7.3 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
A serial killer stalks a mute servant girl in a remote mansion.
Starring: Dorothy McGuire, George Brent, Ethel Barrymore, Kent Smith (I), Rhonda FlemingThriller | Insignificant |
Mystery | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.37:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 16-bit)
1560 kbps
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (C untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
The German-born Robert Siodmak was a director who specialized in psychological crime dramas with occasional dabbles in film noir. The relatively unknown The Spiral Staircase, released in the immediate postwar, is an early exemplar of the genre and one of Siodmak's best directed films. Its premise of a skulking assailant preying on young women with some kind of handicap is coterminous with the Nazis who exploited those unfortunate with a physical affliction. I agree with film historian Imogen Sara Smith, who contributes an audio essay on this Kino Blu-ray, that Siodmak's picture is a parable for Nazism as evinced by the film's Warren family, who value hunting and brute strength over most everything else. The Warrens are a disagreeing and factious bunch. Matriarch Mrs. Warren (Ethel Barrymore), a bedridden dowager, doesn't communicate much with her youngest son, Steve (Gordon Oliver), or the older stepson, Professor Warren (George Brent). Steve is a spoiled and frivolous young man who dresses nice but has failed to amount to anything. He flirts and tries to woo the striking brunette, Blanche (Rhonda Fleming), but she knows better. The bookish Prof. Warren teaches biology and remains largely insulated but no one questions who the patriarch is in the Warren mansion.
The Spiral Staircase is set in turn-of-the-century New England in a small town. Nothing eventful happens until a prowler begins murdering (seemingly at random) but a pattern develops that the victims are all female with a disability. Siodmak crosscuts between the predator spying on a young lady in a tawdry hotel room while Helen (Dorothy McGuire) and other patrons watch a silent movie in the basement of that same building. I knew it was a Griffith picture that they're watching based on the stylized acting and outdoor locations. Indeed, Smith confirms in her commentary that this short film is Griffith's The Sands of Dee (1914), starring Mae Marsh and photographed by Billy Bitzer. (There's some similarities between Marsh and McGuire's characters that Smith touches on so listen to her after you've seen the film.) Helen was rendered mute after witnessing a shocking episode in her childhood. (Her parents were killed in a house fire.) Helen works as a handmaiden or "companion servant" for the Warrens. She shares a mutual attraction to Dr. Parry (Kent Smith), a country doctor, who treats Mrs. Warren. Dr. Parry hopes to find a cure to restore Helen's speech in Boston.
Helen walks gingerly down the spiral staircase.
Anchor Bay first issued The Spiral Staircase on DVD in 2000 with a trailer as the sole extra. Five years later, MGM licensed it and put out a bare bones disc with inferior compression and an interlaced transfer. My research indicates that Kino wasn't completely satisfied with the HD master it had been given and waited for better elements. This Studio Classics release is
newly remastered and struck from a 4K scan of the restored fine-grain master. The film appears in its originally exhibited ratio of about 1.33:1 on a BD-25. Black levels are very deep with no crush or pixelation. The first reel is by far in the roughest shape with blotches and polka dots occasionally coming across the screen. Subsequent reels look in very good to excellent condition. I spotted a very thin tramline, some white speckles, and a little hairline (see Screenshot #2 in between Dr. Parry and Helen). Detail is nicely delineated in close-ups (see #14). Grayscale is superbly rendered and contrasted well with the blacks. Shadow detail is terrific. The MPEG-4 AVC-encoded disc carries a mean video bitrate of 25636 kbps. My video score is 4.25.
Kino has divided the feature into only eight chapter breaks. (MGM had a dozen while AB provided twenty.)
Kino supplies the original monaural using DTS-HD Master Audio Dual Mono (1560 kbps, 16-bit). Hiss is present but not distracting. Fortunately, there are no fades, dropouts, or scratches present on this mix. Dialogue is mostly audible although I'd recommend setting the volume pretty high. Composer Roy Webb makes good use of the theremin.
Unlike the AB disc, this comes with optional English SDH.
Originally designed as a David O. Selznick production, The Spiral Staircase eventually went to RKO and the very capable hands of Robert Siodmak. This noirish thriller is an ensemble piece with outstanding work from Dorothy McGuire and the Oscar-nominated Ethel Barrymore. Its tropes and devices have influenced the style of countless suspense and horror films. Kino has delivered a stellar restoration and also added a solid commentary to go with the radio production. If you started collecting titles from the Fox Film Noir series and other labels like I did and enjoy films from this period, you'll definitely want to add The Spiral Staircase to your collections. A VERY STRONG RECOMMENDATION.
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2012
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Warner Archive Collection
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2018
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Warner Archive Collection
1972
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1993