Dorothy McGuire and Kent Smith in The Spiral Staircase

The Spiral Staircase is a Hollywood thriller from 1946 directed by Robert Siodmak and starring Dorothy McGuire, Kent Smith, George Brent, Rhonda Fleming, Elsa Lanchester, and Ethel Barrymore. 1946 was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... Robert Siodmak (August 8, 1900 - March 10, 1973) was a film director born in Memphis, Tennessee (sometimes his birthplace is stated as Dresden, Germany). ... Dorothy Hackett McGuire (June 14, 1916 - September 13, 2001) was an American actress. ... George Brent (March 15, 1899 - May 26, 1979) was an actor in American cinema. ... Elsa Lanchester (October 28, 1902-December 26, 1986), was a British-born American character actress, perhaps best-known as the long-suffering wife of Charles Laughton. ... Categories: People stubs | 1879 births | 1959 deaths | Cinema actors | Stage actors | American actors | Best Supporting Actress Oscar | Best Supporting Actress Oscar Nominee ...

Plot

This thriller is set in early 19th century New England, about a serial killer on the loose, murdering young disabled women in the community. The killer's next apparent victim is Helen (McGuire), a mute girl who works as a live-in servant for a wealthy old bedridden woman Mrs. Warren (Barrymore). Kent Smith plays Dr. Parry, a man who knows the real reason for Helen's loss of speech and wants to help Helen get her voice back. Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the region in the United States of America. ... Serial killers are individuals who have a history of multiple slayings of victims who were usually unknown to them beforehand. ...

Ethel Barrymore was nominated for an Academy Award, Best Actress in a Supporting Role, for her role. The screenplay was written by Mel Dinelli. The film is based on a novel by Ethel Lina White, Some Must Watch, in which the heroine was crippled rather than mute. The novel was first adapted into a radio production, starring Helen Hayes. Although he never won an Oscar for any of his movie performances, the comedian Bob Hope received two honorary Oscars for his contributions to cinema. ... This page has been protected from editing to deal with vandalism. ... A novel is an extended work of written, narrative, prose fiction, usually in story form; the writer of a novel is a novelist. ... Helen Hayes (October 10, 1900 - March 17, 1993) was an American actress whose successful and award-winning career spanned almost 70 years. ...

Remade in 1975 starring Jacqueline Bisset; and again as a TV movie in 2000 with Nicolette Sheridan as Helen. 1975 was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1975 calendar). ... Jacqueline Bisset Jacqueline Bisset (born September 13, 1944) is a British actress, born in Surrey, England. ... 2000 is a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Nicolette Sheridan (born November 21, 1963 in Worthing, Sussex, England, UK) is an English actress who is probably best known for her role as Paige Matheson on the primetime soap opera Knots Landing, from 1986 to 1993. ...

External links

• The Spiral Staircase (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038975/) at the Internet Movie Database