With "The Cat and the Canary", Bob Hope became a legitimate leading man in pictures and at the same time made the brash coward character his own. The formula consisted of using jokes to ward off fear in the face of trouble, a braggart who talks big but melts when face to face with danger. At the time this picture was made, Paulette Goddard was married to Charlie Chaplin, and when Hope met him during filming, Chaplin complimented Hope on his comic timing, calling him one of the best. It was a memory Hope cherished for the rest of his life.
So what we have here is a fairly formulaic haunted house mystery with the prerequisite dimming lights, black cat, peering eyes through a portrait, revolving bookcase and a mysterious hand. All those clichés are brought to bear in a story where a last will and testament provides for a single heir, leaving a handful of remaining relatives on the sidelines as they contemplate who might become a murder victim if they stay in the Norman mansion for the night. My antenna went up early when it was stated that the will was being read on the tenth anniversary of Cyrus Norman's death - why would it have taken so long? I guess we're not supposed to ask.
Hope displays excellent comedic timing here with co-star Goddard, finishing her sentences and becoming her protector when the creepy stuff starts to occur. I thought the name of the attorney for the Norman estate being Crosby (George Zucco), we might have been treated to a Bingster sight gag, but "The Road to Singapore" was one picture away and a year off, so the relationship hadn't materialized yet. Some coincidence though, huh?
With Lawyer Crosby eliminated as the victim of Miss Lu's (Gale Sondergaard) prediction, (eight in attendance, seven chimes, one will die), the mystery involves who the killer was and how he's discovered. That's for the viewer to find out, as long as your goosebumps don't get goosebumps.
So what we have here is a fairly formulaic haunted house mystery with the prerequisite dimming lights, black cat, peering eyes through a portrait, revolving bookcase and a mysterious hand. All those clichés are brought to bear in a story where a last will and testament provides for a single heir, leaving a handful of remaining relatives on the sidelines as they contemplate who might become a murder victim if they stay in the Norman mansion for the night. My antenna went up early when it was stated that the will was being read on the tenth anniversary of Cyrus Norman's death - why would it have taken so long? I guess we're not supposed to ask.
Hope displays excellent comedic timing here with co-star Goddard, finishing her sentences and becoming her protector when the creepy stuff starts to occur. I thought the name of the attorney for the Norman estate being Crosby (George Zucco), we might have been treated to a Bingster sight gag, but "The Road to Singapore" was one picture away and a year off, so the relationship hadn't materialized yet. Some coincidence though, huh?
With Lawyer Crosby eliminated as the victim of Miss Lu's (Gale Sondergaard) prediction, (eight in attendance, seven chimes, one will die), the mystery involves who the killer was and how he's discovered. That's for the viewer to find out, as long as your goosebumps don't get goosebumps.