Take every old haunted house cliche and mix it with humor. Hire Paul Leni one of Germany's best expressionist directors and you have a film that is a practically perfect genre piece.
The setup is the deceased relative in a spooky old house bit. The family members have arrived for the reading of his will and one of them is a murderer who wants all the inheritance. Even in 1927 this was a bunch of cliches but as they say it's not the story but how you tell the story.
A moving camera, witty title cards and a perfect blend of humor and scares really work here. In some ways the fact that this is a silent film adds to the fun. The anachronisms that are silent films these days indirectly contributes to the stylish mood of this film.
The Cat and the Canary is a lot of fun.
82 minutes.
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