Review of Spiral Staircase, The

Introduction

The Spiral Staircase is another release in the Pearson TV Film Collection. The basic premise is a familiar and rather stereotypical one, with a stormy night, a creepy gothic mansion, a killer on the loose and a damsel in distress.

This particular damsel just happens to be a mute, which puts her at a little bit more of a disadvantage. However at least it means that the viewer doesn`t have to put up with the heroine screaming her way through the film.

Video

Some good black and white photography on show in this 4:3 transfer, which is the way that the film was shot in 1946. The transfer is pretty good considering the age of the film, and is probably better than some of the more modern releases that I`ve reviewed recently.

The photography stands out here, bringing the big old mansion to life, and it just goes to show what you can do with black and white.

Audio

The original mono soundtrack is here, and so it should be, as this film really doesn`t merit anything more. Remixing this one would just be total overkill. What you do get sounds fine, with some suitably unsubtle music and jarring chords

Features

Brief biographies, a photo gallery and a review of the film taken from the New York Times.

Conclusion

"This is a shocker, pure and simple" says the cover. Yes it is, but for the wrong reasons. It`s shockingly dull. Some have actually called it a masterpiece, but they must have been watching a different film, as this was just a rather dull and creaky black and white film, in a creaky old house with some creaky old characters.

The only thing that I can recommend about the film is the cinematography, which stands as a good example of black and white film-making. A reasonable DVD if you have fond memories of the film, but there`s no reason for anyone else to buy it.