The Cat Creeps

I expected far more from the director of ISLAND OF LOST SOULS, GHOST OF FRANKENSTEIN, HOUSE OF DRACULA, HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN. This one is definitely a comedy, mystery comedy in the pure tradition for this period. THE CAT AND THE CANARY, the genuine material, was already far from being a masterpiece...But Erle C Kenton was in his last part of career, so let's try not be too harsh with him concerning this one. Many viewers, and especially gem diggers, will appreciate this movie. It is rare to purchase and only for this please try, despite the lame and predictable plot. Mystery and comedies were numerous during the thirties and forties.

When a wealthy widow sends a one thousand dollar bill to the local newspaper claiming murder, blackmail, a corrupt politician and $200,000 fortune to be had, it's up to reporter Terry Nichols and photographer Pidge 'Flash' Laurie to figure out the nefarious plot and clear the politician's (who's Terry's soon-to-be father-in-law) name. But they won't be alone. Among the colorful cast of characters are Terry's beautiful fiancée, a lawyer with his feline phobic secretary, a very deceiving private detective, and finally a mysterious woman and her even stranger black cat, which maybe involved with the murders itself!

A black cat, a spooky house, a bunch of characters, one of them a murderer, and people getting bumped off - it's all here in this universal offering, and it's watchable enough. Keeps your attention, plus there's some witty dialogue, however, having said that, the fun is marred by that annoying reporter who is charmless and has that smug superiority- hence his wisecracks came across as insults, plus there were too many of them. There's something wholly unlikeable about him and one wishes he got bumped off fifteen minutes in, and have Noah Beery take over as the lead. Every time he opens his mouth he spoils the atmosphere. Also it could've been more eventful but a longer running time would be needed.

Cat Creeps, The (1946)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

Poor Universal "B" mystery about a group of greedy folks trying to locate $200,000 at a creepy mansion. A reporter is also along for the ride as bodies start to pile up. Once again, if you've seen one of these "B" mysteries then you've seen them all. We get the same group a characters being led by the same smartass reporter who comes off dumb yet he's able to solve the case each and every time.

As of now Universal hasn't issued this on DVD. If you want to view the film there is an unofficial version floating around from 16mm prints.

This is probably one of the lowest budgeted films on that old "Low-budget-list" that film-buffs mentally keep track of.

It's a spooky-house murder mystery, with some sturdy studio character actors.

The victim dies early in the film, (twice, no less). A strange woman appears to tell the group that's spending the night in this house, that the dead woman's spirit lives on in her cat --a black cat, of course. The strange woman hints that the cat, or rather the spirit in the cat, will reveal the killer.

The story is ludicrous, with dialog to match, but everyone chases one another around the place, and there's enough shootin' and spookin' going on to make this film delightful late-night fare.

Like "The Cat and the Canary", this story takes place in a gloomy old home that can only be reached by boat. Also like "Canary", all the action takes place during the course of one night, with the killer revealed by sunrise. However, the similarity between the two films ends there.

This film is short and it's fast. It's dumb and it's fun.

I enjoy this sort of nonsense, and have watched my copy of "The Cat Creeps" several times over the years.-- Because I love ALL spooky-house B-movie murder-mysteries, anyway, I couldn't bring myself to rate this film any lower than 7.

You wouldn't know it by first glance but this cheap-looking borefest is one of the final Universal horror movies of the 1940s. It's a remake of the 1930 lost film of the same name, itself a remake of the silent classic The Cat and the Canary which was also remade as a Bob Hope comedy in 1939. So this is a worn-out plot that had been made into movie four times in nineteen years. Five if we count the also-lost Spanish version of the 1930 picture. To make matters worse this particular version stars Frederick Brady (who?) as one of those annoying "I'm a reportah baby" types that were all over movies in the 30s and 40s. He's so annoying I just wanted to reach through the screen and punch him. This is a very tired unimaginative movie that doesn't even benefit from the usual atmosphere Universal horror-thrillers had. You would be forgiven for thinking it was a Poverty Row production. Avoid unless you need to see all versions of this story. I'll stick with the silent one or even the Hope comedy.