One of the most interesting (or disturbing) elements of today's popular culture is the media obsession with the serial killer phenomenon. This obsession is particularly visible in the motion picture industry, with a multitude of serial killer films being produced by Hollywood in the last decade. However, serial killers weren’t that unfamiliar to filmmakers in previous decades. One of the films that gives insight into the way Hollywood handled such material in its Golden Age is The Spiral Staircase, a 1946 Hitchcockian thriller directed by Robert Siodmak.
The plot, based on the novel by Ethel Lina White, is set in a small New England town in the early decades of the 20th century. Local residents have recently been affected by a series of murders, in which all the victims are women with some kind of mental or physical disability. Helen Capel (played by Dorothy McGuire) is a beautiful girl who works as a servant in the mansion of the old and bed-ridden Mrs. Warren (played by Ethel Barrymore). Since she happens to have been mute since childhood, everyone in the mansion, including Professor Albert Warren (played by George Brent), Mrs. Warren’s stepson, is concerned for her safety and advises her to stay within the locked doors of the house until the killer is caught. Mrs. Warren, on the other hand, warns Helen that the real danger lurks within the house, but Helen doesn’t believe her. Instead, she wishes to leave the mansion because of the young and handsome Doctor Parry (played by Kent Smith), who wants to marry her. But before that happens, she must stay in the house for the night, and soon she will find that Mrs. Warren’s warning is quite justified.
Although remade twice for television, The Spiral Staircase hardly comes to mind when people think of the most important genre films in 1940s Hollywood. It may be argued that the great Alfred Hitchcock and his work overshadowed this film’s reputation, but the real reason probably lies in the fact that the film was at least a few decades ahead of its time. Those who pay attention could see that many horror and thriller directors in later decades have borrowed heavily from The Spiral Staircase. The most obvious examples are the use of the killer’s POV, strange noises in the dark being mistaken for the killer by the potential victim, and sexual activity being equated with a death sentence – two clichés almost inseparable from slasher movies.
However, what separates this film from its 1980s imitators is the lack of gore and shock tactics. Siodmak relies on suspense and manages to make the film truly exciting by creating a generally creepy atmosphere. His directorial skills help this movie overcome even such a clichéd setting as an isolated country mansion on a stormy night. Even viewers accustomed to such films would be genuinely scared by Siodmak’s masterful manipulation.
The most valuable aspect of this film, though, is its characters. Scriptwriter Mel Dinelli managed to create some really interesting personalities, memorable despite their relatively short appearance in the film’s 81 minutes. The heroine is superbly played by Dorothy McGuire, although her character doesn’t say a word. But the supporting characters are also excellent, being played by always-reliable character actors. Elsa Lanchester is truly memorable and quite believable as the alcoholic cook, and Ethel Barrymore truly shines as the bed-bound yet intelligent matriarch. Unfortunately, the obligatory Hollywood romance brought in a character that isn’t that interesting – the good doctor, played by Kent Smith – who isn’t really necessary for the course of the film. But thankfully, and against Hollywood conventions, his character leaves the movie before the end, and the damsel in distress has to rely only on herself.
The characters in this film are even more interesting when we try to understand them in a psychoanalytical context – The Spiral Staircase actually tries to explain the serial killer’s motives as a consequence of male impotence. The use of Freudian psychology in thrillers would become much more fashionable in later decades, thanks to Hitchcock, who made it one of his trademarks. Siodmak is in such matters, of course, less explicit but equally effective as the great Master of Suspense, which makes The Spiral Staircase one of the true gems of classic Hollywood.
RATING: 8/10 (+++)
(Note: The text in its original form was posted in Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.movies.reviews on March 5th 2000)
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Movie URL: https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/27452-the-spiral-staircase Critic: AAA
