The Cat and the Canary (1927) on Netflix
Passed19271h 24mComedyHorrorMystery
Cyrus West's relatives gather at his decaying mansion for the reading of a will kept sealed for twenty years. His fortune goes to Annabelle West, provided a doctor judges her sane.
- Netflix4.1/5
- IMDb7.1/103,855 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes93%
Trailer
Plot summary
Millionaire Cyrus West's relatives descend on his decaying mansion above the Hudson River for the reading of a will he ordered left sealed for twenty years. His lawyer, Roger Crosby, finds that a second will has appeared in the safe, to be opened only if the first is not fulfilled. The estate, including diamonds West hid, goes to the most distant relative named West: his niece Annabelle, who sees herself caged among cats. Dr. Ira Lazar must judge her sane, or the fortune passes to the person the second document names. Before dinner a guard announces that an escaped lunatic known as the Cat is in the house or on the grounds.
Cast
- Hal Craigas Policeman (uncredited)
Show all 13 cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Cat and the Canary (1927)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Carl Laemmle, president of Universal Pictures, wanted to film John Willard's popular play, but Willard hesitated because, as historian Douglas Brode explains, that would have exposed the trick ending to everyone and destroyed the play's potential as an ongoing moneymaker; Willard was convinced, and the play was adapted into a screenplay by Alfred A. Cohn and Robert F. Hill.
- Although not the first film set in a supposed haunted house, The Cat and the Canary started the pattern for the "old dark house" genre; the term comes from English director James Whale's The Old Dark House (1932), which was heavily influenced by Paul Leni's film.
- Cinematographer Gilbert Warrenton recalled that director Paul Leni used a gong to startle the actors, adding to the mood created by the lighting and camera angles; Warrenton said Leni "beat that thing worse than the Salvation Army beat a drum."
- Films influenced by The Cat and the Canary include The Last Warning, House on Haunted Hill (1959), and the monster films of Abbott and Costello and Laurel and Hardy.
