El gato y el canario

This is a preposterous film. Olivia Hussey looked stunning although this alone does not make a film. I found it rather stupid, too slow and uneventful. Basically it is a thriller set in the thirties. It is not very thrilling. It is not violent. The secret passages around the house are cool. Best avoided really.

The Cat and the Canary is one of the classic 'old dark house' stories, with its collection of greedy and possibly murderously insane relatives gathered on a dark, stormy night for the reading of a will at the sprawling ancestral pile, an old manor with many a dark corridor and secret passageway. This late '70s movie adaptation also throws in an escaped lunatic and a pair of lesbian lovers (played by Honor Blackman and the very lovely Olivia Hussey) for good measure, but despite all of these potentially fun ingredients, writer/director Radley Metzger somehow concocts a frustratingly dull thriller that gets bogged down by a seriously talky script and lethargic pace.

For the first hour, practically nothing of interest happens: the characters bicker, they watch an old film of long dead testator Cyrus West (Wilfrid Hyde-White) who explains the rules of his will, and Dr Hendricks (Edward Fox) from the nearby asylum jumps through a window (why? I'm not sure) to inform the guests that the dangerous patient known as 'The Cat' has escaped. The murders are a long time coming and really aren't worth the wait, mostly occurring off-screen, and Blackman and Hussey's potentially exploitative relationship doesn't even extend so far as a peck on the cheek.

The final half an hour picks the pace up from incredibly sluggish to just about bearable, but never delivers the thrills and chills one expects from such a film. The whole thing is far too stagy and devoid of excitement. Just about worth seeing, perhaps, for the impressive cast, which also includes the delightful Carol Lynley as heiress-in-peril Annabelle West, but don't expect too much from anyone - the weak script and doesn't give the performers much chance to shine.

4.5/10, rounded up to 5 for IMDb.

What an odd film. A few decent chuckles, a few wonderful camera tricks, but far too much chitchat and a very nasty sadistic tinge.

The "old dark house" thriller idea is hardly given any new energy, and the thunder sound effects often swamp the dialogue, making some sequences a challenge to endure. I agree with other reviewers that this feels like a 70s version of the 30s, with the same costume/lighting ideas as many of the 70s Agatha Christie adaptations (and Olivia Hussey in the cast).

Wilfred Hyde White is great fun from beyond the grave, and a special word for the wonderful sequence where the usually glorious (but here slightly subdued) Beatrix Lehmann walks behind his projection screen, appears on screen, then emerges from behind the other side. Also, a very effective sequence where Ms Lehmann talks about her late employer with her face reflected in his photo.

Far too many characters I found it hard to care about, all written in very poor, sub-Cluedo dialogue. Even Honor Blackman struggles with the poor material she is given. Some sequences are, frankly, silly. Edward Fox leaps through a window instead of knocking on the door. After relating the saga of the escaped loony, Mr Fox instructs everyone to lock up the house and hide in their rooms; this comes despite his having rendered the house insecure by destroying the lounge window.

There is a nasty tinge of sadistic enjoyment to the final sequences, where the barking mad murderer is cornered in his lair. As much of the rest of the film tries (and very occasionally succeeds) in being light-hearted, the unpleasant conclusion, followed by a twee little "happily ever after" coda, seems at odds with the film's intentions.

Very uneven and unsure of whether to laugh or scream, this really isn't very good.

This old theatrical warhorse gets another outing in what is (to date) the only colour version of a classic play.

There are some pleasantly swish performances from a good cast and neat direction from Metzger. Film takes a while to get going but the last reel packs in the action.

Wilfred Hyde-White's appearance on film is a nice touch and he even gets to "host" the end credits. But the best moment is Edward Fox's spectacular entrance and his scene-stealing thereafter : a moment to treasure, especially his delivery of the line "We're just up the road"! (It'll make sense when you watch it).

If drawing-room-type murder mysteries with a comic touch are your cup of tea, then you can't go wrong with this one. It's not as good as, say, "Murder by Death" or the best Agatha Christie adaptations, and there are some overly talky sequences that exist mainly to showcase the actors and lead nowhere. But it holds your interest, and has some very good acting, especially by Wilfrid Hyde-White in a most unusual cameo. (**1/2)