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The Cat And The Canary [1939] [DVD]

DVD ~ Bob Hope

3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)

RRP:	�15.99
Price:	�10.48 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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This item: The Cat And The Canary [1939] [DVD] DVD ~ Bob Hope
In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
This item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
Ghost Breakers [1940] [DVD] DVD ~ Bob Hope
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Son Of Paleface [DVD] [1952] DVD ~ Bob Hope
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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

	61% buy the item featured on this page: The Cat And The Canary [1939] [DVD] 3.5 out of 5 stars (13) �10.48
	25% buy The Ghost Breakers / Cat And The Canary [DVD] 3.3 out of 5 stars (3) �14.98
	5% buy Son Of Paleface [DVD] [1952] 4.0 out of 5 stars (5) �5.48
	5% buy The Paleface [DVD] 3.8 out of 5 stars (5) �5.98

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Product details

Actors: Bob Hope, Paulette Goddard, John Beal, Douglass Montgomery, Gale Sondergaard
Directors: Elliott Nugent
Writers: John Willard, Lynn Starling, Walter DeLeon
Producers: Arthur Hornblow Jr.
Format: Black & White, PAL
Language English
Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
Number of discs: 1
Classification: 15
Studio: Orbit Media Ltd.
DVD Release Date: 1 Mar 2004
Run Time: 72 minutes

Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)

ASIN: B0000V6S5K
Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 3,888 in DVD (See Bestsellers in DVD)
Popular in these categories:
#4 in DVD > Classics > Horror & Suspense
#21 in DVD > Horror > Comedy Horror
#62 in DVD > Classics > Comedy

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Reviews

DVD Description

Bob Hope built a career out of the persona of the fussy, fast-talking lothario spooked by sex, the blowhard who crumbles at the first sign of trouble. In The Cat and the Canary Hope gave this character its first outing and never looked back. The film is to this day one of the best horror spoofs ever made.

Ten years have passed since the death of millionaire Cyrus Norman, his attorney gathers his six remaining relatives in his old mansion in the swamps of Louisiana to read the will. The family maid appears and announces that the spirits have told her that one of them will die that night and Hendrick, the local prison guard warns them that "The Cat", a homicidal maniac has escaped and could appear at any minute. This sets up a night filled with murders, mysteries and intrigue. Hope has one great one-liner after another in this old dark house mystery/comedy.

Special Features

Interactive menus

DVD Technical Information:

PAL
Region Code: All

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Customer Reviews

13 Reviews

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

Average Customer Review

3.5 out of 5 stars (13 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great film - poor print, 28 Jun 2004

By	moley75 (London) - See all my reviews

The film is worth five stars but the terrible quality print is only worth one star. It looks like an off air recording on a VHS cassette that you have played a hundred times.

Still, Hope is very funny, Paulette Goddard is gorgeous, and Gale Sondergaard is spooky.

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18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars 5 star film - one star copy, 4 Sep 2009

By	Susan Belcher "Su B" (St Helens, England) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: The Cat And The Canary [VHS] [1939] (VHS Tape)

On the night of the 10th anniversary of the death of Cyrus Norman the remaining heirs gather at his mansion in the middle of the Louisiana bayous in order to discover who will inherit his millions.

Those present are: Lawyer Crosby (George Zucco); Miss Lu, the housekeeper (Gale Sondergaard); Susan Tilberry (Elizabeth Patterson); Cicily Young (Nydia Westman); Fred Blythe (John Beal); Charlie Wilder (Douglass Montgomery); our beautiful damsel in need of protection Joyce Norman (Paulette Goddard) and, of course, our hero Wally Campbell (the late great Bob Hope - The Seven Little Foys [1955] [DVD]).

The Will states that, due to the inherited strain of insanity, that the heir must spend the night in Old Man Norman's room. Should they not survive the night, or if they loose their mind, then the inheritance will pass to a second heir (whose name is in a second envelope). Since no-one knows who the alternative heir is, they all have a vested interest in seeing the heir dead or insane.

They are forced to stay on the island until the following morning. As they settle in a guard from the nearby asylum arrives at the house to warn them that a maniac known as "The Cat" is on the loose.

This was Bob Hope's first screen appearance as the bumbling coward who tries to be a hero.

This film is a classic black and white comedy/thriller, but it is in need of care and restoration because the copies produced from the original source are not of the greatest quality - the picture is a little fuzzy and grainy, and the sound has an underlying hiss. These copying faults let down what is a 5 star film.

Update: Unbelievably the DVD I have looks like it has been copied from my video tape. Disgraceful that such a great film should be treated in this way.

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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rib-tickling suspense at its best!!, 7 Feb 2004

By	"adamforan" - See all my reviews

If your idea of the perfect film is to be laughing out loud one minute, then jumping behind the sofa, a chill running down your spine, the next, The Cat and the Canary is the film for you. Bob Hope has never been funnier, with some classic throw-away one-liners, and Paulette Goddard stunning as the damsel in distress (though it is more often Hope that is quivering in fear). The house and bayou scenery are eerie, the music spooky, and the baddy, or baddies, genuinely scary. One scene in particular, with Goddard being stalked down secret passageways is more frightening than anything from supposed horrors in the 1970's and 80's.
If you ever wondered where the writers of Scooby Doo got most of their ideas from, then look no further than this classic!!

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars So rare to find a successful comedy thriller
I loved this. It's so rare to get a successful comedy thriller: one side or other of the combination is usually neglected. Read more

Published 5 months ago by Alison Thinks

1.0 out of 5 stars good picture but bad picture
This is an excellent film, what a pity that this copy is a rip off, as the resolution in picture quality terms is almost non existent. Read more

Published 9 months ago by Allan Broadfield

1.0 out of 5 stars PICTURE QUALITY VERY POOR
Despite the reviews here giving this DVD 5 stars, it is indeed a classic, avoid it a all costs. Luckily I only rented it - the picture quality is simply abyssmal, straight from a... Read more

Published on 7 Mar 2007 by M. King

1.0 out of 5 stars Barely watchable
Caught up in rights problems in the US, it seemed like there was little chance of being able to see this film since Universal Studios were unable to release it. Read more

Published on 19 Sep 2006 by Edit Watch

1.0 out of 5 stars orbit media should hang their head in shame!
One of Bob Hopes best films has been sadly disrespected by Orbit Medias dvd version of the cat and the canary.The picture quality is truly awful,and should be avoided. Read more

Published on 13 Jul 2005 by jlh

5.0 out of 5 stars best film ever
I saw this film when i was 10 years old ( some 22 years ago ). after all these years and all the films i have seen since then, this will always be my all time favourite. Read more

Published on 6 Feb 2005 by marianne stubbings

5.0 out of 5 stars I've waited years for this
A huge favourite with my whole family when we were growing up I have been searching the web severy few months in the hope that it would eventually be released again. Read more

Published on 14 Mar 2004

5.0 out of 5 stars CLASSSIC!
I saw this when I was about 10, which means, errrrr, some 30+ years ago, and it scared the daylights out of me. Read more

Published on 9 Feb 2004 by marcojf

5.0 out of 5 stars bob hope at his best
ONE OF HIS EARLY FILMS RARELY SEEN. A SUSPENSE THRILLER YOU CAN WATCH OVER AND OVER AGAIN. BOB HOPE BRINGS A SMILE TO YOUR FACE EVERY TIME YOU SEE IT.

Published on 8 Jan 2004

5.0 out of 5 stars a laugh a minute
the cat and the canary is that rare film that keeps you on the edge of your seat. from the momement bob hope arrives at the old spooky house on an island enveloped in fog, you... Read more

Published on 30 Dec 2003 by brian furneaux.

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