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

ADDITION: Masters of Cinema Blu-ray (April 2024): Masters of Cinema have transferred Paul Leni's The Cat and the Canary to Blu-ray. It is cited as being "from a glorious 4K restoration". It does look quite good - in mostly sepia with brief blue (outdoors) and green tints (the creepy sub-basement.). The 1080P is housed on a dual-layered disc with a max'ed out bitrate and, predictably, has light scratches - both surface and a few egregious (see two samples below.) Generally it looks like a reasonable amount of density of the source - original negatives supplied by MoMA (The Museum of Modern Art) -  have been maintained making contrast appear stable in this HD presentation. 

NOTE: We have added 70 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Masters of Cinema use a linear PCM 2.0 channel track (24-bit) for The Cat and the Canary score by Robert Israel; - compiled, synchronized and edited by Gillian B. Anderson, based on music cue sheets compiled and issued for the original 1927 release. It supports the film wonderfully. Masters of Cinema include English intertitles on their Region FREE Blu-ray.

The Masters of Cinema Blu-ray offers two new commentaries. The first is by  film historians Kim Newman (author of Classic Monsters Unleashed) and Stephen Jones (author of The Mammoth Book of Folk Horror: Evil Lives On in the Land!) I recall their commentary on Master of Cinema's Blu-ray of James Whale’s The Old Dark House. They share their enthusiasm for the genre with details of the performers, the 'revealed credit' sequence, plenty on Paul Leni - this being his first American film, that he was a key figure in German Expressionism, how Waxworks became his ticket to the US, his artistic leanings - expressionism, surrealism - Kim and Stephen are always informative and entertaining. The second commentary was by Kevin Lyons (The Encyclopedia of Fantastic Film and Television) and Jonathan Rigby (author English Gothic: A Century Of Horror Cinema). They discuss the Universal Gothic style, the Charles D. Hall sets of The Cat and the Canary, Leni as a master stylist, the imaginative use of the camera, how James Whale was enamored with The Cat and the Canary and much more. Mysteries Mean Dark Corners is a brand new 1/2 hour video essay by David Cairns and Fiona Watson where the pre-history of the genre is put into context with the 1927 film. We also get a brand new 10-minute interview of film critic Phuong Le on The Cat and the Canary. She states that that spookiness is heightened over the romantic characteristics of the popular stage play from 1922, that Leni wanted to make an 'American film' not European, the balance of comedy and danger, blocking and significantly more about the production. I enjoyed it. There is also a 13-minute new interview with writer and film critic Pamela Hutchinson (author of 30-Second Cinema.) She enjoys the fun aspects of The Cat and the Canary, tells us about Leni's roots - his life and early death at age 44 (sepsis brought on by an untreated tooth infection,) etc. A Very Eccentric Man & Yeah, a Cat! are brief extracts from John Willard’s original play. Lucky Strike is a minute-long endorsement of Paul Leni for the cigarette company. The package includes a collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Richard Combs, Craig Ian Mann, and Imogen Sara Smith (author of In Lonely Places: Film Noir Beyond the City.) There is a limited edition O-Card slipcase featuring new artwork by Graham Humphreys.

NOTE: David Steere tells us in email that he is disappointed that the bonus material lack subtitles for the hard of hearing notably in Mysteries Mean Dark Corners. (Thanks David!)     

It's hard to talk about Paul Leni's The Cat and the Canary without mentioning the hilarious 1939 version with Bob Hope and Paulette Godard (reviewed on Blu-ray by Kino HERE and by Eureka HERE), also based on the classic John Willard (The Mask of Fu Manchu) play. It was also remade as Rupert Julian's The Cat Creeps from 1930 (although not the 1950 same-titled film.) Leni made The Man Who Laughs and The Last Warning for Universal. The latter also starring Laura La Plante, who, during the 1920s, appeared in more than 60 films. Leni's The Cat and the Canary initiated the trend of the "old dark house" genre and was cited as being an early example of 20th-century German Expressionism using similar camera effects found in The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. The 1927  The Cat and the Canary is both fun and sets an effectively creepy atmosphere. I am very happy the, stacked, Masters of Cinema Blu-ray with two commentaries, video essay, interviews booklet and more. A wonderful silent era film that is strongly recommended!

Gary Tooze