Shadows On The Stairs

265O. SHADOWS ON THE STAIRS (1941-USA). With FRIEDA INESCOURT, PAUL CAVANAGH, HEATHER ANGEL, TURHAN BEY. “There’s something strange about this house. There’s something queer going on here.” So declares Lucy, the just-discharged maid in a Bloomsbury boarding house operated by one Mrs. Stella Armitage. Indeed, a slew of weird events have lately been unfolding under the Armitage roof. Apparently, they involve a couple of her boarders. The first is Joseph Reynolds, a mystery man who is immersed in an unexplained “business.” He is in cahoots with Ram Singh, a short- tempered Indian who is constantly lurking in the shadows and conspiring with characters over the telephone. Then, there is Mrs. Armitage herself. She is strangely nervous and is certain she is being spied on and followed by “unseen eyes.” Perhaps this is because she is involved in an illicit affair with Reynolds, right under the nose of her otherwise pleasant and unsuspecting husband. Another lodger is Hugh Bromilow, a young playwright who is “nice enough but not very successful” (and who has a few secrets of his own). Bromilow is in the process of becoming romantically involved with Sylvia, the Armitages’ sweet and pretty daughter. The murder of one of these characters is but the first in a series of surprises and shocks in this cleverly devised thriller, the finale of which will have you rolling your eyes in disbelief! 64 minutes. Crime Mystery Suspense