The Dark at the Top of the Stairs (1960)

In Oklahoma in the 1920s, Ruben Flood loses his job as a traveling salesman, when the company goes bankrupt. This adds to his worries at home. His wife Cora is frigid because of trying to ... See full summary »

Director:

Delbert Mann

Writers:

Harriet Frank Jr. (screenplay), Irving Ravetch (screenplay),

Stars:

Robert Preston, Dorothy McGuire, Eve Arden

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 2 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Robert Preston	...	Rubin Flood
Dorothy McGuire	...	Cora Flood
Eve Arden	...	Lottie Lacey
Angela Lansbury	...	Mavis Pruitt
Shirley Knight	...	Reenie Flood
Lee Kinsolving	...	Sammy Golden
Frank Overton	...	Morris Lacey
Robert Eyer	...	Sonny Flood
Penny Parker	...	Flirt Conroy
Ken Lynch	...	Harry Ralston

Storyline

In Oklahoma in the 1920s, Ruben Flood loses his job as a traveling salesman, when the company goes bankrupt. This adds to his worries at home. His wife Cora is frigid because of trying to make ends meet. His teenage daughter Reenie is afraid of going out on dates, but eventually makes friends with a troubled Jewish boy Sammy, and his son is a mama's boy. He finally storms out of the house when Cora falsely accuses him of having an affair with Mavis Pruitt.

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Plot Keywords:

salesman | oklahoma | 1920s | children | sex | 

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Taglines:

Everytime a woman turns her face away because she's tired or unwilling - there's someone waiting like me!

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 October 1960 (USA)

Also Known As:

Das Dunkle am Ende der Treppe

Filming Locations:

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

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros

Technical Specs

Runtime:

124 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Did You Know?

Trivia

The original Broadway production of "Dark at the Top of the Stairs" by William Inge opened at the Music Box Theater in New York City on December 5, 1957, ran for 468 performances and was nominated for the 1958 Tony Award for the Best Play. Frank Overton recreated his stage role as Morris Lacey in the movie version.

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Quotes

Mavis Pruitt: I'm going to tell you something, Mrs. Flood. Every time a door is slammed in a marriage... every time a woman turns her face away because she's tired or unwilling... there's someone waiting. Someone like me.

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Connections

Referenced in Fame (1980)

User Reviews

AN UNDESERVEDLY FORGOTTEN STUDY ON HUMAN BEINGS

I've only seen this film two times. The first one was when I was a teenager, in the early 60s, and the other one was on TV, not so long ago. As it had happened in the first time, viewing "The Dark at the Top of the Stairs" again gave me the same feeling: in spite of being a very American movie in all its aspects, it has a strong and universal appeal because it deals with people with flesh and blood, not puppets or flat characters. But what I consider appalling is the callousness of movie distributors who haven't so far given us the chance to see and buy this little gem either in VHS or DVD. According to the reliable Halliwell's Film Guide, this was produced by Warner Bros. Why don't they release it now in either of these formats, or, better still, in both? Maybe they lack what this movie is plentifully supplied with, that is, "a real feeling for the people and the place", in Halliwell's words.