Horrorfest 2017: The Spiral Staircase

Here's the last of William Friedkin's selections for this month, the 1946 noir-horror THE SPIRAL STAIRCASE. I hadn't thought of it before but I guess a lot of noir crosses over with horror, not only  in the subject matter but also in the look. After all, the famous shadowy and moody lighting of noir comes from the same source that inspired the Universal monster movies, the German expressionist filmmakers of the silent era.

THE SPIRAL STAIRCASE stars takes place around the turn of the last century in New England and stars Dorothy McGuire as a mute servant to a bed-ridden matron of a wealth family in an old dark house played by Ethel Barrymore. There's a local serial killer knocking off other disabled women, which makes the mute McGuire a logical next victim.

There's a lot of other players in the house, as an old dark house movie demands, but the most memorable to me is Elsa Lanchester as one of the other servants in the house. Lanchester was most famous for playing the title role in THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN, and it is such an iconic and unforgettable role, that whenever she turns up in other movies I always take note.