Erbschaft um Mitternacht

Most of Bob Hope's films rely heavily on the humour of the times, with references to political and cultural events figuring in significantly. Sometimes this detracts from his films, because the humour is not always self-evident. Not is the case with his performance in the remake of Paul Leni's The Cat and the Canary. Hope has one great one-liner after another in this old dark house mystery-comedy. The story is pretty familiar: a group a relations must stay a night in a house, listen to a will, and then remain there for the evening to see if the inheritor remains sane throughout the evening. Of course, we the audience are treated to secret panels, an occasional murder, hooded culprits, and a great mystery. The Cat and the Canary works so well for a number of reasons. First, it is a very atmospheric film taking place in the swamplands of Louisiana. The film is by no means big budget but does do the most with what it has. The surrounding swampland have an authentic feeling to them and the house itself is magnificently eerie. The cast is quite good with Bob Hope saving the film from tiresome formula with his special brand of humour and his excellent timing. Despite his great performance, he is almost upstaged by Gale Sondergaard as a dark, brooding servant. George Zucco also has a nice supporting role. All in all a nice way to spend an evening.

The late Uncle Cyrus left quite a collection of greedy relatives looking to be the number one heir at the reading of his will at his home on an island in the Louisiana bayou swamp. Among the possible legatees are Bob Hope, Paulette Goddard, John Beal, Douglass Montgomery, Elizabeth Patterson, Nydia Westman and housekeeper Gale Sondergaard. Presiding over the reading of the will is lawyer George Zucco. Besides Bob Hope a lot of the names of the cast spell out sinister.

As usual the deceased always makes out a will with wacky provisions. Winner of the prize is Goddard, but she has to spend some time at the creepy mansion, essential in these kind of films. And if she's driven to madness or killed there is a secret provision for a second heir among the crew that only Zucco knows.

The Cat And The Canary is a nice blend of both comedy and melodrama with of course Hope in charge of the comedy. He's a successful radio star as in real life at that time and Uncle Cyrus's money while nice isn't going to be the difference in where his next meal is coming from. And he's liking what he sees in Goddard so he's protective of her in his own comedic way.

This was the first of three films that Hope and Goddard did. Immediately afterward Paramount put them in The Ghostbreakers which certainly had some similar themes. They worked well together too bad they were not able to collaborate more.

This was a nice film for the career of Bob Hope which was zooming into high gear right about now.

This tale of greedy relatives out to get a fortune had been filmed at least two times before Bob Hope took a crack at it, and the world is a better place for it.

Though not the perfect haunted house film, this is a very funny movie. One of the reason that this isn't perfect is that the wisecracks get in the way of the mystery, or if not the mystery, the suspense. Such is the danger of comedy thrillers, either its too funny so its not scary, or too suspenseful and the comedy destroys the tension at the wrong time, here its simply too much humor before it turns serious.

Fortunately here funny is good, so even if the suspense gets the short end of the stick, its still an enjoyable time at the movies. What more could you want, especially since it gives Bob Hope ample chance to do what he does best.

See this movie. Its a lot of fun. 8 out of 10.

The silents brought us a number of classic comedians who were skilled at making the audience laugh without uttering a word. With the advent of sound, some of these comedians found the transition hard and most still relied on their old silent routines for their jokes. Bob Hope was the first comedian who's mouth provided the punchline. The Cat and the Canary was his first leading part and yet it's not designed purely for his advantage, this is a great picture, both funny and exciting.

Bob Hope is the star. He's hilarious. He's sympathetic. He's also a coward, which isn't such an asset when you're staying in a house filled with escaped lunatics, suspicious servants, and numerous trapdoors. Hope plays a radio personality who involuntarily becomes the bodyguard to a woman, Joyce, who recently inherited a lot of money. The house is filled with other guests that are upset at having lost out on the inheritance. To make matters worse, if Joyce dies within a month, the money goes to whoever was the substitute inheritor and that person's name lies in an envelope safely hidden in a safe. As guests start dying, the tension increases, as does Hope's one-liner's. "I've got goosepumps. In fact, my goosebumps have got goosebumps."

Today, the plot seems like one from an episode of Scooby-Doo but it's still fun and surprisingly smart. The cast is small but solid and the murderer is never guessed until the end. A few red herrings are thrown in but when the guilty party is revealed, it does make sense, a necessity rarely used in Hollywood today.

As a vehicle for Hope it works a charm. As a movie in itself it should be recognised as a classic.

This has to be classed as one of Bob Hope's better films, even though it was one of his first in a starring role. He uses the script to perfection with his one-liners while playing the role of a pretty scared coward, and he is admirably supported by Paulette Goddard as the future heiress. In a very good supporting cast there are a number of stalwarts like George Zucco, Elizabeth Patterson and Gale Sondergaard who add so much to the atmosphere of the film. Take it for what it is - a fun scary romp, and you will be spending a most pleasurable 75 minutes, Oh, and by the way it has the required sliding panels, mists, falling bodies, etc that go such a long way in providing Hope with suitable cracks. Enjoy.