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65% Critic Match
The Dark at the Top of the Stairs
“Everytime a woman turns her face away because she's tired or unwilling - there's someone waiting like me!”
6.5 / 10• 1960• 2h 4m•NR• English
Drama
Storyline
In Oklahoma in the 1920s, Rubin Flood loses his job as a traveling salesman when the company goes bankrupt. This adds to his worries at home. His wife Cora is frigid because of trying to make ends meet. His teenage daughter Reenie is afraid of going out on dates, but eventually makes friends with a troubled Jewish boy Sammy Golden, and his son is a mama's boy. He finally storms out of the house when Cora falsely accuses him of having an affair with Mavis Pruitt.
Cast & Crew
Robert Preston
Rubin Flood
Lead
Dorothy McGuire
Cora Flood
Eve Arden
Lottie Lacey
Angela Lansbury
Mavis Pruitt
Shirley Knight
Reenie Flood
Lee Kinsolving
Sammy Golden
Frank Overton
Morris Lacey
PP
Penny Parker
Flirt Conway
What People Are Saying
4.0
“A staggering achievement of craft and ambition. Delbert Mann's vision lands with breathtaking precision.”
3.0
“Every frame feels alive. The Dark at the Top of the Stairs is the rare release that takes its audience seriously.”
