For years I have heard that "The Cat and the Canary" was a very good movie. For some reason--rights, maybe?--I have never seen it before. Well, I finally caught up with it. As a number of previous reviews have pointed out, "The Ghost Breakers" was better--far better. Even the politically incorrect aspects of the second film worked. Hope and, especially Goddard (no wonder Chaplain was so bewitched), were much better the second time out.
I saw the Laura LaPlante silent version on Turner Classic Movies recently, so the identity of "the cat" was no surprise, although I suspect most viewers would have figured it out not too far into the movie. The best performances in the 1939 version were by Gale Sondergaard and Nydia Westman. On the other hand, John Beal and Douglass Montgomery gave confirming evidence of why they are now largely forgotten.
Still, I would rather watch Goddard and Hope in this "Cat" than the gore-fests--"Saw," anyone?--that are ground out like rancid sausages today for the mystery/thriller market.
I saw the Laura LaPlante silent version on Turner Classic Movies recently, so the identity of "the cat" was no surprise, although I suspect most viewers would have figured it out not too far into the movie. The best performances in the 1939 version were by Gale Sondergaard and Nydia Westman. On the other hand, John Beal and Douglass Montgomery gave confirming evidence of why they are now largely forgotten.
Still, I would rather watch Goddard and Hope in this "Cat" than the gore-fests--"Saw," anyone?--that are ground out like rancid sausages today for the mystery/thriller market.