hellholehorror
This is a preposterous film. Olivia Hussey looked stunning although this alone does not make a film. I found it rather stupid, too slow and uneventful. Basically it is a thriller set in the thirties. It is not very thrilling. It is not violent. The secret passages around the house are cool. Best avoided really.
bensonmum2
A will is read in a big, old, dark house. The beneficiary can only claim the inheritance if she survives the night. Otherwise, the fortune goes to a secondary beneficiary who will only be named should the first beneficiary die. Anyone could be that secondary beneficiary - and someone is willing to kill to find out who it is.The house is wonderful - lots of rooms and secret passages. I love a house with a sliding bookcase and that's exactly what you get here. The house creates a perfect setting for a murder mystery. Surprisingly, there is some pretty good atmosphere.Much of the movie is meant to be a comedy and that's where The Cat and the Canary falters. Had it been played straight, it might have been more enjoyable.The movie was directed by Radley Metzger. The fact that a porn director was able assemble a cast including Edward Fox, Olivia Hussey, Honor Blackman, and the wonderful Wendy Hiller is amazing. The fact that he was able to pull the whole thing off as well as he did is a miracle.
skottyrock
A family gathers at Glencliff Manor, their deceased uncle's mansion in England, for the reading of his will - 20 years after his death! It's a typically dark, wet and thundery night in 1934......the perfect weather for a will reading......and a murder (or two). For it also happens to be the same night an escaped, murderous mental patient, with a penchant for all things feline, sneaks in (via a catflap - sorry, couldn't resist) to dry off, lick his fur clean......and sharpen his claws!The family remains unaware of the cat's presence inside the mansion until an anxious mental hospital doctor, searching every nook and cranny for the cat, smashes through a ground floor window brandishing a gun. He urges the family to lock themselves into their rooms and wait for morning.But the cat attacks. And he breaks a nail...er, a claw or two in the process.Headlined by Honor Blackman, GOLDFINGER's Pussy Galore, and Carol Lynley, THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE's onboard singer extraordinaire - the latter having mastered an English accent for this role (Funny! When I was younger I thought Carol Lynley WAS English!) - CAT AND THE CANARY weaves thrills, murder, biting wit and choice dialogue into one satisfying hour and a half or so.Highly recommended.
ApolloBoy109
I fondly remember seeing this film in '79, and I was taken by it but this was long before I started demanding quality from the industry. I wish I hadn't seen it again, so I could have preserved the memory of the atmosphere and lightning and secret passageways, the reading of the will -- I could go on. But the sun rises. How can a film that boasts such talent lie on the floor so limply? There is no depth to any of the characters except the house keeper. Playboy to Doctor to Sportswoman to Pet girl to Instant heiress -- stick characters played by bored actors. The leading lady seemed miscast. Sorry, Miss Linley but the accent came and went so many times, it was distracting. Not that Miss Lynley got much help from Randy's adaption. To sum it up -- it was all there, all the spooky/ horror elements, but nothing jelled. There was no chemistry between anything... the movie lied there, the end offered nothing but who the killer was and even that was obvious from the onset. Yes. Yes. Very sad. Sometimes it's best to keep childhood memories in your mind's eye rather then try to relive the moment.......................
AD
