The Cat and the Canary (1978) YTS

Reviewed by Wuchak 4 / 10

**_Squabbling money-hungry family members at a vacant mansion

**_Squabbling money-hungry family members at a vacant mansion in England_** On a stormy night in 1934, several potential heirs meet at a manor in the sticks outside London for the reading of the will, which was put on film by the old man (Wilfrid Hyde-White). "The Cat and the Canary" (1978) was based on the stage play from 1922, which was considered THE 'old dark house' tale and so four feature films were made of it between 1927-1939, followed by a television production in 1959. Interestingly, the locale of the story often changes. For instance, the 1927 film takes place by the Hudson River in New York while the 1939 rendition occurs in the bayou of Louisiana. Here the events are switched to rural England. Olivia Hussey (Cicily) and Carol Lynley (Annabelle) are highlights on the feminine front, but not enough is done with them. How about learning how to shoot beautiful women? (And I’m not talking about nudity or sleaze). For THE ‘old dark house’ tale, the manor is too brightly lit with almost zero atmosphere. Besides Hussey and Lynley, the only thing I found compelling in the contrived yarn was the depiction of family tensions and tiffs with an amusing brouhaha between Charlie and (I think) Hendricks on the grand staircase. While it gets a lot of flack, "House of the Long Shadows" is a far better example of this genre from the same general time period. The movie runs 1 hour, 38 minutes, and was shot at Pyrford Court in Surrey, about 25 miles southwest of London. It’s the same location used for “The Omen” two years prior. GRADE: C/C-

Reviewed by CinemaSerf 6 / 10

Radley Metzger manages to gather quite a decent

Radley Metzger manages to gather quite a decent cast in this 1978 iteration of John Willard's play. Wilfred Hyde-White plays a recently deceased millionaire who has gathered his potential heirs to hear his will - delivered by him via film. What follows is a Cluedo-esque sequence of events as each suspects and conspires against the other until only the one who will inherit the devious old man's fortune is left (or not!). The cast gel quite well, but the screenplay is far too wordy; the pace too slow and so much more could have been made of the original, far more quirky characterisations. Still worth a watch, though - Honor Blackman and an ever-imperious Dame Wendy Hiller add bags of class to the proceedings.

Reviewed by dbborroughs 7 / 10

This film version of greedy relatives gathering for the reading of a will has been crucified in some corners as a pale shadow of the original, or if not the original the Bob Hope version. While certainly no classic this is a fun retelling of the story that works because the cast is so enjoyable to watch and because the old story works even if its done half way decently.This was the first version of the story that I ever saw. Endless reruns on HBO years ago have burned portions of this film into my mind, but I didn't mind since the film was just a good time passer.No, its not perfect. The 1970's retro feel that it has doesn't really work and makes the film feel like it doesn't belong anywhere. There were several films in the 1970's set in the 20's, 30's or 40's that suffered similar fates, particularly if they had any European connections. This is not the place to discuss it, but when you see this film you'll understand what I mean. And you should see this since its good but far from great. Is this the version if you can only see one go at the story? No, that would probably be the Bob Hope version, but if you want something for a rainy Sunday that won't tax the brain, this is it.7 out of 10 on the pure enjoyment scale.

The Cat and the Canary

1978

Comedy / Horror / Mystery

The Cat and the Canary

1978

Comedy / Horror / Mystery

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**_Squabbling money-hungry family members at a vacant mansion

Radley Metzger manages to gather quite a decent

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