The Spiral Staircase

US (1946): Thriller

This is the ultimate Gothic horror film, complete with a spooky, dark house, a mysterious old invalid, a young woman in distress, and an insane killer hiding in the enveloping shadows. Dorothy McGuire plays a mute caretaker engaged to attend to a wealthy widowed matron (Ethel Barrymore) in a large mansion at the turn of the last century. The young woman is a delight, and she draws the attention of several suitors, including the local doctor (Kent Smith), who tells her that her trauma-induced condition may be reversible; the widow's stepson (George Brent), a bookish professor; and the widow's wild-child son, Steve (Gordon Oliver). A serial killer with a fetish for eliminating handicapped women is on the loose, and McGuire has a suspicion she may be next. Her fears turn out to be justified as the killer has been observing her from inside the house itself. Supporting cast includes Rhonda Fleming, Elsa Lanchester and Sara Allgood. A stylish thriller directed for RKO by Robert Siodmak, made the same year as his noir classic, The Killers. According to Dorothy McGuire, the eye seen in the close-up, supposedly belonging to Professor Warren, is actually that of director Siodmak. Remade in Britain in 1976. (amctv.com)

· Supporting Actress 1946: Ethel Barrymore

1 nomination