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The granddaddy of haunted house horror — and it still slaps harder than most modern garbage.
TMDB
69
IMDb
71
Rotten Tomatoes
94
Google
87
Watch

The Cat and the Canary (1927)

gothic prankstershadow puppet nightmareproto-Scooby-Doo

Overview

ComedyHorrorMystery

Rich old Cyrus West's relatives are waiting for him to die so they can inherit. But he stipulates that his will be read 20 years after his death. On the appointed day his expectant heirs arrive at his brooding mansion. The will is read and it turns out that Annabelle West, the only heir with his name left, inherits, if she is deemed sane. If she isn't, the money and some diamonds go to someone else, whose name is in a sealed envelope. Before he can reveal the identity of her successor to Annabelle, Mr. Crosby, the lawyer, disappears. The first in a series of mysterious events, some of which point to Annabelle in fact being unstable.

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Content warning
silent filmblack and whitehaunted housebased on play or musicalexpressionismaristocratold dark houselast will and testament

Standout Aspects

Direction

Leni's German Expressionism makes walls breathe and shadows attack.

Cinematography

Those creeping camera moves invented visual suspense.

Acting

Laura La Plante's side-eye could end careers.

Best for:Solo: Late night with headphones, lights off, embrace the shadows.·Friends: Drinking game: sip every time someone gasps dramatically.·Rewatch: Spot which tropes every haunted house movie stole from this.
Paul Leni

Director

Paul Leni

ReleasedAug 20, 1927
Runtime1h 27m
StatusReleased

Vibe

Pacesteady
Intensitymedium
Tonemixed
Feellight
Revenue$325.6K
Universal Pictures

Top Cast

Laura La Plante

Laura La Plante

Annabelle West

Creighton Hale

Creighton Hale

Paul Jones

Forrest Stanley

Forrest Stanley

Charles Wilder

Tully Marshall

Tully Marshall

Roger Crosby

Gertrude Astor

Gertrude Astor

Cecily

Flora Finch

Flora Finch

Susan

Arthur Edmund Carewe

Arthur Edmund Carewe

Harry

Martha Mattox

Martha Mattox

Mammy Pleasant

George Siegmann

George Siegmann

The Guard

Lucien Littlefield

Lucien Littlefield

Ira Lazar

Billy Engle

Billy Engle

Taxi Driver (uncredited)

Joe Murphy

Joe Murphy

Milkman (uncredited)

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Deep Dive

Trivia, insights & behind the scenes

Cultural

This basically created the 'old dark house' subgenre that Universal rode until the wheels fell off.

Insight

Leni was poached from Germany specifically for this; Hollywood knew Expressionism was the future of horror.

YouTube

Masters of Cinema Trailer

Masters of Cinema Trailer

Gallery

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