper (play), Anthony Coldeway (screenplay)

Stars:

Frieda Inescort, Paul Cavanagh, Heather Angel

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Frieda Inescort	...	Mrs. Stella Rosabelle Armitage
Paul Cavanagh	...	Joseph 'Joe' Reynolds
Heather Angel	...	Sylvia Armitage
Bruce Lester	...	Hugh Bromilow
Miles Mander	...	Tom Armitage
Lumsden Hare	...	Inspector Gregg
Turhan Bey	...	Ram Singh
Charles Irwin	...	Constable
Phyllis Barry	...	Lucy Timson, the Maid
Mary Field	...	Phoebe Martia St. John Snell
Paul Renay	...	Choong Thi, Hindu Sailor
Sidney Bracey	...	Watchman (scenes deleted) (as Sidney Bracy)

Storyline

Occupants of a London boarding house become suspects as a string of murders are discovered.

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Plot Keywords:

murder | husband wife relationship | murderer | chess | suicide | 

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 March 1941 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

64 min 64 min (Turner library print)

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The play originally opened in New York on 11 September 1929.

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Soundtracks

"Comin' Thro' the Rye"
(uncredited)
Music Traditional
Words by Robert Burns
Sung a cappella by Charles Irwin at the end

User Reviews

Cheap Trick

This is a stagy film with a group of idiosyncratic characters, roaming around a boarding house. Everyone is a suspect; everyone has some strange being about them. When a man is murdered, a group of buffoonish police infiltrate the house and act like Pirates of Panzance idiots. Don't even try to talk about motivations or realities because you won't find them here. We have, of course, the handsome smug young man who is "writing his play." If this is what he came up with the cop who implies that he has no profession is probably right. The acting is stilted. Some of the characters are strictly comic and there are those long pauses for us to laugh. Whether we should hold this to today's standards or not isn't the issue. There were well-done films in 1941 as well as now. This just lacked pizazz. And the ending is most disappointing.