great atmospheric old school horror/thriller - The Spiral Staircase (1946) Discussion

[–] Master_X_3_1_1 15 years ago

I didn't see what the fuss is about. The movie was kind of mediocre/boring at parts, and lots of the secondary characters were not acted all that well.

"No man is just a number"

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[–] downtownblah 15 years ago

Maybe for its era it was new, scary and exciting, but it failed to shock or scare me at all. There was little surprise except for the old woman faking it to play a key role in the end. I was also surprised by her attitude toward her sons. These days, family ties would trump the thoughts and actions she exhibited.

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[–] Eumenides_0 14 years ago

A 7/10 seems right to me.

I loved the atmosphere too. I think the movie owes a lot to its art design: the mirror in the staircase, the spiral staircase, the creepy cellar. I was slightly scared when Blanche went down the cellar: that room was just full of shadows and cluttered with flying old newspapers and stuff; it was an oppresive space that shouted doom and gloom.

This world is a comedy to those that think, a tragedy to those that feel.

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[–] 14 years ago

[deleted]

[–] PoppyTransfusion 12 years ago

I was slightly scared when Blanche went down the cellar: that room was just full of shadows and cluttered with flying old newspapers and stuff; it was an oppresive space that shouted doom and gloom.

Agreed! It's one of those moments that I want to shout don't go down to the basement because it was obvious she was going to be killed. If I lived in that house I would never want to go to the basement and if I had to never alone.

my vessel is magnificent and large and huge-ish

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[–] MsELLERYqueen2 12 years ago

I love those old atmospheric movies!

Recently, I managed to track down some of the old movies based on Mignon Eberhart novels. Those are also set in out-of-the-way places and make use of mysterious butlers, secret passages, etc.

~~
Jim Hutton: talented gorgeous hot hunk; adorable as ElleryQueen; SEXIEST ACTOR EVER

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[–] nutsberryfarm 8 years ago

looks like it's on tcm tonight! 

🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴

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[–] greenbudgie 10 years ago

A good description of the atmosphere earlier in the thread. Describing the staircase and the cellar. I love the atmosphere of these creepy old house movies. "You must leave this house tonight." I award 8/10.

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[–] MyMovieTVRomance 9 years ago

Thrillers from this time period usually bore me rather than thrill me. I'm not as much of a fan of classic film as many other people are. But, are exceptions, and this is one of them.

Of course, it did start out boring me (being an old black and white and all). However, by the end, it was so satisfying, I just had to come here and say so! Here is one thriller that actually lives up to its genre! Chilling and thrilling. Bravo, I say! It gets an 8 out of 10 from me :-)

Please excuse typos/funny wording; I use speech-recognition that doesn't always recognize!

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[–] prplayer 8 years ago

agree the atmosphere is very good here, that's why i prefer black and white movies because of their atmosphere

so many movies, so little time

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