The Dark at the Top of the Stairs

The Dark at the Top of the Stairs

Movie poster
Directed by Delbert Mann
Produced by Michael Garrison
Written by Harriet Frank, Jr.
Irving Ravetch
William Inge (play)
Starring Robert Preston
Dorothy McGuire
Music by Max Steiner
Cinematography Harry Stradling, Jr.
Distributed by Warner Bros.
Release dates
 September 22, 1960 (1960-09-22)
Running time
 124 minutes
Country United States
Language English

The Dark at the Top of the Stairs is a 1957 play by William Inge about family conflicts during the early 1920s in a small Oklahoma town. It was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Play in 1958 and was made into a film in 1960.

Plot

The drama centers on Rubin Flood, who loses his salesman job. While searching for a new job, he must deal with his wife, Cora, who shuns intimacy and mistakes his joblessness for stinginess, his shy daughter who prepares for her first dance and his pre-teen son who runs to his mother instead of dealing with bullies. He tries to find comfort with a friend, Mavis Pruitt, thus setting off rumors of an untoward relationship.

Play

Directed by Elia Kazan, the play opened December 5, 1957, at New York's Music Box Theatre and ran for a total of 468 performances, closing on January 17, 1959. The drama was reworked by Inge from his earlier play, Farther Off from Heaven, first staged in 1947 at Margo Jones' Theatre '47 in Dallas, Texas.

Opening night cast:

It was nominated for five Tony Awards: Best Play, Best Featured Actor (Pat Hingle), Best Featured Actress (Eileen Heckart), Best Scenic Design (Ben Edwards), Best Director (Elia Kazan). Timmy Everett won a Theatre World Award.

Film

L. to R.: Timmy Everett, Eileen Heckart & Frank Overton in a scene from the stage production The Dark at the Top of the Stairs

Harriet Frank, Jr. and Irving Ravetch adapted Inge's play into a 1960 Warner Bros. film directed by Delbert Mann.

Variety gave the film a favorable review, noting that it was "well cast and persuasively acted".[3] Shirley Knight earned an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her role as "Reenie Flood". Lee Kinsolving also received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his role as "Sammy Goldenbaum".

See also

References

  1. ↑ William Inge. "The Dark at the Top of the Stairs". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved July 22, 2009.
  2. ↑ "The Dark at the Top of the Stairs". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved July 22, 2009.
  3. ↑ Variety Staff. "The Dark at the Top of the Stairs". Variety.
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