The Dark at the Top of the Stairs is a 1960 American drama film directed by Delbert Mann and starring Robert Preston and Dorothy McGuire. Shirley Knight garnered an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress and Lee Kinsolving was nominated for a Golden Globe Award as Best Supporting Actor. Knight was also nominated for two Golden Globes. Mann's direction was nominated for a Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing in a Feature Film. The film was based on the Tony Award-nominated 1957 play of the same name by William Inge.