The Spiral Staircase

The Spiral Staircase is a 1945 psychological suspense thriller about a serial killer. Sometimes included in lists of horror movies, the plot involves someone who kills disabled women in the small New England town. The new doctor in town has taken a special interest in a young mute woman who is the live-in companion of the rich bed-fast Mrs. Warren. This is a lesser-known film that deserves wider appreciation. The eerie music and thunderstorms add just the right touch in the right places.

I want a parlor palm as big as the ones everybody in this movie has!

It's directed by Robert Siodmak. He left Germany with the rise of the Nazis, using a faked birthplace of Memphis, TN, to get passage to Paris, though some believe the Memphis claim to be true.

It stars:

Dorothy McGuire (whose career lasted from 1943-1990 and whose varied credits include A Tree Grows In Brooklyn, The Enchanted Cottage, Three Coins in the Fountain, Old Yeller, Swiss Family Robinson and The Greatest Story Ever Told);

George Brent (whose career lasted from 1929-1978);

Ethel Barrymore (whose storied career lasted from 1895-1957);

Elsa Lanchester (who career lasted from 1925-1980 and included roles in The Private Life of Henry VIII; Bride of Frankenstein; The Bishop's Wife; Bell, Book and Candle; Mary Poppins; and the Elvis movie Easy Come, Easy Go);

Rhys Williams;

and Rhonda Fleming.