#horror – #horrormovies – #TheCatandtheCanary – #KLStudioClassics – @KLStudioClassic –

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 West 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.

STARRING: Laura La Plante

Read more “The Cat and the Canary (Special Edition) (1927) Available October 28”

#horror – #horrormovies – #TheCatAndTheCanary – #EurekaEntertainment –

Paul Leni (The Man Who Laughs) directs one of the most important and influential films in the early history of American genre cinema, which perfected the ‘old dark house’ formula and set the stage for the Universal horror cycle of the 1930s. Twenty years after the death of millionaire Cyrus West, his surviving relatives are called together in a decaying mansion on the Hudson River. There, they gather to hear West’s lawyer Roger Crosby (Tully Marshall) read his last will and testament and discover that West has left everything to his niece Annabelle (Laura La Plante). That is, at least, on the condition that she is judged to be legally sane. As the family settles in for the evening, tensions rise when they are informed that a murderer nicknamed the Cat has escaped from a nearby asylum and is suspected to be somewhere on the grounds. Crosby soon disappears in mysterious circumstances, which proves to be just the first in a series of horrifying events that will punctuate a long, dark night of terror – during which Annabelle’s sanity will be called into question again and again. Based upon the 1922 stage production by John Willard, The Cat and the Canary is a perfect blend of horror and black comedy and stands at the apex of a cycle of films adapted from mystery plays throughout the 1920s. It later inspired James Whale’s The Old Dark House and has been remade several times – but never bettered. The Masters of Cinema series is proud to present this cornerstone of horror cinema on Blu-ray from a glorious 4K restoration.

STARRING: Creighton Hale, Laura La Plante

Read more “The Cat And The Canary (1927) (Special Edition) Available December 10”