The Cat and the Canary

Gloriously restored in 4K Blu-ray, director Paul Leni’s spooky horror-comedy (an adaptation of John Willard’s play of the same name) was already a huge success on Broadway before Universal Pictures acquired the rights. Over the decades, the story has been adapted numerous times for the screen but Leni’s 1927 silent classic is and remains the best!

The surrealistic staged opening sequence informs us that eccentric millionaire Cyrus West, who resides in a crumbling mansion overlooking the Hudson River, is nearing the end of his life. What’s more, West is facing his final days in a state of insanity thanks to his greedy relatives, who descend upon him like ‘cats around a canary’. And so, before he shuffles off this mortal coil, he arranges that his last will remains locked in a safe and remains there unread until the 20th anniversary of his death.

Fast-forward and that time has now come, however, when West’s lawyer, Roger Crosby (Tully Marshall) opens the safe he discovers, much to his surprise… a second will! How did the second testament end up in a safe which has been locked for two decades? A question for which Mammy Pleasant (Martha Mattox), the elderly and ever so slightly sinister caretaker of the West mansion, has her own answer: the second will, which may only be opened if the terms of the first will aren’t fulfilled, is no doubt down to the ghost of Cyrus West who apparently still haunts the mansion. Crosby brushes this theory aside as nonsense and puts it down to Mammy’s overactive imagination, caused by her isolated existence in the somewhat remote building.

Shortly before midnight, West’s relatives arrive one after another: nephews Harry Blythe (Arthur E. Carewe), Charlie Wilder (Forrest Stanley) and Paul Jones (Creighton Hale), followed by West’s sister Susan Sillsby (Flora Finch) and her posh niece Cecily Young (Getrude Astor). Last but not least, niece Annabelle West (Laura La Plante) makes her entrance. As lawyer Crosby proceeds to read the will, the greedy relatives listen in anticipation when to their huge disappointment, they learn that Cyrus West’s entire fortune is bequeathed to… Annabel West, for the simple reason that she is the only relative bearing the family name ‘West’. On top of the already impressive fortune, Annabel is also made heir to some precious diamonds which the old man hid somewhere in the mansion many, many moons ago. That said, the heritage comes with a condition attached: according to Cyrus West’s testament, whoever inherits his fortune must be judged sane by creepy looking doctor Ira Lazar (Lucien Littlefield). If the heir should be judged insane, then the person named in the second testament is going to be the lucky millionaire. It goes without saying that upon listening to this peculiar clause, West’s deeply disappointed relatives begin to plot and scheme straight away and Annabel comes to realize that suddenly, she too is a canary surrounded by cats…

Worse is to come when, just as the assembled relatives gather for a late night dinner, a guard arrives unannounced seemingly out of nowhere and warns everyone that an escaped lunatic called the Cat, who tears his victims with a claw-like hand like they were canaries, is stalking the grounds or worse, may already be in the mansion. Sure enough, within the hour the first person falls prey to the Cat or so everyone thinks… Just in how much danger is Annabel?
This is terrific fun with twists and turns along the way, intensified by the ott gestures and mimicry so typical of silent movies. Character actor Tully Marshall, who plays lawyer Roger Crosby, is frightening enough to look at just by opening his gob thanks to the abysmal state of his teeth – couldn’t Universal Pictures arrange a visit to the dentist for him? Martha Mattox is equally great fun as the caretaker Mammy Pleasant as one never quite knows where they stand with her – does she know more than she leads on? Annabel West is of course the heroine here, forced to use her wits if she is to survive her one-night stay in the mansion and Laura La Plante plays the part with relish.

Clearly influenced by German expressionism such as asymmetrical sets, occasionally distorted camera angles and stark black and white lighting, THE CAT AND THE CANARY uses these influences to great effect! The visual qualities come to the forefront even more thanks to Eureka’s impressive 4K restoration and if the impressive picture quality weren’t enough, a whole lot of Bonus Material is thrown in for good measure: video essays, audio commentaries, extracts from John Willard’s original play plus a collector’s booklet. The first print run will be presented in a Limited Edition O-card slipcase.