The Hendersonville Film Society will show The Spiral Staircase on Sunday, April 9, at 2 p.m. in the Smoky Mountain Theater at Lake Pointe Landing Retirement Community, 333 Thompson St., Hendersonville.
The Spiral Staircase
Movie Information
In Brief: A classic Noir from one of the masters of the form, Robert Siodmak's The Spiral Staircase (1946) is heavily indebted to the director's early work in Germany and France. The film's use of chiaroscuro lighting and dutch angles evoke the German Expressionists, touches also evident in Siodmak's adaptation of Hemmingway's The Killers (also 1946). Dorothy McGuire delivers a strong performance as a mute woman menaced by an unseen killer — only his hands and eyes are shown prior to the culprit's big reveal, both of which actually belonged to Siodmak. Ethel Barrymore, George Brent and Elsa Lanchester round out a top-notch cast, but they're only half the reason this prototypic Noir is a must-see for any genre completest — the other half is Siodmak at his peak.
The Hendersonville Film Society will show The Spiral Staircase on Sunday, April 9, at 2 p.m. in the Smoky Mountain Theater at Lake Pointe Landing Retirement Community, 333 Thompson St., Hendersonville.
| Score: | |
| Genre: | Film Noir |
| Director: | Robert Siodmak |
| Starring: | Dorothy McGuire, George Brent, Ethel Barrymore, Kent Smith, Rhonda Fleming, Elsa Lanchester |
| Rated: | NR |
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