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Cozy Mystery (and Other Favorite) Books, Movies, and TV

1945’s “The Spiral Staircase” Mystery Movie

The Spiral Staircase I watched this movie a few months ago, and was so taken by it that I quickly wrote an entry about it, which I decided to wait and post until I saw another airing of it. Well, that time has come! On Monday – April 18 (2016) at 9:00 PM (Central) they will be airing The Spiral Staircase on Turner Classic Movies, and if you want to see a terrific, old classic mystery movie, go set up your DVRs as soon as you finish reading my entry. Here’s the synopsis from the TCM channel:

THE SPIRAL STAIRCASE (1945)
A serial killer stalks a mute servant girl in a remote mansion.
Dir: Robert Siodmak Cast: Dorothy McGuire, George Brent, Ethel Barrymore.
BW-84 mins

I watch a lot of old, black and white mystery movies, and since I do, I don’t often write an entry about them. For me to do so, the movie has to be particularly good; it has to leave an impression on me >>> and that is what the 1945 version of The Spiral Staircase did!

The Spiral Staircase is based on Ethel Lina White’s novel “Some Must Watch“. I have not read the novel, so I can’t tell you how true-to-the-written word the producers/director stayed. I can, however, tell you that if the movie is anything like Ethel Lina White’s “Some Must Watch“, then the book must be a great mystery read!

The Spiral Staircase, for the most part, takes place inside of an old, elaborately-decorated early 1900s mansion >>> during a fierce thunderstorm. The movie’s director is Robert Siodmak, and he does an absolutely fabulous job accelerating the tension and mystery as the (+/-) hour and a half progresses. I found myself (much to my husband’s chagrin) saying “Don’t go!” and “Don’t do it!” as I gathered up the red herrings and thought that I definitely had solved the mystery (I was wrong!) before the last scene of the movie.

Ethel Barrymore is terrific as Mrs. Warren, the bed-ridden curmudgeonly, old woman. Dorothy McGuire is absolutely wonderful as Helen, the young servant who cannot speak. George Brent (a particular favorite of mine), Kent Smith, Rhonda Flemming, and Gordon Oliver are all great as the secondary characters. And, as an added treat, we get to see Elsa Lanchester do what she did best >>> complain about her lot in life. (I love seeing her do that!)

It wasn’t until after my husband & I watched The Spiral Staircase that I found out that Ethel Lina White’s “Some Must Watch” was made into four versions of The Spiral Staircase. I haven’t seen the other three versions (1961 with Elizabeth Montgomery as Helen, 1975 with Jacqueline Bisset as Helen, and 2000 with Nicolette Sheridan as Helen) so I can’t vouch for them, but I can say this about the 1945 version of The Spiral Staircase: If you get a chance to see this movie, do yourself a favor. It’s a terrific mystery movie!

P.S. So, before you forget, go set up your DVRs!

For more ideas on movies and television shows, be sure to check my TV and Movie page on my site. Here’s the list of television mystery movies that will be on for the remainder of April: Upcoming Television Mystery Movies for April 2016.

Comments

  1. Hello, I saw that movie a long time ago and I liked it too. Have you seen the movie “The Uninvited”? That’s pretty good too.

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    • There are several movies titled “The Uninvited” which I found out when trying to locate a copy of the film. Are you talking about the one set in England and features the song “Stella By Starlight”? One of my favorites! I discovered it is not available for streaming anywhere which disappointed me as I am a streamin’ diva and don’t watch “regular” TV much any more. So I went in search of the DVD and found it on Movies Unlimited. They have a great stock of old movies and it is fun to look in their catalogue!

      The Spiral Staircase is an excellent film too and I have found it both on streaming digital and DVD.

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        • Funny I looked for it but at the time they didn’t have it. That is when I discovered the other Univuted titles! I got The,Spiral Staircase from them. I hadn’t seen it for a long time. I think they have it on their streaming service too. Sling TV has TCM movies but not all of them are free to watch but Amazon might have it on Prime since it is an older film. I bounce around so many streaming channels it is sometimes hard to remember where I saw something! But I love having so many choices now to get the content I want.

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          • Ceelee Sunshine, I had to find The Univited through “Ruth Hussey”. Netflix has changed their search function, and I don’t mean to sound negative (well, I guess I do!) it is not a “new and improved” change! (However, I just tried to find it through “Ray Milland” and it is currently there.)
            I’m not very good about changes on sites that don’t need to be changed!

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            • Danna, I agree 100%! It drives me crazy when a website changes their format and it is not always for the better! I never thought about looking up a movie by actor. Thanks for the tip!

              For those who use Hulu I just found out they are updating their site with “Your Watchlist” which is supposed to combine your queue, favorites and recently watched on to one list. I wonder what that is going to be like! Should be fun finding out! 🙂 🙂 🙂

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  2. The original is the best, of course in my opinion. The others are good but in up dating they have lost the spookiness of the movie. The newer ones just aren’t scary.

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      • The main reason classics are updated is to appeal to the younger generation who apparently aren’t open minded enough to enjoy a classic movie or book. Once a classic is set in the modern world it ceases to become that book or film and is a completely new story. Has anyone else seen the new version of “The Haunting” that was out a few years ago? It bears no resemblance to the original story except they were a ghost investigation team. Not scary at all. But the one from 1963? Scares me every time and i first saw it when I was 12. I have seen it at least 30 times and my nephews of this generation love it as well as a lot of classic horror films of the 30s and 40s. I think the movie industry doesn’t give younger audiences enough credit seeing for themselves how good a classic is.” It is not in color and Jane Eyre isn’t texting Rochester? Then I don’t like it!” is the mentality they attribute to teenagers and young adults and their excuse for mangling classic films and novels.

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  3. I saw this movie when I was very young and it made such an impression I never forgot it. I found it on DVD a while ago and now own a copy. Unlike many movies, this one was not only as good as I remembered, it was better! I think the added atmosphere from being a black and white film only enhances this version. I have not seen the remakes you mentioned, but I have a feeling they would not be as effective for this reason alone.

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  4. One of my FAVORITE classic films! I love watching TCM, especially because they give you interesting facts about the film and/or actors. One thing that struck me about ‘The Spiral Staircase’ was that all of the “exterior” shots were actually on a soundstage! The atmosphere set in that early 1900’s time period is wonderfully creepy.
    And ‘The Uninvited’ with Ray Milland is an excellent ghost story! IMO, they just can’t recreate these types of films anymore.
    You can find both of these available at the TCM website store. I own ‘The Uninvited’ – I hope to add ‘The Spiral Staircase’ to my collection in the future.

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  5. If you’re interested, Danna – and anyone else. 🙂 – Ethel Lina White’s ‘Some Must Watch’ is available from Amazon. The Kindle version is only $1.05 right now… *Tempts Danna*. (Who I knows loves her Kindle. Lol!)
    Might be interesting to compare the two.

    Interestingly, the page also says that another of the author’s books – ‘The Wheel Spins’ – was taken up by Hitchcock himself, to become ‘The Lady Vanishes’. Another classic movie.

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  6. Thanks for the beautiful summary. I saw this film on TCM some time ago. Your review will make me see it again with more appreciation. The studio – created atmosphere is uncanny. I recall how authentic Dorothy McGuire was. Love George Brent and Kent Smith.

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  7. I appreciate your review. I will watch it. I am looking forward to seeing Ethel Barrymore in this. Thank you .

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  8. Thanks so much, Danna, for the recommendation. I have my DVR all set up to tape the Spiral Staircase Monday night. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen the ending before, but not sure I’ve seen the whole movie. That, of course, strikes me as weird, since I thought I’d seen just about every B&W atmospheric movie ever made! 🙂 I really look forward to this one.

    Before finishing your review, I popped over to amazon.com and found–and bought!–“Some Must Watch” for my Kindle–just 99 cents! I needed something new to read, so think I’ll curl up with this story tonight, then watch the movie Monday or Tuesday. Hooray! (And I also love George Brent.)

    Consider me another fan of Ray Milland’s the Uninvited! One of my favorite atmospheric B&W movies, however, is “The Haunting” with Julie Harris, Claire Bloom, Russ Tamblyn. It’s based on Shirley Jackson’s “The Haunting of Hill House,” which, to me, is even scarier than “The Exorcist.” If you’re going to watch “The Haunting”, definitely watch the 1963 movie and not the version with Catherine Zita Jones, which relied on special effects to build suspense and horror, rather than the actors bringing that horror to life in their reactions and all-out fear. No need for blood and gore! Creepy! Scary! Definitely a book to be read and a movie to be savored!

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    • Yes! I love “The Haunting” (1963) as well! TCM usually shows it around Halloween and I try to catch it. So very well done!

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    • Patti, I think it can (safely) be said that re-makes never quite reach the level of excellence that the old 1940s black and white movies did. And, that’s when the studios were cranking out lots and lots of movies each year! I remember seeing The Haunting years ago, and will now watch for it to be re-aired on TCM. (Doggone it! I just checked my TCM schedules, and it aired in October ’15. Well the good news is that they may air it every Halloween month…)

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      • Danna, if you haven’t read “The Haunting of Hill House” by Shirley Jackson, I can’t recommend it highly enough. As fabulous as the movie is, there is so very much in the book that had to be left out. There are some scenes in the book that haunt me till this day, and I’m sure I read the book for the first time nearly 50 years ago. (It was part of a Reader’s Digest Condensed Book. Remember those?!) I’ve never read a book that gets into a person’s mind as well as this one does! And definitely have to hand it to the actors and directors who brought that book to life!

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        • Patti!!! That is where I read THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE too! I love those Reader’s Digest Condensed Books because they introduced me to a lot of authors that I would never have read if I hadn’t read a condensed version of their book. I bought the full version of Shirley Jackson’s book in college and you are right…it does hold up well even to have been written over 50 years ago. There is a recent collection of her short stories, essays and other writing called LET ME TELL YOU. She also wrote the short story “The Lottery” which was required reading in a lot of high school English classes. It is no wonder I loved that subject with The Lottery and A Rose For Emily on my Reading List!

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          • It’s certainly a small world, Danna! You know, that’s the only Reader’s Digest Condensed Book that I still have in my collection of keepers. It’s one I could never part with! Not sure why my parents ever bought those books, because neither parent was a reader, although I did get my mom started when she was in her mid 80s–about 10 years ago. Thankfully both my parents knew how much I loved to read. Although they never read to me, they did listen to the requests of my 1st and 2nd grade teachers, who always wrote on my report cards–“please take Patti to the library!” Thank God for great teachers and parents!

            I’ll have to look for the Shirley Jackson book of short stories. I knew about “The Lottery” but have never read it. I’ll have to add more of her books to my TBR stack, which grows bigger and bigger by the day. In fact, I was just reading your blog about the Isis Crawford culinary mysteries and plan to order the first one in that series! Oh, if only there was more time to read everything!

            Have a blessed day!

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          • Oops, it was Ceelee who said she’d read it in the Readers Digest Condensed Book. I need to pay more attention! 🙂

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            • No worries Patti! I have done that too! When there are a lot of people posting in a thread it is easy to do that!

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  9. another fairly unknown movie that you might like, but you might have difficulty finding – is ethel barrymore in ‘The Moss Rose’. That is another really good one that i saw years ago when the AMC cable channel first began. i found an old vhs tape of it to buy. don’t know if you can find a digital version to rent now – might be possible. but it was a good one! love ethel barrymore. Also had Victor Mature. Was made in 1947. Have always loved The Spiral Staircase, and bought the dvd when it first came out : )

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    • I did a little looking and the only format for Moss Rose I could find was a DVD on Amazon for $19.98. No digital rental that I could find either there, Neflix or Hulu. In fact the only Barrymore I could find on Netflix was Drew. Sad. I did run across something that makes you think it is Google for free download but I would trust it since it probably has some kind of cost like putting malware on your computer. I will do another search when I can get to my home TV and Roku and if I find a legit place to download I will let you know

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      • I did find that someone has put The Moss Rose in many parts on you tube and it looks like lots of people have watched it that way. Not the easiest, but at least it’s possible.

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        • Thanks. I saw one of those but figured it was just a clip not part of the full movie. I have watched movies sometimes on YouTube and each part was shown without interruption so hopefully Moss Rose will be the same way.

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    • Julie, thank you for telling us about The Moss Rose. I have just recently started trying to watch all the movies I can find with Ethel, Lionel, & John Barrymore. I don’t know why it has taken me so long to realize how wonderful the three of them were. TCM has been highlighting them all month, and I’ve really been enjoying hearing about them. I have been enjoying all of their movies >>> which were made way before I was born. I seem to be a black and white movie junkie!

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      • A wonderful movie with Ethel Barrymore is ‘Portrait of Jenny’ with Joseph Cotten and Jennifer Jones. Very atmospheric, mysterious, and romantic, and a bit other-worldly. That one you should be able to find easily, I think. And it has an ice-skating scene. I love little ice skating scenes in movies : )

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            • Julie, I started watching a lot of old, black and white movies when I started teaching school and couldn’t afford cable. (Besides free old movies I became addicted to both Masterpiece Theatre and Mystery! on PBS.) It’s great that “at least one” of your kids has the passion for these old movies. I’ve seen Ben Mankiewicz talk about how many young people are in the TCM audience now, which shouldn’t surprise us. These old movies are treasures!

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              • I am SO glad that TCM exists! Without it I would be afraid there would be generations that didn’t know about all the gems of the 30’s and 40’s. Yes, I miss AMC when it really was about Classic Movies! And hard to remember what A&E used to be! Now we get Bounty Hunter rednecks?! So crazy! I’ve seen almost all of the Masterpiece Theaters, though I have missed a few. But I’ve been watching it since I was still in school, when it all began! And I’m 62 now!

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    • Julie, thanks for The Moss Rose tip. I remember when AMC actually was what they were named for: American Movie Classics. That was years ago, when A&E was actually an Arts & Entertainment channel. Oh, and TLC was actually The Learning Channel. Good grief, how things have changed!

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  10. Oh. My. Word! I watched The Spiral Staircase tonight…all by myself…in the dark. I was petrified through most all of the movie, and I’m sure I was holding my breath. Thank goodness it’s now over, so I can breathe again! Thanks, Danna, for recommending this movie. It was eerie and so, so wonderful!

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  11. There are some mystery books I have really enjoyed, but I don’t know if they would qualify for Cozy or not. I really like British anything, and somehow I came across Janie Bolitho, who wrote a mystery series set in Cornwall. I really enjoyed it and am going to read them for a second time. I think they are available on Kindle now. I believe I heard that she died young from cancer, which is so so sad.

    Reply

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