The Spiral Staircase (2000 film)

Last updated
The Spiral Staircase
Based onSome Must Watch
by Ethel Lina White
Screenplay byMatt Dorff
Directed by James Head
Starring Nicollette Sheridan
Judd Nelson
Debbe Dunning
Holland Taylor
Christina Jastrzembska
Music by Yuval Ron
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
ProducersShawn Williamson
Amy Goldberg
CinematographyGordon Verheul
EditorGrace Yuen
Running time88 minutes
Production company Shavick Entertainment
Original release
ReleaseApril 2, 2000 (2000-04-02)

The Spiral Staircase is a 2000 television film remake of the 1946 film The Spiral Staircase based on Ethel Lina White's 1933 novel Some Must Watch. The film was directed by James Head with a screenplay by Matt Dorff, and stars Nicollette Sheridan, Judd Nelson, Alex McArthur, Debbe Dunning and Holland Taylor.

Contents

Background

The Ethel Lina White novel Some Must Watch was first offered on film in 1946 as The Spiral Staircase. This same title was used for a 1962 television adaptation, 1975 British TV-movie remake, and the 2000 made-for-cable feature. The 2000 version updated the original story to re-set from the early 20th century to present day. [1] Filmed on locations in Vancouver and Victoria, Canada, the 2000 version was made for Fox Family network (now Freeform), as a remake of three previous films, still based on Ethel Lina White's novel, and using the same title as the previous films of 1946, 1961, and 1975. [1]

Synopsis

The film centers around Helen Capel (Nicollette Sheridan), a pathologically mute woman who is being stalked by a vicious killer. Mute since the death of her parents when she was a child, Helen accepts a nursing position on a secluded island in the household of wealthy matriarch Emma Warren (Holland Taylor). Helen learns that a serial killer is picking off "imperfect" young girls around town, and she fears she is next. A terrible storm hits the island one night and the family and Helen are trapped inside... and they're not alone; the killer is with them in the shadows.

Cast

Release

The film debuted in April 2000 in the United States, followed by releases in the United Kingdom in May 2000, France in 2001 as Le secret du manoir, Czech Republic in 2003, Germany in 2004 as Stummer Schrei - Und keiner kann dir helfen, Hungary in 2005 and Sweden in 2007.

Reception

In noting that the original 1946 film was "a stellar thriller", Steven Linan of Los Angeles Times found the 2000 remake to be an "inferior remake". [2]

Related Research Articles

<i>Suspicion</i> (1941 film) 1941 American film by Alfred Hitchcock

Suspicion is a 1941 American romantic psychological thriller film noir directed by Alfred Hitchcock, and starring Cary Grant and Joan Fontaine as a married couple. It also features Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Nigel Bruce, Dame May Whitty, Isabel Jeans, Heather Angel, and Leo G. Carroll. Suspicion is based on Francis Iles's novel Before the Fact (1932).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dorothy McGuire</span> American actress (1916–2001)

Dorothy Hackett McGuire was an American actress. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for Gentleman's Agreement (1947) and won the National Board of Review Award for Best Actress for Friendly Persuasion (1956). She starred as the mother in the popular films Old Yeller (1957) and Swiss Family Robinson (1960).

Elective mutism is an outdated term which was defined as a refusal to speak in almost all social situations, while selective mutism was considered to be a failure to speak in specific situations and is strongly associated with social anxiety disorder. In contrast to selective mutism, it was thought someone who was electively mute may not speak in any situation, as is usually shown in books and films. Elective mutism was often attributed to defiance or the effect of trauma. Those who are able to speak freely in some situations but not in others are now better described by selective mutism.

<i>Twilight Zone: The Movie</i> 1983 American science fiction anthology film

Twilight Zone: The Movie is a 1983 American science fiction anthology film produced by Steven Spielberg and John Landis. Based on Rod Serling's 1959–1964 television series of the same name, the film features four stories directed by Landis, Spielberg, Joe Dante, and George Miller. Landis' segment is an original story created for the film, while the segments by Spielberg, Dante, and Miller are remakes of episodes from the original series. The film's cast includes Dan Aykroyd, Albert Brooks, Scatman Crothers, John Lithgow, Vic Morrow, and Kathleen Quinlan. Original series cast members Burgess Meredith, Patricia Barry, Peter Brocco, Murray Matheson, Kevin McCarthy, Bill Mumy, and William Schallert also appear in the film, with Meredith assuming Serling's role as narrator.

<i>The Spiral Staircase</i> (1946 film) 1946 film by Robert Siodmak

The Spiral Staircase is a 1946 American psychological horror film directed by Robert Siodmak and starring Dorothy McGuire, George Brent, and Ethel Barrymore. Set over the course of one evening, the film follows a mute young woman in an early-20th century Vermont town who is stalked and terrorized in a rural mansion by a serial killer targeting women with disabilities. Gordon Oliver, Rhonda Fleming, and Elsa Lanchester appear in supporting roles. It was adapted for the screen by Mel Dinelli from the novel Some Must Watch (1933) by Ethel Lina White.

Ethel Lina White was a British crime writer from Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, Wales. She was best known for her novel The Wheel Spins (1936), on which the Alfred Hitchcock 1938 film The Lady Vanishes was based.

<i>Eye of the Beholder</i> (film) 1999 mystery thriller film

Eye of the Beholder is a 1999 mystery thriller film that employs magical realism. The film, based on Marc Behm's novel of the same name and a remake of Claude Miller's 1983 French thriller Deadly Circuit, is directed and adapted by Stephan Elliott.

A spiral staircase is a type of stairway characterized by its helical shape

<i>Moonrise</i> (film) 1948 film by Frank Borzage

Moonrise is a 1948 American film noir crime film directed by Frank Borzage starring Dane Clark, Gail Russell and Ethel Barrymore. It is based on the 1946 novel of the same name by Theodore Strauss. The plot concerns the son of a man who was hanged for murder, leading to his own bullying by others and subsequent trials when he commits a crime in self-defense.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexis Colby</span> Fictional character on the American TV series Dynasty

Alexis Carrington Colby is a fictional character on the American TV series Dynasty. She is the ex-wife of Blake Carrington whose schemes cause one problem after another for him and their children.

<i>Sorority House Massacre III: Hard to Die</i> 1990 American film

Sorority House Massacre III: Hard to Die is a 1990 American slasher film written by Mark Thomas McGee and James B. Rogers, directed by Jim Wynorski, and starring Gail Harris and Melissa Moore. The film features a similar storyline and many of the same actresses from its predecessor, and Wynorski's previous film Sorority House Massacre II, of which Hard to Die is essentially a remake.

<i>The Spiral Staircase</i> (1975 film) 1975 British film

The Spiral Staircase is a 1975 British horror mystery thriller film directed by Peter Collinson and starring Jacqueline Bisset and Christopher Plummer. It is a remake of the 1946 film of the same name, which was adapted from Ethel Lina White's 1933 British novel Some Must Watch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicollette Sheridan</span> British-American actress

Nicollette Sheridan is a British-born American actress. She began her career as a fashion model before landing a role in the short-lived ABC primetime soap opera Paper Dolls in 1984, as well as starring in the romantic comedy film The Sure Thing (1985). She rose to prominence as Paige Matheson on the CBS primetime soap opera Knots Landing (1986–1993), for which she received two Soap Opera Digest Awards. Thereafter, Sheridan appeared in lead roles in numerous television films and miniseries, including Lucky Chances (1990), Virus (1995), and The People Next Door (1996). She also appeared in the feature films Noises Off (1992), Spy Hard (1996), Beverly Hills Ninja (1997), and Code Name: The Cleaner (2007).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Myrna Dell</span> American actress (1924–2011)

Myrna Dell was an American actress, model, and writer who appeared in numerous motion pictures and television programs over four decades. A Hollywood glamour girl in the early part of her career, she is best known today for her work in B-pictures, particularly film noir thrillers and Westerns.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Larry Wheat</span> American actor (1876–1963)

Laurence Wheat was an American character actor of the silent and sound film eras.

Travis Robert Burns is an Australian actor and model. He first came to prominence with his role in the American action-drama television series, SAF3 (2013). He played Tyler Brennan in the long-running Australian television soap opera Neighbours from 2015 to 2019. After leaving Neighbours, Burns starred in the romance film Sunrise in Heaven (2019) and television films The Wrong Boy Next Door (2019), The Christmas Listing (2020), and Save the Wedding (2021).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ethel Barrymore on stage, screen and radio</span>

Ethel Barrymore was an American actress of stage, screen and radio. She came from a family of actors; she was the middle child of Maurice Barrymore and Georgie Drew Barrymore, and had two brothers, Lionel and John. Reluctant to pursue her parents' career, the loss of financial support following the death of Louisa Lane Drew, caused Barrymore to give up her dream of becoming a concert pianist and instead earn a living on the stage. Barrymore's first Broadway role, alongside her uncle John Drew, Jr., was in The Imprudent Young Couple (1895). She soon found success, particularly after an invitation from William Gillette to appear on stage in his 1897 London production of Secret Service. Barrymore was soon popular with English society, and she had a number of romantic suitors, including Laurence Irving, the dramatist. His father, Henry Irving, cast her in The Bells (1897) and Peter the Great (1898).

The Spiral Staircase is a 1961 American television film. It is a television adaptation of Ethel Lina White's novel Some Must Watch which was filmed in 1946 as The Spiral Staircase. It was directed by Boris Sagal.

1923 is an American Western drama television series that premiered on December 18, 2022, on Paramount+. The series is a prequel to the Paramount Network series Yellowstone and serves as a sequel to the series 1883, with Isabel May reprising her role from the latter as narrator Elsa Dutton. In February 2023, the series was renewed for a second and final season of eight episodes.

References

  1. 1 2 Pryor, Thomas M. (2007). "The Spiral Staircase (2000)". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times . Archived from the original on 21 November 2007. Retrieved 17 January 2010.
  2. Linan, Steven (1 April 2000). "Television Review; Plot, Direction Slow 'Staircase'". Los Angeles Times . pp. Calendar, Part F, page 18. Archived from the original on February 1, 2013. Retrieved 18 January 2010.