Posted on 12/14/2020 6:28:59 PM PST by simpson96
The Spiral Staircase tells the story of Helen (Dorothy McGuire), a mute girl in turn-of-the-century New England who works as a caretaker for an elderly invalid, Mrs. Warren (Ethel Barrymore). In the past few months, the townspeople have been terrorized by a series of murders involving disabled women, and Mrs. Warren, fearing Helen will be next, urges her to pack up her bags and go with the local doctor (Kent Smith) to Boston for treatment. However, before Helen can leave, she finds herself caught in a desperate struggle for survival with an unknown assailant.
The Spiral Staircase was directed by Robert Siodmak, a veteran of noirs and thrillers, who was loaned out from Universal Pictures for the project. Siodmak and cinematographer Nicholas Musuraca bring a distinctive style to The Spiral Staircase that is based on Siodmak's roots in German cinema with its use of shadows and angular spaces, and Musuraca's expertise in deep-focus photography. Siodmak's famous close-up of the killer's eye has been widely imitated ever since the film's release, showing up in everything from A Clockwork Orange (1971) to the TV series, House.
The Spiral Staircase (1946, film noir/horror)
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*ping*
Great film. I haven’t seen it since the 90s.
Bkmk
Good 2A movie.
Read the book, first, if you can still find it:
‘Some Must Watch’
First to mind tho' was the spiral staircase featured in this Trentemoller vid. d;^)
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