4 Star

Don’t Give up on Hope

From Eureka comes two black and white comedy/horror films from the master of comedy Bob Hope (Road to Bali, Road to Rio, Road to Morocco) along with the starlet of the day, the mesmerizing Paulette Goddard (The Young in Heart, Hold Back the Dawn) in this first time Blu-ray UK release. Quick Quips and a touch of Horror.

The Cat and the Canary

The seclusion of the bayous of New Orleans is the setting for this chiller, as Lawyer Crosby (George Zucco, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, The Hunchback of Notre Dame), is being canoed to the property of Cyrus Norman, to read the will to his relatives. Nothing strange there, but Cyrus died ten years ago today, and the reading will take place at midnight. The mansion is still occupied by Cyrus’ housekeeper, Miss Lu (Gale Sondergaard, The Mark of Zorro, The Black Cat) who has stayed true to her former employer. Soon the relatives arrive by boat, and the shenanigans can begin. On the male side are love rivals Fred Blythe (John Beal, The Perfect Crime, Edge of Darkness), Charlie Wilder (Douglass Montgomery, Music in the Air, Harmony Lane), and Wally Campbell (Bob Hope), and on the female side are Joyce Norman (Paulette Goddard), Aunt Susan (Elizabeth Patterson, Dinner at Eight, Remember the Night), and Cicily (Nydia Westman, The Late George Apley, The Ghost and Mr. Chicken), with a mysterious death, a will reading, an escaped murderous maniac, and a fortune in jewels what could possibly go wrong?

The Ghost Breakers

It is a stormy night in Manhattan, and the city is in blackout, as Miss Mary Carter (Paulette Goddard) is packing her steamer trunks to depart to Cuba, where she has inherited a mansion on the infamous Black Island. Across town, radio star Larry Lawrence (Bob Hope) and his valet Alex (Willie Best, Cabin in the Sky, Cabin in the Sky) are reminiscing about how unlucky in love he has been during thunderstorms. Larry does expose’s on local mob guy Frenchy Duval (Paul Fix, El Dorado, The Wild Wild West), but he has some of his facts wrong, and Frenchy invites Larry over to put the facts straight. Larry is about to have a month off so, why not, what is the worst that could happen?

Parada (Paul Lukas, The Lady Vanishes, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea) has brought Mary the deeds to her new castle, but he also tries to dissuade her from going there, even saying there is an offer to buy the castle from her. She even gets a call from Ramon (Anthony Quinn, Lawrence of Arabia, Zorba the Greek) telling her not to trust Parada. Interesting.

Larry heads to see Frenchy, which happens to be just down the corridor from Parada and Mary. Just as a precaution Alex gives Larry his pistol, down the corridor he creeps as the thought of Frenchy “giving it to him straight” gives him the creeps. Ramon approaches Parada’s room shots ring out and Larry fires his gun, Ramon hits the floor dead. Believing he has killed Ramon (In self Defence) he looks for a place to hide, Mary’s room. Let the fun begin as this trio head for Cuba.

This release from Eureka Classics is a great romp back to the days of the silver screen with two of the hottest properties of the day, a great watch, now on Blu-ray for your enjoyment.

THE CAT AND THE CANARY and THE GHOST BREAKERS (Eureka Classics) is available on Blu-ray.

 

SPECIAL EDITION BLU-RAY FEATURES*

Limited Edition slipcase (2000 copies) | 1080p presentation of both films from scans of the original film elements supplied by Universal, with The Ghost Breakers presented from a new 2K master | Optional English SDH | Brand new audio commentary tracks on both films with Kevin Lyons and Jonathan Rigby | Kim Newman on “The Cat and the Canary” and “The Ghost Breakers” | “The Ghost Breakers” 1949 radio adaptation | Trailers | Reversible sleeve featuring original poster artwork | PLUS: A limited edition collector’s booklet (2000 copies) featuring new writing by Craig Ian Mann