Previous Films: That Mothers Might Live, Of Pups and Puzzles, and Main Street on the March.

Stairway to Light (1945)

Stairway to Light begins with a powerful attention-grabbing opening.

A French language chyron on a mental asylum appears, and then shifts to a dark basement covered with straw. Text splashes across the screen: “Until this fantastic but historic event took place, mentally sick people were believed to be animals. They were penned in cages and controlled by the use of whips and streams of ice cold water.” The camera pans across the basement to a room where a burly, rugged man hoses down a man in a cell.

The film goes on to tell how this all changed thanks to the efforts of Philippe Pinel (Wolfgang Zitzer), who took charge of a mental hospital and transformed mental asylums in France, and later throughout the world. The story is beautifully and dramatically told, with so many powerful moments packed into less than ten minutes of screentime.

Pinel’s changes ran into opposition, with many viewing him as a menance. In many ways, this story paralleled Nesbit’s first Oscar Winner, That Mothers Might Live. However, life played out a bit differently for Dr. Pinnel and the opposition culminates in a violent mob and perhaps the most memorable twist of a remarkable short form.

Stairway to Light is currently available on YouTube