The Cat and the Canary - 1939 - Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard

You know that thing when this happens:
You: What's it about?
Them: Well, it's set in a spooky old house when a bunch of relatives get together to read the will, and one of them will DIE...
You: Oh, yeah.
Well - THIS is that film. The story that helped kick off that whole thing.

'The Cat and the Canary' started out life as a play - written in 1921 by John Willard. Along with a couple of other plays ('The Gorilla', 'The Bat') - this play really helped cement the notion of the 'Spooky Old House' into the psyche of playgoers - and make it the thing that it is today. I think 'The Cat and the Canary' has particular longevity because of its excellent blend of humour and terror - which is still potent today - having recently watched it with a Younger Person I can personally verify this.


There are a slew of famous folk in this film, completely aside from the wonderful Mr Hope and Ms Goddard. Douglass Montgomery plays Charles - the guy who you think is going to get the girl. He was a handsome man (but perhaps given to too much makeup? I dunno - maybe he just had really good skin....) He's probably best known for playing Laurie opposite Katharine Hepburn in 'Little Women'.

Little Women - Montgomery and Hepburn 

http://www.berkeleysquarelosangeles.com/2011/05/9-chester-arthur-montgomery-house.html

He was very much established as a romantic star, so it's interesting to see that work against him here. With Bob Hope in the film, playing the bumbling hero, it would have been a real 'Oh, who's she going to pick' - for a while.

George Zucco plays the lawyer figure in the film - Mr Crosby. He was a very well respected actor - having spent many years playing suave villains in countless films.

http://www.cinekolossal.com/star2/z/zucco/

Nydia Westman plays the delightfully loopy Cousin Cicily.

http://www.aveleyman.com/FilmCredit.aspx?FilmID=3088

She, like Zucco, had a solid career in Hollywood - with many small parts in many films. Interestingly enough, she was also in 'Little Women' with Douglass Montgomery.

Gale Sondergaard, playing Miss Lu, was much more than a bit actor. As I mentioned - she was the first woman ever to win a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Anthony Adverse. EVER.

http://www.listal.com/list/academy-award-best-supporting-actress

One of the many other fascinating things about Sondergaard was that she was THIS close to playing The Wicked Witch of the West in 'The Wizard of Oz'. It was virtually a done deal. However, as a
strong female actor, she was determined not to surrender her glamour - for back then - being perceived as unattractive would doom you to small character roles for the rest of your career.

http://girlsdofilm.wordpress.com/2014/04/21/the-wizard-of-oz-margaret-hamilton-as-the-wicked-witch-of-the-west/

The producers of the Wizard of Oz began to grow concerned that they were messing too much with the idealised notion of the Wicked Witch (it was an American classic and would have been like making Dumbledore into a bit of beefcake). Sondergaard refused to go ugly - and that was that, really. Margaret Hamilton took over. End of story. Sondergaard really has a very interesting life story, involving communism and blacklisting - but that is for another day.

And Elizabeth Patterson - who later became famous for playing Lucy's neighbour Matilda Trumbull in 'I Love Lucy', plays Aunt Susan. Twice, as I mention in the review. She lived her entire 35 year career in the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.

http://www.mysterymoviesonline.com/2011/02/mystery-4-bulldog-drummonds-secret.html

The redoubtable Elizabeth Patterson

 Finally - Bob Hope. Bob Hope was worth a motza. He was one of the few Hollywood actors who was continuously employed his entire life - no breaks - nothing. So, whether it be film, television or the USO - Bob Hope managed to salt away quite a bit of money. His house went on the market a year or two ago - aiming at a sale price of $50 million. When I read that I thought WHAAA and then I saw photos of his house.

Both images:

http://www.zillow.com/blog/price-drop-for-bob-hopes-home-143857/

Do I need to say more? I think not.