The Cat and the Canary starring Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard is a 1939 comedy horror film remake of the 1927 film The Cat and the Canary, which was based on the 1922 play of the same name by John Willard. The Paramount production was directed by Elliott Nugent.
Plot:
Cyrus Norman was a millionaire who lived in the Louisiana bayous with his mistress Miss Lu (Sondergaard); he died ten years previously. A Native American (Regas) paddles Mr Crosby (George Zucco), the executor of Norman’s estate, through alligator-infested waters to Norman’s isolated mansion, where his will is to be read at midnight.
At the mansion, Crosby meets Miss Lu, who lives there with a large black cat. When he removes the will from a safe, he discovers that someone has tampered with it.
Crosby and Miss Lu are joined by Norman’s survivors: Joyce Norman (Goddard), Fred Blythe (Beal), Charles Wilder (Montgomery), Cicily (Westman), Aunt Susan (Patterson), and Wally Campbell (Hope).
As the group gathers in the parlour to read the will, an unseen gong rings seven times. According to Miss Lu, this means that only seven of the eight people present will survive the night…
Review:
People love to complain about remakes. “Hollywood has run out of ideas!” they cry as if this is some sort of new phenomenon. Yet remakes have been a mainstay of cinema since its earliest days, often coming just a few years after an earlier version (and without the excuse of having a franchise to reboot). Case in point: this version of The Cat and The Canary, which appeared a mere twelve years after the previous version – not to mention the assorted knock-offs and imitations that proliferated from the 1920s through to the 1980s (The Cat Creeps (1930) was an unofficial sound remake of the silent original, but is now a lost film). The ‘old dark house’ mystery has been a cinematic (and theatrical) mainstay for most of the life of cinema, and The Cat and The Canary is the daddy of them all.
There’s a curious pleasure to the ‘old dark house’ film – the majority of them are pretty lightweight stuff but it is this light touch and the familiarity of the narrative that makes them so enjoyable. This kind of film feels very much like comfort food – fluffy mixes of thriller, horror and comedy where it’s fairly easy to guess who the villain is (it’s always the person who seems the least suspicious), allowing the viewer to simply go with the flow.
There are all the old dark house clichés, which must have been clichés even at the time – secret panels, hairy arms reaching for the heroine, people who just can’t stay locked in their rooms where they would clearly be safer, red herrings and the opportunity to shout “him! It’s obviously him!” as the cast true to figure out who the Cat actually is.
This 1939 version is probably the best known and almost certainly the best-loved of the assorted versions of the story that are all – more or less – based on the 1922 play by John Willard. It’s also the one that plays the fastest and loose with the source material, shifting the location from the Hudson River to the Louisiana bayous, where millionaire Cyrus Norman built his home, and where, ten years after his death, his family members are gathering for the reading of his will.
They are a mixed bunch – there’s Aunt Susan (Elizabeth Patterson), who believes herself to be the rightful heir, and Cicily (Nydia Westman) who is her excitable companion; artist Joyce Norman (Paulette Goddard); Charles Wilder (Douglass Montgomery), a lounge lizard who wants to revive a romance with Joyce and his rival, the sullen Fred Blythe (John Beal); and Wally Campbell (Bob Hope), a radio personality and nervous wise-cracker. Also along for the ride are mysterious housekeeper Miss Lu (Gale Sondergaard) and lawyer Mr Crosby (George Zucco).
When Joyce turns out to have inherited the fortune – by chance more than choice, as the will specifies that the cash goes to whoever is named ‘Norman’ – at a dramatic midnight reading, and a security guard from a nearby asylum warns that a murderous lunatic known as ‘the Cat’ is on the loose (how he would get to a place that seems to be an isolated island surrounded by alligator-infested swamps is never quite explained), the bodies start to pile up and Wally – by default the only person not under audience suspicion, given that he is Bob Hope and Bob Hope is never, ever going to turn out to be the bad guy in a movie – starts to investigate the on-going mysteries, which also involve a lost diamond necklace.
With Hope in the lead role, it was always going to be as much about laughs as thrills. The actor here does his usual shtick – a character who is full of quips, constantly nervous but ultimately heroic and of course gets the girl, however unlikely this might be (for a while, it looks as though the film might actually pair him with the equally comic and scatty Westman, instead of romantic lead Goddard, and you rather regret that it doesn’t because they would make a much more entertaining couple) and you either like that or you don’t. In either way, the archetypal Hope character makes more sense in films like this and the follow up The Ghost Breakers than it does in some of his other movies, and as far as goofy comedy characters in horror films of the period go, I’ll take him over Lou Costello any day.
because the film is built entirely around Hope, it does mean that the rest of the cast are all playing second fiddle to a large extent. Goddard is very beautiful but has very little to do for much of the film except be frightened or hysterical, which is a pity as the few moments where her character is allowed to show a little gutsy bravery are impressive. She suffers from being a typical chiller movie heroine from a time when such characters were never given very much to do and that feels a real shame because she isn’t even allowed to be particularly funny. However, the supporting players are all entertaining (though Beal’s semi-aggressive moping becomes annoying after a while) – and it’s always good to see horror stalwarts Zucco and Sondergaard in action, the former getting to be relatively normal for once and the latter in fine form balancing the sinister and the kitsch.
Slickly helmed by Elliott Nugent, this film is never less than entertaining, no matter how many times you’ve seen it before – in fact, familiarity in this case perhaps enhances the film as you can just go with the flow and enjoy each moment without having to worry about picking up on clues about who the killer might be (which, of course, are not really there anyway). Good things like this never get old.
David Flint, guest reviewer via The Reprobate
Other reviews:
“The Cat is pretty creepy looking for an old movie, and there’s a nice sequence of him sneaking around a hidden passageway, trying to catch up to our heroine (Paulette Goddard), and even killing a random cop in the process (still not sure what the hell the cop was doing in there, but it doubles the film’s body count, so no complaints!)” Horror Movie a Day
“Elliott Nugent (no relation, skeptics) has directed it smartly, taking full advantage of the standard chiller devices for frightening the susceptibles of his audience but never losing sight of his main objective—comedy […] the objective is carried briskly and to our complete satisfaction. Good show.” The New York Times, November 23, 1939
” …it’s a perfect vehicle for Hope’s bluff, cowardly persona. Predictable, but surprisingly atmospheric (Sondergaard helps no end) and often very funny.” Geoff Andrew, The Time Out Film Guide
“Director Nugent […] does a great job in presenting some spine-tingling moments: claw-like hands reach out for the heroine and everyone seems to disappear through swiveling bookcases, sliding doors, and false panels. Lang’s camera work is properly moody and supporting player Sondergaard gives a high-camp performance…” TV Guide
“Unlike in most of his films, Hope is a bit more restrained here, not relying purely mugging and fast humorous quips, though there are plenty of good lines. When asked if big empty houses scare him, Hope responds, “Not me, I use to be in vaudeville.” The film is more plot-driven and is filled with many nice touches of spooky thrills.” Twenty Four Frames
“The scenes where Goddard is being stalked by “The Cat” brim with atmosphere. Just the shots of the creepy-looking Cat lurking in the foreground is scary by itself. The climax is genuinely hair-raising and suspenseful too. It’s truly one of the best horror comedies ever made.” The Video Vacuum
For YouTube reviews, the trailer and more movie info click the page 2 link below
MOVIES & MANIA provides previews, our own film reviews and ratings, plus links to other online reviews from a wide variety of trusted sources in one handy web location. This is a genuinely independent website and we rely solely on the minor income generated by internet ads to pay for web costs and cover yet more movies. Please support us by not blocking ads. Thank you. As an Amazon Associate, we earn a very tiny amount from any qualifying purchases.