The Cat and the Canary (1927)

The Cat and the Canary is a 1927 silent film directed by German Expressionist Paul Leni, who also directed Waxworks. This "haunted house" movie has been remade five times -The Cat Creeps (1930), The Will of the Dead Man (1930 Spanish language), The Cat and the Canary (1939 with Bob Hope), The Cat and the Canary (1961 Swedish TV movie) and The Cat and the Canary (1979 British).

Insanity, a perverse will, unhappy relatives, escaped lunatics and wonderful little touches of humor... What's not to like? I liked the style of this film, as I did Waxworks.

Moria says,

To The Cat and the Canary, Paul Leni brings a full arsenal of visual tricks honed by German silent cinema. Leni’s style is something that lifts The Cat and the Canary up and away from being merely a filmed stage play and gives it an amazing visual dynamism.

1000 Misspent Hours calls it "quite simply the finest spooky house movie ever made, and at this late date, it seems likely to retain its crown indefinitely." Classic-Horror.com says it's "a film that catapulted silent films from sheer entertainment to art form" and says, "it became a blueprint for what makes classics “classics.”" It get 87% at Rotten Tomatoes.

8/18/2008: Goat Dog has a review.