Joaquim da Silva Fontes, Significação e Estabilidade do Género no ...

2.2.1.4 Conclusion
The Spiral Staircase is often considered a production that spans the period of
costume drama genre and film noir. In fact, one frequently finds it difficult to preserve this
distinction, as the period film, for instance, can also depict such qualities as chaos,
alienation, and despair that are characteristic of film noir. This difficulty is further
emphasised in Robert Siodmak’s film in its distinctive vision of dark instability so
predominant in the noir universe. The mute servant who believes she has witnessed a
murder finds herself effectively trapped inside her own silence. Unable to verbalise her
fear and knowledge, Helen becomes a victim of near paranoia. Her problems are
compounded by her own pre-existing traumas and fantasies, as suggested by the film’s
mock marriage ceremony. As she becomes the main target of a menacing killer, the film
creates a narrative irony as present and as powerful as any film noir.
The noir-related period films occasionally reflect a world solidly rooted in the
iconography of the past. The horse-drawn carriage that draws up in the first images of The
Spiral Staircase stands as a good example. The film opens with a slightly cloudy sky when
Helen is taken into town in a horse and buggy (fig. 93), the means of transport that is
normally seen in this type of Gothic productions. On her way back to the Warren mansion,
the weather suddenly changes into a severe storm, with howling winds, all providing a dark
and terrifying atmosphere, and showing Helen crossing an abandoned backyard, with the
gates creaking and slamming, amidst inexplicable noises. We see a man behind the trees,
almost like a haunting and frightening spectre (fig. 94) following Helen’s movements into
the house. The Warren’s house then takes on the iconography of the haunted mansion so
popular in this category of films. This is the type of mysterious place that foments terror,
representing the Gothic scenario of familial disintegration, real and imagined
imprisonment, and sexual coercion.
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