It starts with atmospheric opening credits. A young woman (Dorothy McGuire) is on the long winding staircase of the mansion where she is employed as a servant. At one point she hears the wind howling outside and covers her ears. This is ironic since she’s mute and unable to make sounds of her own. Later when she’s targeted by a serial killer, she will struggle to cry out for help.
The first murder takes place in town. Siodmak presents a group of locals watching a silent movie. The camera tilts up to the ceiling, and we see a woman about to change her clothes in the room above the theater. A man is hiding in the closet. We just glimpse his eye. Then there is a shot of her outstretched arms putting on a dress, caught off guard by the killer.
A physician (Kent Smith) is summoned, but there’s nothing he can do for the woman who’s pronounced dead. He notices McGuire and offers to take her home. They travel by horse and buggy to the remote country estate where she lives and works for an invalid (Ethel Barrymore). Also staying at the mansion with the old woman are her stepson (George Brent) and her son (Gordon Oliver). One of these men is the killer. Not the good doctor.
As they ride towards the estate, it is clear he is smitten with her. In their relationship he does all the talking, but not all the communicating since she is still able to express her feelings. He drops her a short distance from her employer’s home. As she approaches the front gate, a storm comes up.
What makes this so interesting is how Siodmak skillfully weaves the more idyllic aspects of life in 1916 Vermont with danger that seems to exist in hidden places. Close-ups linger on McGuire’s delicate features, and her mannerisms indicate a fragile quality.
Other characters at the house are depicted in sharp contrast. Besides Barrymore, there’s a clumsy housekeeper (Elsa Lanchester) and a strict nurse (Sara Allgood). We also meet a young secretary (Rhonda Fleming) who is romantically involved with the old gal’s son. When she becomes the killer’s next victim, McGuire believes the son might be responsible. She enlists the stepson’s help, not realizing that he is the actual culprit.
There are effective camera set-ups inside the mansion. Especially when Siodmak and cinematographer Nicholas Musuraca zoom in on Brent’s eye watching McGuire. There is a shot where they show McGuire who symbolically has the mouth area of her face blurred. These are stylized images of activity in the house, mostly from the point of view of a homicidal voyeur.
The last sequence is the most spectacular part of the movie. McGuire realizes Brent is the killer, and she tries to get away from him. Upstairs Barrymore realizes what extreme danger they are all in now. She has been bedridden for most of the story.
She is able to summon her strength and carefully lifts herself out of bed. Then she gets a gun. As Barrymore reaches the top landing, McGuire is rapidly ascending the stairs in an attempt to get away from Brent. Barrymore observes what is happening. She is very sick and about to die, but she manages to successfully aim and fire the gun.
Brent is shot in the chest and spirals all the way down to the bottom of the staircase. The son suddenly shows up and Barrymore dies in his arms. Meanwhile McGuire has screamed in horror, suddenly reclaiming her voice. She makes her way to the phone to call the doctor. Never before has anyone been so happy to hear from her.
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