Shadows on the Stairs ** (1941, Frieda Inescort, Paul Cavanagh, Bruce Lester, Miles Mander, Turhan Bey, Heather Angel, Lumsden Hare) – Classic Movie Review 13,704

Residents of a London boarding house come under suspicion of a series of murders in the 1941 American mystery film Shadows on the Stairs.

Director D Ross Lederman’s 1941 American mystery film Shadows on the Stairs is based on Frank Vosper’s 1929 London West End and Broadway hit play Murder on the Second Floor, and stars Frieda Inescort, Paul Cavanagh, Bruce Lester, Miles Mander, Turhan Bey, Heather Angel, and Lumsden Hare.

Paul Cavanagh doesn’t cut too much ice as Joe Reynolds, the man who resides on the second floor and is suspected of murdering his fellow lodgers in a London boarding house. A more entertaining Frieda Inescort is top billed as Mrs Stella Rosabelle Armitage.

Shadows on the Stairs is moderately amusing, creaky yet some fun, but Frank Vosper’s play fails to grab the attention on the screen fully, despite the acceptable performers and Lederman’s able enough direction.

It was shot at Warner Bros Burbank Studios, Burbank, California.

It was first made for the movies as the British 1932 film Murder on the Second Floor, its source play title, produced by the British subsidiary of Warner Bros.

The play Murder on the Second Floor premiered in London’s West End in 1929 at the Lyric Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue. It was written by Frank Vosper, who also played the role of Hugh Bromilow (Bruce Lester in the film). It then transferred to Broadway, opening at the Eltinge 42nd Street Theatre on 11 September 1929, in which Laurence Olivier played Hugh Bromilow.

The cast are Frieda Inescort as Mrs Stella Rosabelle Armitage, Paul Cavanagh as Joe Reynolds, Bruce Lester as Hugh Bromilow, Miles Mander as Tom Armitage, Turhan Bey as Ram Singh, Heather Angel as Sylvia Armitage, Lumsden Hare as Inspector Gregg, Charles Irwin as Constable, Phyllis Barry as maid Lucy Timson, Mary Field as Phoebe Martia St John Snell, and Paul Renay as sailor Choong Thi.

Shadows on the Stairs is directed by D Ross Lederman, runs 63 minutes, is made by Warner Bros – First National, is released by Warner Bros, is written by Anthony Coldeway, is shot in black and white by Allen G Siegler, is produced by Bryan Foy (producer, uncredited) and William Jacobs (associate producer), and scored by Bernhard Kaun.

Release date: March 1, 1941 (US).

© Derek Winnert 2025 – Classic Movie Review 13,704

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com