The Cat and the Canary / The Ghost Breakers Blu-ray

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

The Cat and the Canary (1939) The Ghost Breakers (1940)

Ghosts and gags galore in this charming double-bill of horror-comedies starring Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard.

The Cat and the Canary (dir. Elliott Nugent, 1939) – A decade after the death of an eccentric millionaire, his remaining relatives gather for the reading of the will at his abandoned mansion set deep in the Louisiana bayous. His niece Joyce (Paulette Goddard) is named the sole inheritor, but under the condition that she does not go insane within the next 30 days. The timid Wally (Bob Hope) vows to protect Joyce who must spend the night in the haunted mansion along with her jealous relatives, a creepy maid and a homicidal maniac who has just escaped from a nearby sanitarium.

The Ghost Breakers (dir. George Marshall, 1940) – Larry Lawrence (Hope), sought in connection with a murder he did not commit, eludes New York police by hiding in a steamer trunk. Soon the trunk (and Larry) are aboard a ship bound for Cuba, where the trunk’s owner, pretty Mary Carter (Goddard), is sailing to take possession of a recent inheritance: a “haunted” castle. Sensing that Mary is in danger, Larry and his valet precede her to the island, which is inhabited by a ghost, a zombie and perhaps even a flesh-and-blood fiend. There’s romance, comedy and chills as Hope and Goddard contend with earthly and un-earthly foes and try to keep from ending up as ghosts themselves.

Posters

Theatrical Releases: October 27th, 1939 - June 7th, 1940

Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews

Review: Eureka Classics - Region 'B' - Blu-ray

Box Cover		CLICK to order from: Bonus Captures for The Cat and the Canary: Bonus Captures for The Ghost Breakers:
Distribution	Eureka Classics - Region 'B' - Blu-ray
Runtime	The Cat and the Canary: 1:14:26.295 The Ghost Breakers: 1:24:50.668
Video	1.33:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 47,984,856,650 bytes The Cat and the Canary: 20,810,071,872 bytes The Ghost Breakers: 23,726,980,416 bytes Video Bitrate: 32.85 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate The Cat and the Canary Blu-ray:
Bitrate The Ghost Breakers Blu-ray:
Audio	LPCM Audio English 2304 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit Commentaries: Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps
Subtitles	English (SDH), None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Eureka Classics 1.33:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 47,984,856,650 bytes The Cat and the Canary: 20,810,071,872 bytes The Ghost Breakers: 23,726,980,416 bytes Video Bitrate: 32.85 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • Brand new audio commentary tracks on both films with Kevin Lyons and Jonathan Rigby • Kim Newman on “The Cat and the Canary” and “The Ghost Breakers” (20:47) • “The Ghost Breakers” 1949 radio adaptation (30:02) Trailers “The Cat and the Canary” (3:40) “The Ghost Breakers” (2:14) A limited edition collector’s booklet (2000 copies) featuring new writing by Craig Ian Mann Blu-ray Release Date: December 5th, 2022 Transparent Blu-ray Case Chapters 7 / 9

Comments:

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Eureka Classics Blu-ray (November 2022): Eureka Classics have transferred two Bob Hope / Paulette Goddard 'ghost-y' comedies to a lone dual-layered Blu-ray. They are cited as "1080p presentation of both films from scans of the original film elements supplied by Universal, with The Ghost Breakers presented from a new 2K master". Both films, The Cat and the Canary + The Ghost Breakers, were released on individual Blu-rays by Kino in 2020 in the US, reviewed HERE and HERE. Bitrates remain high and there isn't a lot to choose from between the 1080P image quality of the US and UK renderings. We've compare a couple of screen captures for each film below. Differences are negligible.

NOTE: There are 50 large resolution Blu-ray captures for The Cat and the Canary HERE and 62 for The Ghost Breakers HERE (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons.

On their Blu-ray, Eureka Classics use linear PCM dual-mono tracks (24-bit) in the original English language. There are a few effects and enjoyable scores on both films by Dr. Ernst Toch (Address Unknown, Dr. Cyclops) and and also uncredited for The Ghost Breakers Victor Young (Strategic Air Command, The Sun Shines Bright, The Accused, Johnny Guitar, China Gate etc.) Both lean more to the horror aspects of the film than the comedy. Again not a notable audio difference from the Kino releases. Eureka Classics offer optional English (SDH) subtitles - see samples below - on their Region 'B' Blu-ray.

Differences are in the supplements. The Eureka Classics Blu-ray offers new commentaries by Kevin Lyons (editor of The Encyclopedia of Fantastic Film and Television) and Jonathan Rigby (author English Gothic: A Century Of Horror Cinema.) They are always thorough delving into the history of the films, production stars Hope and Goddard, directors Elliott Nugent and George Marshall plus comparable films. Included is 20-minutes of Kim Newman (Kim Newman's Guide To The Flipside Of British Cinema) on “The Cat and the Canary” and “The Ghost Breakers”. He adds more lesser-known details and historical reference to the film. Eureka add a 1/2 hour “The Ghost Breakers” 1949 radio adaptation, trailers for both films and the package has a limited edition collector’s booklet (2000 copies) featuring new writing by Craig Ian Mann.

The Cat and the Canary is good old-fashioned fun but I appreciated the fright-fest side of the film more than the humor (although Hope's one-liners are great) with a dramatic, spooky conclusion. There is great lighting, plenty of dark corridors, underground passageways and shadows in the old mansion. George Marshall's The Ghost Breakers is as fun as The Cat and the Canary (although I may have liked the 1939 film a bit more.). See if you can see Robert Ryan as an uncredited 'intern' and an early Anthony Quinn who is here briefly. These Hope / Goddard films really work well - it's a shame neither Kino or Eureka could swing Nothing But the Truth to Blu-ray although the film doesn't have the spooky connection element. The genre mix here has a unique appeal. Eureka have equaled Kino on the a/v but have added more for the extras with Lyons, Rigby and Newman plus the radio adaptation and the booklet. Include in this both films are on one Blu-ray making for a great double-feature night. Easy to watch, fun and absolutely recommended!