Okay, I know the good folks at IMDB will get mad at me for starting my review with a plug. But the folks at Kino Video have put together an excellent series of old silent horror movies out on video under the banner "Silent Screams". The Cat and The Canary is one of these, and while it was certainly interesting to look at artistically, storywise, it really doesnt hold up well.
A will reading at an old house (why do they insist on doing them in the most descrept places possible) is done with the inheritor of the estate having to stay at the house until a doctor arrives to see if the inheritor is sane (which the original owner wasn't). Well, until the doctor arrives (which seems like an eternity) the other relatives, who got nada in the will, do their best to make the inheritor mad. There are plenty of creeping hands, strange maids and even the insane lunatic here to keep things rolling along, with somewhat confusing results. There are plotholes galore, and the acting is very broad.
But on the positive side of things, the camerawork here is pretty amazing. I have to admit, during the panning shots of inside the house, I felt that I was in Disneyland during the ride portion of the Haunted House attraction.
Strange how movies make you react...
A will reading at an old house (why do they insist on doing them in the most descrept places possible) is done with the inheritor of the estate having to stay at the house until a doctor arrives to see if the inheritor is sane (which the original owner wasn't). Well, until the doctor arrives (which seems like an eternity) the other relatives, who got nada in the will, do their best to make the inheritor mad. There are plenty of creeping hands, strange maids and even the insane lunatic here to keep things rolling along, with somewhat confusing results. There are plotholes galore, and the acting is very broad.
But on the positive side of things, the camerawork here is pretty amazing. I have to admit, during the panning shots of inside the house, I felt that I was in Disneyland during the ride portion of the Haunted House attraction.
Strange how movies make you react...