The Spiral Staircase is a 2000 television film remake of the 1946 film
The Spiral Staircase based on
Ethel Lina WhiteEthel Lina White was a British crime writer, best known for her novel, The Wheel Spins , on which the Alfred Hitchcock film, The Lady Vanishes , was based.-Early years:...
's novel
Some Must Watch. This film is directed by
James HeadJames David Head is a Canadian television director.-Cameraman:Head began his career as a cameraman on various film crews. In 1985, he was a second assistant camera for the concert film 9012Live by Yes. In 1987, he was a second assistant camera for the movie Stakeout...
with a
screenplayA screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
by Matt Dorff, and stars
Nicollette SheridanNicollette Sheridan is an English film and television actress. She is best known for her roles as Edie Britt on Desperate Housewives and as Paige Matheson on Knots Landing.-Early life:...
,
Judd NelsonJudd Asher Nelson is an American actor. He is best known for being a member of the "Brat Pack" in the mid-1980s; and for his roles as John Bender in The Breakfast Club, Alec Newbary in St...
, Alex McArthur,
Debbe DunningDebbe Dunning, sometimes credited as Debra Dunning, is an American actress. A native of Burbank, California, she graduated from John Burroughs High School, the same school her parents graduated from exactly twenty years earlier. She was a cheerleader and her school's Homecoming Queen, also winning...
and
Holland TaylorHolland Virginia Taylor is an American actress of film, stage and television. Her notable television roles include Ruth Dunbar in Bosom Buddies, senator's wife Margaret Powers on Norman Lear's The Powers That Be, Judge Roberta Kittleson in The Practice and Evelyn Harper in Two and a Half...
.
Background
The
Ethel Lina WhiteEthel Lina White was a British crime writer, best known for her novel, The Wheel Spins , on which the Alfred Hitchcock film, The Lady Vanishes , was based.-Early years:...
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 the from early 20th century to present day. Filmed on locations in Vancouver and
VictoriaVictoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...
,
CanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, the 2000 version was made for Fox Family network (now
ABC FamilyABC Family, stylized as abc family, is an American television network, owned by ABC Family Worldwide Inc., a subsidiary of the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company...
), as a remake of three previous films, still based on
Ethel Lina WhiteEthel Lina White was a British crime writer, best known for her novel, The Wheel Spins , on which the Alfred Hitchcock film, The Lady Vanishes , was based.-Early years:...
's novel, and using the same title as the previous films of 1946, 1962, and
1975The Spiral Staircase is a 1975 British film directed by Peter Collinson. It is a remake of the 1945 film The Spiral Staircase.-Cast:* Jacqueline Bisset as Helen Mallory* Christopher Plummer as Dr. Joe Sherman* John Phillip Law as Steven Sherman...
.
Synopsis
The film centers around Helen Capel (
Nicollette SheridanNicollette Sheridan is an English film and television actress. She is best known for her roles as Edie Britt on Desperate Housewives and as Paige Matheson on Knots Landing.-Early life:...
), 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 TaylorHolland Virginia Taylor is an American actress of film, stage and television. Her notable television roles include Ruth Dunbar in Bosom Buddies, senator's wife Margaret Powers on Norman Lear's The Powers That Be, Judge Roberta Kittleson in The Practice and Evelyn Harper in Two and a Half...
). 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
- Nicollette Sheridan
Nicollette Sheridan is an English film and television actress. She is best known for her roles as Edie Britt on Desperate Housewives and as Paige Matheson on Knots Landing.-Early life:...
as Helen Capel
- Judd Nelson
Judd Asher Nelson is an American actor. He is best known for being a member of the "Brat Pack" in the mid-1980s; and for his roles as John Bender in The Breakfast Club, Alec Newbary in St...
as Phillip Warren
- Debbe Dunning
Debbe Dunning, sometimes credited as Debra Dunning, is an American actress. A native of Burbank, California, she graduated from John Burroughs High School, the same school her parents graduated from exactly twenty years earlier. She was a cheerleader and her school's Homecoming Queen, also winning...
as Danielle
- Holland Taylor
Holland Virginia Taylor is an American actress of film, stage and television. Her notable television roles include Ruth Dunbar in Bosom Buddies, senator's wife Margaret Powers on Norman Lear's The Powers That Be, Judge Roberta Kittleson in The Practice and Evelyn Harper in Two and a Half...
as Emma Warren
- Christina Jastrzembska
Christina Jastrzembska is an actress who resides in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.She was born in Germany to Boryslaw and Natalie Jastrzembski. In 1952 the family relocated to Jersey City, New Jersey to start a new life after World War 2. In Jersey, Christina's parents owned a corner store....
as Rachel Parsons
- William McDonald as Sheriff Bell
- John Innes as Dr. Porter
- Margaret Ryan
Margaret Ryan is a children's writer currently residing in St. Andrews, Scotland. She was born and raised in the town of Paisley, Scotland. She went to Glasgow University, where she met her husband, John, at a dance. She and John have two grown-up children, Susie and Jonathan. She is the writer of...
as Mrs. Pritzker
- Kandyse McClure
Kandyse McClure is an actress, best known for playing Anastasia Dualla on the Sci Fi Channel's television program Battlestar Galactica.- Biography :...
as Monica
- Charles Payne
Charles Payne, a clergyman, revised the hymn-book of the Methodist denomination in the late 19th century. He was president of Ohio Wesleyan University and an author....
as Medical Examiner
- A.J. Cook
Andrea Joy "A.J." Cook-Andersen is a Canadian actress best known for her role as Supervisory Special Agent Jennifer "JJ" Jareau in the CBS crime drama Criminal Minds...
as Local Girl
- Kristina Matisic
Kristina Matisic is currently the host, alongside Anna Wallner, of The Shopping Bags, Anna & Kristina's Grocery Bag, and Anna & Kristina's Beauty Call.Matisic was born in Zagreb, Croatia...
as Newscaster
- Alex McArthur as Steven Warren
- Dolores Drake as Sarah
- David Storch as Bobby Tyler
- Lillian Carlson as Mrs. Winfield
- Brenda Campbell as Elise
- Dallas Thompson as Linda
- Katrina Matthews as Cocktail Waitress
Release
The film debuted in April, 2000 in the United States, followed by releases in the United Kingdom in May, 2000, as
Le secret du manoir in France in 2001, Czech Republic in 2003, as
Stummer Schrei - Und keiner kann dir helfen in Germany in 2004, Hungary in 2005, and Sweden in 2007.
Reception
In noting that the original 1946 film was "
a stellar thriller", Steven Linan of
Los Angeles TimesThe Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
found the 2000 remake to be an
"inferior remake".