Watch The Cat and the Canary For Free

Wonderful Movie

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

It's marvelous how closely the 1939 Bob Hope version follows this one. I'd assumed that Hope's antics were written into the script, but in point of fact that particular character is if anything even more of a slapstick comic here. He is forever backing into furniture or finding himself in a risqué situation under a bed or wrestling with stray objects like falling books or enormous bed-springs. Of course, he redeems himself in the final reel by rescuing the fair heroine. Just like Hope! True, Creighton Hale doesn't develop the character nearly as fully as Hope, although he spends just about as much time on screen. He isn't as funny nor as engaging. Not that it matters so much here, for this "Cat and the Canary" is primarily a director's movie.Bobbed, fair-haired Laura La Plante makes a winningly sympathetic heroine. She receives excellent support from Tully Marshall's lawyer, Martha Mattox's sinister housekeeper and Lucien Littlefield's weirdly menacing doctor. A young Forrest Stanley and attractive Gertrude Astor also impress.Although the story-line is now familiar to us — since the Hope movie follows it so slavishly — director Paul Leni has joined forces with Universal's legendary art director Charles D. Hall and cinematographer Gilbert Warrenton to make it doubly exciting. In fact some of the effects are so bizarre, and the weird atmosphere is so masterfully created, that even a 2017 audience responded with such enthusiasm to a television showing, the station was forced to re-broadcast it twice within the next few months. Here's a rare classic that can entertain, startle and be seen as innovative and highly imaginative, nearly 80 years after it originally thrilled audiences. Leni's "Cat and the Canary" fully deserves its cult reputation.Available in a worn but quite watchable DVD from Alpha.

"The Cat and the Canary" is a favourite of mine. Combining elements of Horror with Comedy, this film has many excellent moments.The sets that represent the house in question, are outstanding. I can believe that someone or something is roaming about along those long, dark corridors.The direction by German director, Paul Leni is excellent as he makes full use of the cameras and the lighting.The acting is pretty good on the whole.I rate "The Cat and the Canary" as being on a par with the best from "Universal's" horror period.

You might think that you cannot take a horror movie with comedy features serious but here they are welcome in what otherwise would be a pretty standard and perhaps tedious film about a house that might be haunted and where mysterious events happen. Comparing this one to the shorter Midnight Faces which has the same premise is like day and night. The Cat and the Canary beats it in every way. The Cat and the Canary starts of with some impressive visuals about the deceased uncle's feelings about his relatives portrayed in a very symbolic way with cats. A few times we see some nice special effects, impressive for its time. The eeriness of the dark mansion remains constant for start to end. The cast is really versatile and fitting with in the starring roles Laura La Plante as the lucky heir Annabelle West, Creighton Hale as the first not so brave and therefore unintentionally funny Paul Jones and of course Flora Finch as aunt Susan whose hysteric talking would drive any sane person crazy (perfect example is when she is picked up by the milkman and drives him nuts with her chattering about ghosts). Honorable mention to Martha Mattox as housekeeper Mammy Pleasant (that name in itself is the biggest paradox when you see her face) whose presence alone does anyone expect there is something scary about the whole thing. And of course the doctor examining Annabelle looked creepy too. Simple but effective story with wonderful characters.

This is one of those must-see-at-least-once haunted house films, being one of the originals. I've seen it more than a few times. It took me years to track it down on VHS, nowadays it seems everywhere on digital platforms. It was very well done, a very pleasant comedy and well worth while and yet imho is nowhere near as good as the 1939 remake, that is if comparisons between silents and talkies are permitted. To me it's the same story therefore the two are comparable, although the 1979 version is probably best utterly forgotten if not completely forgivable for being such a time waster.Various quirky guests assemble at huge spooky mansion at midnight exactly 20 years after the death of their eccentric relative Cyrus West to hear the reading of his Will and who gets his money. It always struck me as odd that the greedy relatives didn't initially contest the bizarre rule, after all some of them might have joined him Upstairs in the intervening 2 decades! Creighton Hale and Laura La Plante played the lead characters of Paul and Annabelle excellently – but unfortunately without the same sparkle Bob Hope and Paulette Godard had when playing Wally and Joyce 12 years later. However, the 1927 version had some nifty camera-work, inventive intertitles, some witty moments (especially Aunt Susan encountering the wide eyed Paul under her bed!) and nice sets with a lovely atmosphere that all still manages to suck you completely into the plot. I would add that the version I just saw ran 93 minutes with a rather stale soundtrack, I thought the tape I watched in the '90's was more sympathetic at 126 minutes long - there's apparently a wide range of versions now available on DVD so a little care in choosing seems required. As I'm still searching for the Perfect Copy this applies to me too!All in all an enjoyable and essential silent film to see even if you don't like the genre; if you do then I would particularly recommend the remake as one of the best films ever made.