Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

The Spiral Staircase Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Stephen Larson November 23, 2018

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.

The film boasts top-notch performances from the cast, sharp direction from Siodmak, and stark black-and-white photography by Nicholas Musuraca. In her fourth screen appearance, Dorothy Maguire takes a break from motherly roles as a young woman who is dying to speak. Those who saw this film in 1946 were right there with her. One critic said Helen's plight "whips emotions of the audience in a meringue of anxiety." Ethel Barrymore is her typical feisty self in a headstrong performance while mostly relegated to an incapacitated state. Look for Elsa Lanchester as a tipsy housekeeper.

The chiaroscuro is flawlessly lit in the Warren basement and contributes to the film's overall creepiness. It palpably recalls the low-key lit sets and geometric lines of German Expressionism. Although Hollywood was still six or seven years away from CinemaScope and VistaVision, it's as if The Spiral Staircase was lensed in widescreen as Siodmak uses every corner of the frame to tell this chilling story with minimal dialogue. The audience knows that the killer is in the house but doesn't know which part of the frame he'll pop out. Several critics claimed that they had accurately predicted who the killer was about halfway through but that didn't bother me. Writer Mel Dinelli could have made Helen a smarter heroine. She's so remiss after coming in from a heavy rainstorm and later giving Dr. Parry a temporary goodbye that she's can't lock the front door? Although there are weaknesses in the script, the film maintains its suspense and comes in at a taut eighty-three minutes.

The Spiral Staircase Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

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.)

The Spiral Staircase Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

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.

The Spiral Staircase Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historian Imogen Sara Smith - Smith speaks in a dry and scholarly monotone that takes a while to adapt. She's pretty informative about the major players in the film. She cites commonalities with Val Lewton's films as well as with Hitchcock's. In English, not subtitled.

• NEW 1945 Screen Director's Playhouse Radio Broadcast of The Spiral Staircase with Dorothy McGuire and Robert Siodmak (30:03) - New to home video, this radio dramatization features the voices of McGuire and Siodmak along with music, effects, and applause. The recording has been remastered and sounds clear and crisp. According to movie reviewer George L. David of the Democrat and Chronicle (NY), Dore Schary bought the rights for this RKO Radio production. He also was a driving force behind getting the picture made. Presentation is in English without captions or subs.

• Original Theatrical Trailer (2:00, 480i) - RKO's trailer for The Spiral Staircase.

• Bonus Trailers - additional previews for Kino's classical Hollywood films (all available on Blu-ray).

The Spiral Staircase Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

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.