USA, UK, 1975
89m
35mm film, Technicolor
mono, English
An American/British horror film directed by Peter Collinson.
Plot Summary
Helen Mallory is still traumatised by the fire that killed her parents as a child – trapped upstairs, she was unable to cry for help and now 20 years later is mute as a result. She is being treated by psychologist Professor Sherman who it turns out was the man who killed her parents…
Credits
* = uncredited
Crew
Directed by: Peter Collinson
© MCMLXXV [1975] by Warner Bros. Inc.
A Raven Film production. Shot on location by Raven Film Productions Ltd.
Distributed by: Warner Brothers a Warner Communications company
Executive Producer: Josef Shaftel
Produced by: Peter Shaw
Associate Producer: Tom Sachs
Screenplay by: Andrew Meredith
Based on the screenplay “The Spiral Staircase” by Mel Dinelli
And the novel “Some Must Watch” by Ethel Lina White
Assistant Directors: Bert Batt, Clive Reed
Continuity: Angela Allen
Director of Photography: Ken Hodges
Camera Operators: Roy Ford, Brian Elvin
Editor: Raymond Poulton
Music Composed by: David Lindup
Musical Director: Philip Martell
Sound Recordist: Trevor Pyke
Sound Mixer: Jim Willis
Sound Editor: Derek Holding
Wardrobe: Masada Wilmot
Make-up: Eric Allwright, Paul Engelen
Hairdresser: Pat McDermot
Art Director: Disley Jones
Shot on location in England
Location Manager: David Munro
Casting: Rose Tobias Shaw
Cast
Jacqueline Bisset (Helen Mallory)
Christopher Plummer (Dr Joe Sherman)
Sam Wanamaker (Lt Fields)
Mildred Dunnock (Mrs Sherman)
Gayle Hunnicutt (Blanche)
Elaine Stritch (nurse)
John Ronane (Dr Rawley)
Sheila Brennan (Mrs Oates)
Ronald Radd (Oates)
John Philip Law as Steven [Sherman]
Heather Lowe (Heather)
Christopher Malcolm (policeman)
Ed Bishop [voice of Dr Rawley] *
Alternative Titles
Delitto in silenzio – Italy
La escalera de caracol – Spain
Das Geheimnis der Wendeltreppe – West German title
Kierreportaat – Finland
La Nuit de la peur – France
Spiraltrappan – 13 steg mot dden – Sweden
Links
Remake of
The Spiral Staircase (1946)
Remake
The Spiral Staircase (2000)
References
Books
- The Aurum Film Encyclopedia: Horror by Phil Hardy (ed.) p.308 – illustrated credits, review
- English Gothic: A Century of Horror Cinema by Jonathan Rigby p.218
- Film Review 1975-76 by F. Maurice Speed (ed) p.179
- Horror and Science Fiction Films II by Donald C. Willis p.367 – credits
- Serial Killer Cinema: An Analytical Filmography by Robert Cetti p.427-428 – illustrated review
- Uneasy Dreams: The Golden Age of British Horror Films, 1956-1976 by Gary A. Smith p.202
