THE CAT AND THE CANARY
Triumph Of The Will
RELEASED 22 APRIL 1927 | PG | Blu-ray
Director Paul Leni
Cast Laura La Plante, Creighton Hale,
Forrest Stanley, Tully Marshall
The first and finest screen version of John Willard’s stage play may hail from the dying days of silent cinema, but nearly a century on it’s lost none of its playful gothic energy.
This stunning new restoration enhances the genius of director Paul Leni, the shadow-master of German Expressionist cinema, who balances farce and horror as claimants gather at a “grotesque mansion” to squabble over a millionaire’s will.
It’s deliciously creaky, tropey stuff, complete with hairy hands emerging from the dark, but there are flashes of genuine surrealism amid the moths and cobwebs. It’s striking how artfully the camera prowls the corridors, producing modern-feeling tracking shots delightfully unencumbered by the need for heavy audio-recording equipment. Some argue the advent of sound put the evolution of cinema back by years. Watching this you might just believe it.
Extras This Eureka release offers a choice of illuminating
Enhances the genius of director Paul Leni
commentaries by dependable horror mavens: Kim Newman paired with Stephen Jones, plus Kevin Lyons alongside Jonathan Rigby. A fascinating video essay frames the film against the history of the Old Dark House genre, and proves a sobering reminder of just how many glorious-sounding early movies are now lost to the great exit light in the sky (29 minutes).
Film critics Pamela Hutchinson (13 minutes) and Phuong Le (nine minutes) provide a pair of perceptive appreciations. There are also newly dramatised audio extracts from Willard’s original play (five minutes), as well as Paul Leni’s endorsement of Lucky Strike cigarettes (one minute), plus a booklet. Nick Setchfield
The sets were by Charles D Hall, who went on to design Dracula, Frankenstein and The Bride Of Frankenstein.