Shadows on the Stairs

Nearly everyone has something to hide in the London lodging house that is the setting of this enjoyable thriller. Even the young writer (Bruce Lester) who is a central character is not what he seems—posing as aspiring but not yet successful, he is in fact (we learn early on) an already popular playwright living incognito in a setting that he thinks will provide him with material for his next work….a thriller.

The other lodgers are embroiled in various political intrigues, secret relationships, and hidden resentments and jealousies. Plot elements include a knife hidden inside a bedpost; a heavy box of something mysterious; figures coming and going at odd hours, including one whose face is hidden beneath a shawl; and a portable chess board and pieces. Also worth noting: the characters all seem familiar with the play "Charley's Aunt" when it is mentioned.

The one character who has no secrets, no suspicions, is the young woman (Heather Angel) who naturally takes a special interest in the young writer; to her, the house is just a home and "A mouse in the pantry's the most exciting thing that's happened around here since I can remember."

Mary Field is excellent as Phoebe St. John Snell, the chatty single lady who has a vivid imagination.

Mystery purists may not like the cute ending scene; personally, I found it rather charming. Overall, it's a fun little picture—plenty of plot (but not too much) packed into 61 minutes.

The second line members of the Hollywood British colony got together and were cast in this B picture murder mystery. Miles Mander and Frieda Inescourt own a boardinghouse in London and there are a lot of strange doings happening at their establishment. Too bad there was no butler in the plot lest the solution be easy.

Best in the cast is the prim and proper spinster lady Mary Field who is most self conscious about being interviewed by the police in the persons of Lumsden Hare and Charles Irwin. Turhan Bey casts a mysterious presence as an Indian student boarding there who may be up to no good. India was not yet free from Great Britain and not everyone followed Gandhi's philosophy of non-violence.

For the solution in Shadow On The Stairs a knowledge of the American theater is required. The audience in 1941 would have figured it out immediately. But the solving of the mystery is not the end of film.

Shadow On The Stairs ain't the Maltese Falcon, it sure has a whole lot less values in it. But it's a competently made film and I'm sure complimented the Falcon well as a B film in a double feature.

Rarely in films do we find a murder plot that misdirects viewers with the finesse of "Shadows On The Stairs". What a delight. Beginning with one particular early scene, the plot cleverly leads viewers down the garden path. And a second twist delightfully compounds the misdirection.

There are eight major characters. At least one is murdered, leaving seven suspects. I was sure I knew who the killer was. I was dead wrong, owing mostly to the shrewdly written script.

Most of the action takes place inside a multistory boarding house. People come into and leave rooms rather often. And the script is quite talky. The film has the look and feel of a stage play, except for the first few minutes. The title is a bit misleading, implying noir lighting that doesn't really exist in the film. There's not much in the way of spine-tingling suspense. The main selling point is the stunning ending wherein viewers learn how they have been duped into making multiple false assumptions. Clearly, that upsets some viewers. But one cannot deny that the misdirection is clever.

B&W lighting is acceptable though conventional. Background music is a tad manipulative, which is consistent with many films from that era. Casting is fine. Acting inclines toward the exaggerated, yet that is subtly consistent with the underlying story concept. The film does not take itself too seriously, and it should be watched as slightly comical.

There's no great thematic depth to the story. The appeal lies entirely in the film's entertainment value. But the surprise ending makes "Shadows On The Stairs" one of the better whodunit mysteries from the 1940s.

With a cast like this, a B-movie mystery just can't miss. But first you must skip over the juvenile leads, both male and female, and look beyond them to the talented, polished and very-experienced supporting cast.

Frieda Inescort, past her girlish good-looks stage, gives an outstanding performance as the duplicitous, cheating landlady of the boarding house where the murder takes place. Turhan Bey, then a young actor of considerable skill with an already notable acting history, plays another ethnic role-- the sort in which he was most typecast- that of the mysterious "easterner" --turban and all.

Veteran actors Paul Cavanagh and Miles Mander round out this superb cast. You may recognize both from many 1940's supporting roles; Mander was also a director of early silents.

Beware of nay-sayers who are always trying to compare films of this era with today's output-- Phrases like "it does (or doesn't) show it's age" or "it does (or doesn't) hold up today" are meaningless when viewing films of this genre. In fact, such comparisons are boring and tedious.

This is a fun low budget effort, with an able cast, a crazy plot-line (why not?), and a few hysterical scenes (like the boarder who won't talk to the police because she's lost her false teeth).

Recommended. Don't miss it.

Shadows on the Stairs is a B mystery film from Warners and, despite some of the British accents, it was filmed in Hollywood on the Warners lot. It's a light mystery that probably was just what the Brits needed as war was raging.

Based on a Broadway play produced in 1929, the story concerns a boarding house, the Armitage, where a murder takes place. The victim is one Joe Reynolds (Paul Cavanagh), who was up to something no good with another lodger, Ram Singh (Turhan Bey) and also having a clandestine relationship with Mrs. Stella Armitage (Frieda Inescourt) herself.

Ram Singh, we learn, is a patriot attempting to free India from the British. His group is to get $500,000 British pounds with Joe's help, but Joe is a racketeer.

Mrs. Armitage is a wreck about Joe's business affairs and lets him know she's determined to put a stop to them. Little does she know that her husband Tom (Miles Mander) saw her and Reynolds embracing. So he's another suspect, right along with Stella and Ram Singh.

Other characters include a recently fired maid, Lucy (Phyllis Barry) who was also involved with Joe. The only ones who don't seem involved are the Armitage's daughter, Sylvia (Heather Angel), and a playwright (Bruce Lester) who is in love with her. Then there's the spinster, Phoebe Martin Saint John Snell (Mary Field).

With a second murder, the problem becomes even more difficult to figure out for the inspector.

And the denouement will surprise you.

Very well done mystery that will bring a smile to your face. The acting is delightful, with the exception perhaps of Frieda Inescourt, who seems to be playing to the last row of the National Theatre.

An unusual film for Warner Brothers, but entertaining just the same.