Reviews & Ratings for
The Spiral Staircase More at IMDbPro »

Filter:

Best Chronological Prolific Authors Loved It Hated It Hide Spoilers:

Page 1 of 9:

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]

Index

87 reviews in total

---

46 out of 57 people found the following review useful:
Visuals Add To Already-Excellent Film, 19 October 2005

Author: ccthemovieman-1 from United States

This was an excellent suspense film with outstanding cinematography and interesting characters played by a strong cast.

There are lots of complimentary adjectives in the above sentence but the film deserves it, particularly the photography (see this on DVD). The lighting is as good as anything I've ever seen in film noir (this is not a film noir, as one reviewer correctly points out). In fact, outside of David Lean's "Oliver Twist, " this may be the best-looking black-and-white film I've seen. A good part of the visual treat is viewing the fantastic Victorian house where most of the action takes place.

The lead character, played beautifully by Dorothy McGuire, is one the viewer cares about which helps get one involved in the story. All the other characters are fun to watch, and are detailed here in other reviews. I go along with most in saying Ethel Barrymore was the most likable.

There are a few holes in the storyline, to be sure, but one doesn't care since the film movies rapidly, the story keeps you so involved and the visuals and audio are so interesting. This latter also features the longest thunderstorm on record!

---

43 out of 56 people found the following review useful:
excllent psychological thriller, 2 April 2001

Author: telegonus from brighton, ma

This is one of the most elegantly crafted, paced, photographed and designed of all lady-in-distress thrillers, a sub-genre I am not altogether fond of, but in this case the result is something near to a masterpiece. The actors, especially Dorothy McGuire, are first-rate. I'm particularly in love with the house, a cavernous Victorian, over-decorated, visually and spatially 'busy' place, full of odd furniture and fixtures, rugs, lamps and mirrors, it is as much a character as any person in the film. Kudos to the RKO art department, fifty plus years later I salute them. The way the house is explored is a fascinating as the way the characters are presented. Bit by bit we grow accustomed to the place and its denizens, and when the inevitable thunderstorm happens we feel comfortable inside, aware of the menace within we are none the less seduced by the grandness of the place, indeed enveloped by it, as the air of danger becomes almost cozy, and the gothic surroundings become as comforting as they are baleful. This is no small trick; it's an art. Name a film of the past thirty years that comes close to The Spiral Staircase in its exploration of the various shades of meaning in what for want of a better term one would have to call the Great Gothic Place.

---

38 out of 51 people found the following review useful:
A lesson in atmosphere, 6 September 2004

Author: The_Void from Beverley Hills, England

The Spiral Staircase is one of the most eerie and atmospheric films that I have ever had the pleasure of seeing. The entire movie gives off a sense of malice throughout, and the use of music here is some of the best I've ever seen in a movie. The film's plot follows a series of murders, of which all the victims are people with imperfections. Our hero is Helen; a young mute girl that works as a nurse for Mrs Warren, an old lady that lives in a big house. Aside from the old lady, also living in the house are her two sons; Albert and Steven, along with a few other people such as the maid. As the murders are being committed on imperfect women, the old lady becomes concerned for her mute nurse and begs her to leave. When another murder is committed in the house, the danger that the young girl is in becomes more apparent.

The first thing you will notice about this hidden gem is it's striking cinematography and lush settings. The film is very Gothic, and that gives it a very foreboding atmosphere. This is without doubt the best things about the film; in a dark thriller such as this, the atmosphere is always important, and as I said; this film has plenty. The film also features a lot of intrigue. As it has many characters that could be suspects, it leaves you guessing. Playing it's cards very close to it's chest, we don't find out who is the murderer until the very last minute.

The cast of The Spiral Staircase don't excel individually, but they come together very well as an ensemble. Most of them would never make another notable movie, although the majority have rather large filmographies. Robert Siodmak takes the directors chair, and he should be commended for his work. His use of the camera is excellent; the film features numerous close-ups, and when coupled with the haunting music; it makes for a great eeriness. There is one sequence in particular where the killer is watching his would-be victim from some bushes in the rain, and that with the haunting music in the background is altogether one of the most frightening sequences ever filmed. Cinematic perfection.

---

25 out of 30 people found the following review useful:
A beautiful film, 21 August 2005

Author: MovieAddict2012 from UK

"The Spiral Staircase" starts off with an afflicted woman being murdered, and right from the onset I was surprised at how explicit it was for its time - by today's standards it's nothing you don't see every day on television, but 1946 was a very different time.

It then moves onwards and we are introduced to a young woman who is mute and lives in a mansion with a long, spiraling staircase. (Hint: this pays off later in the movie.) When it's made known that a killer is making his rounds murdering afflicted women, the owner of the mansion fears for the mute woman's life - and after a string of more murders occur they realize she's next.

RKO's picture was far ahead of its time. Someone on here said it's not a film noir and commanded that people stop calling it one. I'll disagree. I think it IS film noir, in the sense that it's a personal struggle for one person who's surrounded by death and murder. I don't think it should be left up to one person to decide what "film noir" really means. I do think there are limits of course ("Batman Returns" is NOT film noir, it just tries to come across as one) but no one should say, "This isn't a film noir because it's a thriller." So what? Loads of film noirs are thrillers.

I personally feel the stylings, the themes and the motif of the movie could be classified as "film noir." It's a beautiful movie to look at, very well filmed, and the ending is probably one of the best I can remember ever seeing.

It's had a few remakes over the years, but the first remains the best - by a long shot.

Highly recommended.

---

24 out of 29 people found the following review useful:
One emerged from the film feeling as exhausted by terror as McGuire had been..., 2 December 2004
Author: ironside (robertfrangie@hotmail.com) from Mexico

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

The extra vulnerability of the handicapped has been a magnet to attract some fine directors of suspense…

The fulcrum of Robert Siodmak's 'The Spiral Staircase' was the fact that the beautiful and expressive Dorothy McGuire was dumb – deprived of her speech by shock… Her terror when death stalked had to be wordless, and it was all the more potent… She could not communicate, she could not plead or call for help…

It was New England in 1906, and she was employed by the bedridden mistress (Ethel Barrymore) of an old mansion (decorated in Victorian style). On the girl's day off, a disabled girl was found murdered in the little town. It was the third such murder… In each case the victim had been physically handicapped – and, as we learned later, the murderer killed because he could not tolerate imperfection…

There was a chilling start to the suspense as Dorothy McGuire walked home through a stormy night, rattling a twig against railings… In a lightning flash we saw – but she did not – the silhouette of a man watching her… On into the house and, as she paused on a landing, we saw the feet of the man on another landing… waiting. And then, in a close-up of his eye, we saw her face reflected – an imperfect face…

On this level the tension was maintained in visual terms, through the murder of another girl in the house and the mute's discovery of the body, and her belief that she knows the murderer… She tricks him into a room and locks him in… but, as she is to find, she has locked up the wrong man…

Ethel Barrymore received the film's only Academy Award nomination, as Best Supporting Actress… McGuire would have to wait another year to be nominated as Best Actress, for her great role in Elia Kazan's emotional 'Gentleman's Agreement', 1947.

---

33 out of 47 people found the following review useful:
Riveting Masterpiece, 23 June 2003

Author: Niv-1 from Valley Stream, New York

The Spiral Staircase is an excellent film.

Dorothy McGuire gives a great performance as a mute woman in a town where disabled women are being killed, I think she deserved an Oscar nomination. She does a lot of emoting with her eyes and her body language.

The technical aspects of this film are amazing. The score is extremely creepy, the camera work is excellent, and the main set is well designed. There are some extreme close-ups of an eye that are very spooky.

This is a movie that Alfred Hitchcock would have made. There is a long and extremely affecting dream sequence that is riveting. Elsa Lanchester is very good as servant, and Ethel Barrymore deserved her Oscar nomination for playing the employer of the mute woman.

An excellent movie that is a must see.

---

17 out of 18 people found the following review useful:
The World Has No Place for Imperfections, 13 July 2008

Author: Claudio Carvalho from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

In the beginning of the Twentieth Century, a serial-killer is terrorizing a small town, killing women with imperfections. In the Warren manor, the mute servant Helen (Dorothy McGuire) nurses Mrs. Warren (Ethel Barrymore) who is terminal in bed. The newcomer Dr. Parry (Kent Smith) falls in love for Helen and has the intention to take her to specialists in Boston for treatment for recovering her voice and marry her. When the reckless Steve Warren (Gordon Oliver) arrives from Europe, he stays in the mansion with his mother and his stepbrother Professor Albert Warren (George Brent) and has a brief affair with Albert's assistant Blanche (Rhonda Fleming). When a crippled woman is killed in the town, Mrs. Warren advises Helen to leave the house immediately since she is in danger. When a murder occurs in the mansion, Helen does not know who is trustful to help her to call Dr. Parry to rescue her.

"The Spiral Staircase" is a suspenseful stylish movie, with a magnificent black and white cinematography that follows the German Expressionism and wonderful set decoration in Victorian style. It is impressive the use of shadows and lights in many unforgettable scenes, like for example Blanche in the basement or Helen in the spiral staircase. The beginning is an awesome tribute to the earlier days of the cinema. The performances are excellent and it is impossible to individually highlight any actor or actress. The plot keeps the tension until the very end in this great movie. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Silêncio nas Trevas" ("Silence in the Darkness")

---

21 out of 26 people found the following review useful:
Silent Terror, 3 February 2005

Author: sol from Brooklyn NY USA

(Slight Spoilers} Effective turn of the century thriller set in New England about a killer on the loose murdering young women in the community who have imperfections in their mental or physical abilities. It's as if this murderer, like mimicking the actions a wolf pack, is attempting to cull out the sick and the weak reindeer or caribou to keep the rest of the herd strong and healthy for future breeding.

After murdering three unfortunate young women the murderer zeros in on young Helen Capel, Dorothy McGuire, a mute young women who works as a maid for the old and bed-ridden Mrs.Warren, Ethel Barrymore, at her estate outside of town.You begin to realize that the killer is in a way imperfect himself and by trying to eliminate those he deems imperfect is making up for his own imperfections.

Dorothy McGurie in one of her best roles as the mute and pretty Helen is stalked all through the movie by the killer in the shadows of the Warren Mansion and in the woods around it. There's a really scary scene early in the movie when the killer in the pouring rain follows Helen through the woods at night as she momentarily drops her key to the Warren home only to back off at the last minute when someone else unexpectedly arrives.

Ethal Barrymore is also very effective as the sick and bed-ridden Mrs. Warren who has some idea who the killer is and wants Helen to leave the house as soon as possible in order not to end up being his next victim. Both George Brent and Gordon Oliver are fine as the two step-brothers and sons of Mrs Warren in their roles as the serious Prof.Warren and his globe-trotting and fun-loving brother Steve. Who have very deep and troubling insecurities about themselves due to their late authoritative father's high standards that he set for them that they both couldn't live up too.

There's also Kent Smith as Dr. Parry who knows the real reason for Helen's loss of speech, she tragically saw her parents die in a house fire at a very young age. Dr. Perry wants to help Helen get her voice back by having her see a vocal specialist that he knows in Boston. It turned out at the end of the movie that it was shock therapy that did the trick.

Spine-tingling final when the killer comes out of the shadows and closes in on the terrified Helen for the kill chasing her up the spiral staircase of the Warren house. It's then the killer finds out only too late that he, not Helen, has gotten himself trapped in the cross-hairs of a deadly ambush.

---

18 out of 21 people found the following review useful:
Atmospheric old dark house thriller...quiet but deadly..., 16 April 2001

Author: Neil Doyle from U.S.A.

For sheer mastery in the art of black and white photography and its ability to provide the shadowy atmosphere necessary for mood, they don't come any better than this. The house alone is as much a part of the plot as the actors--but everything clicks...the acting, the script, the story, the direction and the brooding atmosphere that lets you know you're in for an intense and absorbingly suspenseful story. All of the suspense is relieved occasionally with just the right amount of humor. Particularly by Elsa Lanchester as the housekeeper who uses trickery to steal an extra bottle of liquor from the wine cellar. While thunder and lightning storms outside the mansion, we know that a serial killer is lurking on or near the premises, one who specializes in murdering women with physical afflictions. At the center of the story is Dorothy McGuire's character, a mute girl who lost her voice years ago during a traumatic experience. Around her are a number of people, all of whom become suspicious as the plot thickens--Kent Smith, Rhonda Fleming, George Brent, Ethel Barrymore and Gordon Oliver. Ethel Barrymore is especially good as a frightened old woman, bedridden and suspicious enough of everyone. For comparison, view the recent color TV adaptation, bland in overall effect. It will make you appreciate this black and white classic more than ever. As with most remakes, it doesn't stand a chance against the original.

My only complaint is that DOROTHY McGUIRE does not have much range in her expressions. Wide-eyed, but seldom wild, her restraint limits the amount of fear her character can express without using her voice. A more over-the-top performance might have been more useful, given the Gothic mood created so well by director Robert Siodmak. She is overshadowed by Ethel Barrymore as a bed-ridden invalid urging her to leave the house and Gordon Oliver, as the playboy step-brother who plays his role to the hilt. GEORGE BRENT does nicely for the most part, but seems too laid back in the final scenes to be as menacing as he is meant to be.

Still, well worth watching for its shadowy Victorian atmosphere alone.

---

16 out of 19 people found the following review useful:
Terrific Thriller; Excellent Leading Performance, 16 August 2001
Author: Snow Leopard from Ohio

This is a terrific thriller, made just the way that thrillers should be done, with nicely crafted tension, atmospheric setting, and plenty of strange and mysterious characters. Adding in the excellent leading performance by Dorothy McGuire makes it a top-notch picture.

From the very beginning, the suspense begins to build, while at the same time McGuire's character Helen immediately attracts and holds the audience's concern and sympathy. The combination works very well, and while you're never sure what else is going on, or which of the other characters can be trusted, you know that Helen is in danger and that you care about her.

The rest of the cast are all nicely matched with their characters, and do a fine job of bringing them to life. Some of the plot developments probably would prove somewhat implausible if analyzed carefully, but the story and atmosphere are crafted so effectively that you never notice while watching.

Anyone who enjoys classic thrillers should make sure to see "The Spiral Staircase".

---

---

Page 1 of 9:

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]

Add another review

---

Related Links

Plot summary	Plot synopsis	Ratings
Awards	Newsgroup reviews	External reviews
Parents Guide	Plot keywords	Main details
Your user reviews	Your vote history