The Cat and the Canary (1927 film)

The Cat and the Canary
The Cat and the Canary
	Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Paul Leni
Screenplay by	Alfred A. Cohn; Walter Anthony;
Story by	Alfred A. Cohn; Robert F. Hill;
Based on	The Cat and the Canary; by John Willard
Produced by	Paul Kohner
Starring	Laura La Plante; Forrest Stanley; Creighton Hale; Flora Finch;
Cinematography	Gilbert Warrenton
Edited by	Martin G. Cohn
Music by	Hugo Riesenfeld
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release date	September 9, 1927;
Running time	82 minutes
Country	United States
Language	Silent film / English intertitles

The Cat and the Canary

The Cat and the Canary is a 1927 American silent comedy horror film directed by the German Expressionist filmmaker Paul Leni. An adaptation of John Willard's 1922 black-comedy play of the same name, the film stars Laura La Plante as Annabelle West, Forrest Stanley as 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 twenty 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 mainly known as the Cat escapes from an asylum and hides in the mansion.

The film is part of the genre of comedy horror films inspired by 1920s Broadway stage plays. Leni's adaptation of Willard's play blended expressionism with humor, a style for which Leni was notable and recognized by critics as unique. His directing style 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".^[1] The play has been filmed five other times, most notably in 1939, starring Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard.

^ Carlos Clarens, An Illustrated History of Horror and Science-Fiction Films: The Classic Era, 1895–1967 (New York: Da Capo Press, 1997), p. 56, ISBN 0-306-80800-5.

[Clarens-1] Carlos Clarens, An Illustrated History of Horror and Science-Fiction Films: The Classic Era, 1895–1967 (New York: Da Capo Press, 1997), p. 56, ISBN 0-306-80800-5.

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