Dorothy McGuire plays Helen, a mute servant woman in 1900s New England. A serial killer is on the loose in the area, and he is targeting women with disabilities. Stuck with her invalid employer and her squabbling sons in their gothic mansion, Helen is terrified that she is next on the killer's list...

Directed by the great Robert Siodmak (The Killers), The Spiral Staircase is a creepy thriller with one foot in gothic melodramas like Gaslight (the period setting; a lonely woman under threat) and the other foot in film noir (the central character with trauma; the villain's perverse psychology).





The film's focus on the main character's impairment is interesting, and also betrays how different attitudes were to people with well, any kind of impairment. Rendered mute by a childhood trauma, Helen is constantly badgered by other characters (including her doctor boyfriend) to speak. The characters are obsessed with fixing her, and the movie is ultimately focused on how her inability to speak works to the killer's advantage.





The reveal of the killer and the reason for his targeting of disabled people is... interesting? It's a bit of a cop-out. To be honest, the whole denouement is a bit of of a damp squib. Helen is not particularly active in destroying the villain, and literally stands by while another character shoots him dead.









Aside from an underwhelming finish, the movie is pretty solid. I was expecting more of a stripped-down genre exercise, but the cast and subplots are surprisingly dense. It ends up being more of a spin on Ten Little Indians, only with fewer characters.









Acting by the cast is strong. McGuire is an empathetic heroine, and manages to avoid too many histrionics in her portrayal of Helen. Ethel Barrymore, as Helen's employer, provides a touch of class to proceedings. Apart from these two, the cast are solid but don't really stand out.This is a movie about the direction and the atmosphere, more than the characters.



A fine melodrama, The Spiral Staircase is worth a look. As a classic exercise in suspense, it still works a treat.