review
The Spiral Staircase
It's a dark and stormy night! Hide under the bed! Don't look in the closet! Stay downstairs! He knows you're alone!
These warnings pop in and out of the heroine's mind as the tension runs rampant in Robert Siodmak's suspense classic, The Spiral Staircase.
But, Dorothy McGuire isn't listening. She isn't talking either and that's half her problem. She's a mute. And there's a psycho killer murdering women with handicaps who may be hiding somewhere in the old dark house where she works. Where is it safe? Who can she trust? What was that noise? Is it just her imagination, or was that window closed the last time she passed it?
Dorothy McGuire leads a top flight cast of character actors including: Ethel Barrymore, in an Oscar nominated role, George Brent. Elsa Lancaster, Rhonda Fleming and Sarah Allgood in what is probably the greatest "Where is he in the house?" movie ever made.
Your blood'll run cold, Your spine'll tingle. You'll want to run. You won't dare. Whatever you do, don't go down The Spiral Staircase.
Steve Hayes
These warnings pop in and out of the heroine's mind as the tension runs rampant in Robert Siodmak's suspense classic, The Spiral Staircase.
But, Dorothy McGuire isn't listening. She isn't talking either and that's half her problem. She's a mute. And there's a psycho killer murdering women with handicaps who may be hiding somewhere in the old dark house where she works. Where is it safe? Who can she trust? What was that noise? Is it just her imagination, or was that window closed the last time she passed it?
Dorothy McGuire leads a top flight cast of character actors including: Ethel Barrymore, in an Oscar nominated role, George Brent. Elsa Lancaster, Rhonda Fleming and Sarah Allgood in what is probably the greatest "Where is he in the house?" movie ever made.
Your blood'll run cold, Your spine'll tingle. You'll want to run. You won't dare. Whatever you do, don't go down The Spiral Staircase.
Steve Hayes
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(Syndication is with the kind permission of Steve Hayes.
I'd recommend that readers check out his YouTube channel and explore his reviews.
Discover the joy of vintage cinema - I did!)
I'd recommend that readers check out his YouTube channel and explore his reviews.
Discover the joy of vintage cinema - I did!)
3 comments:
LOVE "The Spiral Staircase" and your movie reviews!
I've yet to see this one, but I always take what the Tired Old Queen gives. Nudge, nudge ;)
This is a great atmospheric thriller, genuinely eerie & suspenseful & visually inventive; one of my real favourites &, I suspect, an influence on Dario Argento...
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