The Cat and the Canary (1979)

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General		Extras
Category	Mystery	Main Menu Audio Gallery-Photo-Stills Theatrical Trailer Trailer-A Study In Terror, And Now The Screaming Starts
Rating
Year Of Production	1979
Running Time	102:03 (Case: 98)
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	1,2,3,4,5,6	Directed By	Radley Metzger
Studio Distributor	Grenadier Films Umbrella Entertainment	Starring	Honor Blackman Michael Callan Edward Fox Wendy Hiller Olivia Hussey Beatrix Lehmann Carol Lynley Daniel Massey Peter McEnery Wilfrid Hyde-White
Case	Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip
RPI	$19.95	Music	Steven Cagan

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.85:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	None	Smoking	Yes
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	Yes, just character confirmation

    Radley Metzger's adaptation of John Willard's classic play The Cat And The Canary marked the director's only significant deviation from the stylized erotic genre he is renowned for. In this version, Metzger forgoes his flamboyant, artistic style and uses many well-known actors, which is also a rarity for a Radley Metzger film.

    The Cat And The Canary has been adapted to the screen many times over the years. Paul Leni's original silent film version of 1927 and the more humorous 1939 version starring Bob Hope are widely regarded as standouts.

    This Metzger version uses a blend of dry humour and subtle horror elements, combined with some over-performing from the cast. This style suits the content very well, although the constant thunder crashes do become quite irritating. It's also worth noting that horror fans might be disappointed here, as this version is much more amusing than it is frightening.

     In 1934, some twenty years after the death of Cyrus West (Wilfrid Hyde-White), the potential heirs to his fortune are invited to Glencliff Manor for the reading of the will. Cyrus West's long serving lawyer, Allison Crosby (Wendy Hiller), is the first to arrive and is greeted by the equally long serving housekeeper, Mrs Pleasant (Beatrix Lehmann ).

    They both open the padlocks and chains on a large coffin-like chest, which they believe has been secured for the past twenty years. The chest contains a canister of film, complete with sound recording, which Cyrus West recorded shortly before his death. This film identifies the person who will inherit his entire fortune. However, the discovery of a live moth inside the chest indicates someone has recently opened it and possibly already knows the identity of the heir.

    The potential benefactors begin arriving one by one. All come from vastly different professional backgrounds and, as we later discover, have many skeletons in their closets. The invited guests include Dr Harry Blythe (Daniel Massey), Susan Sillsby (Honor Blackman), Cicily Young (Olivia Hussey), Charlie Wilder (Peter McEnery), Paul Jones (Michael Callan) and Annabelle West (Carol Lynley).

     I won't mention the novel and very amusing way West's last will and testament is played to its anxious audience, but this is certainly innovative and an amusing highlight of the film.

    The heir to the West fortune is proclaimed with a few conditions. Should the heir not live through the night or be pronounced insane within the next twelve hours, another prepared film should be viewed. This additional film would announce the second person in line to the West fortune.

    The bizarre and unexpected arrival of Dr Hendricks (Edward Fox) later that night throws the manor into a state of fear and panic. Dr Hendricks warns the guests to secure all doors and windows and not to leave the manor under any circumstances. A psychotic killer has escaped from the sanatorium and will probably try to find shelter and indeed victims inside the manor.

    As the rain falls and the thunder crashes, bizarre and sinister events begin to unfold at Glencliff Manor. Are these the work of the escaped maniac or is the benefactor of the West fortune actually insane?

Video

    The video transfer for The Cat And The Canary is reasonable.

    The transfer is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and is 16x9 enhanced. The film's original aspect ratio is 1.85:1.

    Considering the very ordinary video releases of this film in the past, the sharpness and clarity of this transfer is a welcome improvement. However, sharpness levels do vary throughout the film, but are generally quite good. Blacks were surprisingly clean and displayed no low level noise. Shadows held a good level of detail.

    Colours in general displayed a slightly washed out look, while bright reds were a little overemphasised. At times skin tones appeared marginally oversaturated.

    There were no MPEG artefacts evident in the transfer. Some very marginal aliasing was noticed occasionally in lines on clothing, but this wasn't particularly troublesome. Other film-to-video artefacts were quite well controlled. Film artefacts were minor but frequent and consisted of small marks and scratches. Reel change markings were also evident throughout the film at approximate twenty minute intervals, beginning at 19:46.

    There are no subtitles available on this DVD.

    This is a single sided, dual layered disc. The layer change occurs at 63:15 and is easily noticed, but quite well placed.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    The audio transfer is very average.

    There is one audio track on this DVD, English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s).

    Dialogue quality was quite inconsistent. Occasional passages of dialogue were difficult to hear and comprehend clearly. Some of these issues, though, are very likely to be inherent in the source material. Audio sync presented as very accurate.

    The music score by Steven Cagan is deliberately over-dramatic on one level and overly sweet on another. It is not a particularly memorable score, but suits the content and style of the film quite well.

    The surround channels were not used.

    The subwoofer came to life only once during the chiming of a grandfather clock. Apart from this, it remained dormant.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

   The selection of extras on offer here is insignificant.

Menu

   The menu design is static and very basic. It features looped sound effects of a cat and a canary and is 16x9 enhanced.

Stills Gallery

    Eight images from the film and two promotional images all scroll through automatically.

Theatrical Trailer - The Cat And The Canary (2:24)

Umbrella Trailers - A Study In Terror (3:04)  And Now The Screaming Starts (0:56)

    A US all region version of The Cat And The Canary is available with no extras, but is presented in a letterboxed 1.85:1 ratio.

   Another R1 version features a "Pictorial History" from stage to silent film, through to modern thriller. This extra does not appear to have any direct relevance to the film. This version is also a pan and scan transfer. Both US versions feature the same audio track as this reviewed version.

    I would tend to stick with the local version due to the superior PAL transfer and the 16x9 enhancement.

    While The Cat And The Canary is a long way from the familiar erotic fascination and aesthetic style of Radley Metzger's earlier films, it's still a rather enjoyable farce. It is also arguably the closest Metzger came to making a mainstream film in his filmmaking career.

    The video transfer is reasonable.

    The audio transfer is very bland.

    The lack of decent extras is a disappointment.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall