The Cat and the Canary (1927 film)
| The Cat and the Canary | |
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original 1927 window card
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| Directed by | Paul Leni |
| Produced by | Paul Kohner |
| Written by | Walter Anthony (titles) |
| Screenplay by |
Alfred A. Cohn (also adaptation) Robert F. Hill (adaptation) |
| Based on |
The Cat and the Canary by John Willard |
| Starring |
Laura La Plante Forrest Stanley Creighton Hale Flora Finch |
| Music by | Hugo Riesenfeld |
| Cinematography | Gilbert Warrenton |
| Edited by | Martin G. Cohn |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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82 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | Silent film / English intertitles |
The Cat and the Canary is a 1927 American silent horror film adaptation of John Willard's 1922 black comedy play of the same name. Directed by German Expressionist filmmaker Paul Leni, the film stars Laura La Plante as Annabelle West, Forrest Stanley as Charles "Charlie" Wilder, and Creighton Hale as Paul Jones. The plot revolves around the death of Cyrus West, who is Annabelle, Charlie, and Paul's uncle, and the reading of his will 20 years later. Annabelle inherits her uncle's fortune, but when she and her family spend the night in his haunted mansion they are stalked by a mysterious figure. Meanwhile, a lunatic known as "the Cat" escapes from an asylum and hides in the mansion.
The film is part of a genre of comedy horror films inspired by 1920s Broadway stage plays. Paul Leni's adaptation of Willard's play blended expressionism with humor, a style Leni was notable for and critics recognized as unique. Leni's style of directing made The Cat and the Canary influential in the "old dark house" genre of films popular from the 1930s through the 1950s. The film was one of Universal's early horror productions and is considered "the cornerstone of Universal's school of horror." The play has been filmed five other times, with the most notable in 1939 starring comedic actor Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard.
In a decaying mansion overlooking the Hudson River, millionaire Cyrus West approaches death. His greedy family descends upon him like "cats around a canary", causing him to become insane. West orders that his last will and testament remain locked in a safe and go unread until the 20th anniversary of his death. As the appointed time arrives, West's lawyer, Roger Crosby (Tully Marshall), discovers that a second will mysteriously appeared in the safe. The second will may only be opened if the terms of the first will are not fulfilled. The caretaker of the West mansion, Mammy Pleasant (Martha Mattox), blames the manifestation of the second will on the ghost of Cyrus West, a notion that the astonished Crosby quickly rejects.
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Wikipedia