About This Event
A decaying mansion and a stormy night provide the archetypal setting for mystery and chaos when a pack of greedy relatives gather for the reading of a twenty-year-old will. But before the fortune can be handed down, the family must endure a night in the cavernous manor, unnerved by the news that an escaped lunatic is at large.
So clever and stylish that it would appear to be the wellspring of all “old dark house” mysteries, The Cat and the Canary was in 1927 already a theatrical chestnut among similar popular melodramas. Even so, The Cat is a milestone of the American horror film, thanks to the ingenuity of its director, Paul Leni (Waxworks, The Man Who Laughs). One of the first film artists imported from Germany by Hollywood, Leni invigorated this stage-bound genre with Expressionist flair, transforming conventional material into a gothic visual feast.
"One of the finest examples of motion picture art." – Mordaunt Hall, New York Times (1927)
Directed By: Paul Leni
Written By: John Willard, Robert F. Hill, Alfred A. Cohn
Starring: Laura La Plante, Creighton Hale, Forrest Stanley
Rated Passed; Runtime 1hr 48min
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