Production The Cat and the Canary (1927 film)

cast of film (from left): flora finch, gertrude astor, creighton hale, forrest stanley, laura la plante, , arthur edmund carewe

universal chose irish actor creighton hale play hero paul jones, annabelle s cousin. hale had appeared in 64 silent films before cat , canary, notably 1914 serial exploits of elaine , d. w. griffith s way down east (1920) , orphans of storm (1921). hale s role in cat , canary provide comedic relief. according critic john howard reid, forever backing furniture or finding himself in risqué position under bed or wrestling stray objects falling books or enormous bed-springs. hale had trouble finding solid career in sound film. many of parts minor , uncredited.

the villain charles wilder played forrest stanley, actor had been cast in films such bavu (1923), through dark (1924) , shadow of law (1926). after performance in cat , canary, stanley played lesser roles in films such show boat (1936) , curse of undead (1959) , television series alfred hitchcock presents, studio 57, , gunsmoke.

the film contained supporting cast referred 1 film historian second-rate , excellent another. tully marshall played suspicious lawyer roger crosby, martha mattox cast sinister , superstitious housekeeper mammy pleasant, , gertrude astor , flora finch played greedy relatives cecily young , aunt susan sillsby, respectively. lucien littlefield cast deranged psychiatrist dr. ira lazar bore eerie resemblance werner krauss s title character in cabinet of dr. caligari.

directing

as universal anticipated, director paul leni turned willard s play expressionist film suited american audience. historian bernard f. dick observes leni reduced german expressionism, weird chiaroscuro, asymmetric sets, , excessive stylization, format compatible american film practice. jenn dlugos argues many stage play movie adaptations [of 1920s] fall trap of looking stage play taped big screen minimal emphasis on environment , plenty of stage play overacting. this, however, not case leni s film. richard scheib notes leni s style lifts cat , canary , away being merely filmed stage play , gives amazing visual dynamism.

leni used similar camera effects found in german expressionist films such cabinet of dr. caligari set atmosphere of cat , canary. film opens hand wiping cobwebs away reveal title credits. other effects include dramatic shadows, portentous superimpositions , moody sequences in camera glides through corridors billowing curtains. film historian jan-christopher horak explains matched dissolve image of mansion , oddly shaped towers oversized bottles of medicine dearly departed has been forced consume functions double image of prison, dwarfing old man sits alive in corner of frame. leni worked cast add mood created lighting , camera angles. cinematographer gilbert warrenton recalled leni used gong startle actors. warrenton mused, beat thing worse salvation army beat drum.

while film contains elements of horror, according film historian dennis l. white structured end other horror in mind. scenes may achieve horror, , characters dramatically experience horror, these films conventional clues , logical explanation, @ least explanation plausible in hindsight, crucial, , of necessity makers first concern.

besides directing, leni painter , set designer. sets of film designed leni , fabricated charles d. hall, later designed sets of dracula (1931) , frankenstein (1931). leni hoped eschew realism visual designs reflected emotions of characters. wrote, not extreme reality camera perceives, reality of inner event, more profound, effective , moving see through everyday eyes .... leni went on direct charlie chan film chinese parrot (1927), man laughs (1928), , last warning (1929) before death in 1929 blood poisoning.