A group of relatives, including pretty artist Joyce (Paulette Goddard) and cowardly actor Wally (Bob Hope), gather at a creepy old mansion in the Louisiana bayou for the reading of the will of millionaire Cyrus Norman. In the will, everything is left to Joyce. As the relatives spend the night in the mansion, scary things start to happen and Joyce fears that her relatives might be trying to kill her.
Hope has lots of one-liners and funny comebacks. This was his first big hit movie. Goddard plays it straight but does a good job as the heroine. Hope and Goddard re-teamed a year later for the similar Ghost Breakers. They're both good movies but I prefer Ghost Breakers to this. George Zucco and Gale Sondergaard have supporting roles here. I hopefully don't need to tell you all how that's a big plus for any movie.
The Cat and the Canary began as a play but it's been filmed several times. The first was in 1927 and that version happens to be one of my favorite silent movies. The play and the first movie were highly influential, being imitated often in what would come to be known as the "old dark house" subgenre of horror/thriller. This 1939 version of The Cat and the Canary mixes things up by turning the original into a comedy. Today more people are probably familiar with this than the silent classic. I suppose there's no harm in that but I would recommend you seek out the earlier film as it's very good.
Hope has lots of one-liners and funny comebacks. This was his first big hit movie. Goddard plays it straight but does a good job as the heroine. Hope and Goddard re-teamed a year later for the similar Ghost Breakers. They're both good movies but I prefer Ghost Breakers to this. George Zucco and Gale Sondergaard have supporting roles here. I hopefully don't need to tell you all how that's a big plus for any movie.
The Cat and the Canary began as a play but it's been filmed several times. The first was in 1927 and that version happens to be one of my favorite silent movies. The play and the first movie were highly influential, being imitated often in what would come to be known as the "old dark house" subgenre of horror/thriller. This 1939 version of The Cat and the Canary mixes things up by turning the original into a comedy. Today more people are probably familiar with this than the silent classic. I suppose there's no harm in that but I would recommend you seek out the earlier film as it's very good.