Robert Siodmak (1900-1973), a German director, debuted in 1929 with People on Sunday co-written by a young Billy Wilder. After the advent of Nazism, he worked first in Paris and then in Hollywood, where he directed Phantom Lady (1944), and his masterpiece The Spiral Staircase (1945), a film noir par excellence, combining elements of thriller and horror. His other films include Cry of the City (1948), Criss Cross (1949), I topi (1955) and The Crimson Pirate (1952).