'' Variety '' wrote , " This is a smooth production of an obvious , though suspenseful murder thriller , ably acted and directed . Mood and pace are well set , and story grips throughout . " Bosley Crowther of '' The New York Times '' wrote , " This is a shocker , plain and simple , and whatever pretensions it has to psychological drama may be considered merely as a concession to a currently popular fancy . " During its local theatrical runs , the film earned reviews in various local press : A review in the '' Pittsburgh Press '' called the film a " blood-and-thunder melodrama ... done so well except that it tends to be tedious at times instead of tense , so leisurely is it paced that it works up considerable suspense . " In the '' Beatrice Daily Sun '' of Beatrice , Nebraska , it was noted : " An ingenious plot and the work of a superb cast lend distinction to '' The Spiral Staircase '' , " with the film being ultimately deemed as " gripping . " A review published in the '' Corvallis Gazette-Times '' of Corvallis , Oregon , summarized : On the internet review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes , the film holds an approval rating of 86 % based on , with a weighted average rating of 8/10 . Contemporary author and film critic Leonard Maltin awarded the film three and a half out of a possible four stars , calling it " a Superb Hitchock-like thriller with an unforgettable performance by McGuire " . Pauline Kael praised the film 's establishment of characters , noting that it " has all the trappings of the genre ... but the psychopaths are quite presentable people , and this , plus the skillful , swift direction , makes the terror convincing . " A review published in the '' Time Out '' film guide called the film a " superb thriller , " concluding : " Hitchcock could n't have bettered the casual mastery with which the opening defines not just time and place ( small town , turn of the century ) but the themes of voyeurism and entrapment . " Film scholar Andrew Spicer praised the film 's cinematography , calling it " the most beautifully crafted of Siodmak 's films , superbly paced with the suspense steadily accumulating in intensity aided by the expressive cinematography of Nicholas Musuraca . " Tom Milne of the '' Time Out '' Film Guide called the film " one of the undoubted masterpieces of the Gothic mode . " Ethel Barrymore was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the 19th Academy Awards
19th Academy Awards
19th Academy Awards
The Spiral Staircase (1946 film)