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With: Laura La Plante, Creighton Hale, Forrest Stanley, Tully Marshall, Gertrude Astor, Flora Finch, Arthur Edmund Carewe, Martha Mattox, George Siegmann, Lucien Littlefield
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Written by: Robert F. Hill, Alfred A. Cohn, Walter Anthony, based on a play by John Willard
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Directed by: Paul Leni
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MPAA Rating: NR
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Running Time: 80
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Date: 09/02/1927
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The Cat and the Canary (1927)
House Smarty
By Jeffrey M. Anderson
Paul Leni, a German art designer who fled to Hollywood, was one of the great horror/genre filmmakers of the time. But, sadly, he died in 1929 and left only a small body of work behind (Waxworks and The Man Who Laughs are among his other well-known films). Based on a play by John Willard, Leni's The Cat and the Canary (1927) is still a deliriously entertaining haunted house film with elements of comedy and mystery. It includes a family gathering in a spooky mansion for the reading of a will, a murderer on the loose and other fun stuff. Whenever possible, Leni shoots the house with slanted, expressionist lighting for a more dreamlike effect. Laura La Plante and Creighton Hale star.
In 2025, Kino Lorber released a superbly restored 4K and Blu-ray two disc set, with a music score by Neil Brand presented in both 5.1 and 2.0. There are two commentary tracks, one by film historian David Del Valle and silent film expert Randy Haberkamp, and a second one by film historian Anthony Slide. There's also a 1925 short film by Leni, Rebus-Film No. 1 (15:25), and a batch of trailers for Supernatural, The Cat and the Canary (1939), The Mad Doctor, The Undying Monster, The Lodger, The Spider Woman Strikes Back, and The Queen of Spades. Highly Recommended.
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