Imserba Webstore - The Spiral Staircase

	List Price: $14.98 Our Price: $11.99 Your Save: $ 2.99 ( 20% ) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD) Starring: Dorothy McGuire, George Brent, Ethel Barrymore, Kent Smith, Rhonda Fleming Directed By: Robert Siodmak
Average Customer Rating:
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Audience Rating: Unrated Binding: DVD Brand: BISSET,JACQUELINE EAN: 9781404994645 Format: Black & White ISBN: 1404994645 Label: MGM (Video & DVD) Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD) Number Of Items: 1 Publisher: MGM (Video & DVD) Region Code: 1 Release Date: 2005-10-04 Running Time: 83 Studio: MGM (Video & DVD) Theatrical Release Date: 1945-12
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Editorial Reviews: A murderer is targeting disabled young women in a sleepy New England town, and Helen (Dorothy McGuire), a mute servant in a Gothic mansion, is terrified she's next! Mrs. Warren (legendary actress Ethel Barrymore in an Oscar®-nominated* performance [Best Supporting Actress, 1946]), the invalid, bullying mistress of the house, warns Helen to leave at once, rather than rely on her weak son and stepson for protection. But even as Helen is packing her things, she suspects she may be too late and the murderer is closer than she ever imagined!
Spotlight customer reviews: Customer Rating: Summary: The silent scream Comment: THE SPIRAL STAIRCASE (1945) open unexpectedly within a recreated nickelodeon. A small space with a couple of dozen patrons on straight back wooden chairs, a pianist off to the right of a little screen and a hand-cranking projectionist (who's in the same room) all watch a melodramatic short called THE KISS. But that brief scene just introduces us to a bygone era. Soon after, this delicious Hitchcockian thriller takes us inside the mansion of Mrs. Warren (Ethel Barrymore) and her two sons. The old lady's in failing health but she's not too sick to worry for her young chambermaid, Helen (Dorothy McGuire). She's a mute who just may be the next target of a serial killer stalking their New England town, a monster that likes to murder women with "imperfections." Madame's insistence that Dr. Parry (Kent Smith) take Helen with him is a clue perhaps to just who the strangler is. It's a well-mounted picture that has sets crammed with Victorian-era furnishings, creating a sort of claustrophobic home undoubtedly typical of the well-off of those days. Miss McGuire is the stand-out of this exceptional cast, but right behind her are Elsa Lanchester's humorously alcoholic cook and Rhonda Fleming as a live-in secretary who's the love interest of both Warren sons: the Professor (George Brent, just past his "leading man" days) and Steve (Gordon Oliver). A final word for Sara Allgood, who has the unenviable task of being the bearish old woman's put-upon nurse. They clearly despise each other, and it's only a matter of time before a neglected Nurse Barker resigns and leaves in a huff (NOT a Huffmobile!). Robert Siodmak's classic suspense yarn gets my highest endorsement! Customer Rating: Summary: Fun, atmospheric whodunit Comment: The Bottom Line: The Spiral Staircase is wonderfully atmospheric, which helps the filmmakers generate tension even if guessing the identity of the killer isn't very difficult; the gist of things is that it's short, it's interesting, it's fun and it's well worth your time if you like old-fashioned style mysteries. 3/4 Customer Rating: Summary: "Doing the Spiro-Gyra" Comment: When I first saw this movie on PBS in a salute to classics years ago, I was kept on the edge of my sofa. The atmosphere in the New England creepy house is captured beautifully and in the expertly filmed overhead shots of the spiral staircase, we can actually feel ourselves being pulled downward into the maelstrom. Between more pleasant scenes of old movie theaters, the wonderful architecture of the interiors and the character development are scenes of unbearable tension for Helen, the mute servant girl played by Dorothy Maguire, as she realizes the mad killer who murders women with physical afflictions is coming after her next. The murderer who is closer than she ever imagined possible is about to pounce and she has no way to scream for help. Ethyl Barrymore is great, as always, playing Helen's unsympathetic employer. A great movie, a great house, if not so permeated with evil, and great acting. Customer Rating: Summary: This movie grabs you Comment: The Spiral Staircase This is a thriller that grabs you from the beginning and doesn't let you go. Lots of fun. Ethel Barrymore gives a wonderful performance. Customer Rating: Summary: The Spiral Stair Case Comment: Great old movie. Everything is creepier when left to ones imagination. Scary old "who dun it".