Paramount Pictures
Long before Bob Hope became known for his TV specials, USO tours and hosting the Academy Awards, he had a career on the stages of vaudeville and Broadway, followed by a stint on radio until TV came into American homes. Hope made the transition to film in the mid-1930s, first with a company called Educational Pictures, and then with Warner Brothers before finding his greatest film success at Paramount Pictures with leading lady Paulette Goddard. While Universal Pictures had cornered the market on horror with its line-up of classic monsters, there had also been attempts to inject some humor into the genre with a spate of films known as ‘old dark house films’, born out of Universal’s classic The Old Dark House. Hoping to cash in on the new sub-genre of comedy-horror, Paramount emulated the formula with Hope and Goddard starring in a remake of the 1927 The Cat and the Canary (1939) and The Ghost Breakers (1940). Now, Kino Lorber presents both films in beautifully restored Blu-ray editions.
The Cat and the Canary
Paramount Pictures
A decade after the death of an eccentric millionaire, his remaining relatives gather for the reading of the will at his abandoned mansion set deep in the Louisiana bayous. Tension builds after his niece Joyce (Goddard) is named the sole inheritor and it is revealed that one of the other relatives will get everything if the heiress goes insane within the next 30 days. The timid Wally (Hope) vows to protect Joyce who must spend the night in the haunted mansion along with her jealous relatives, a creepy maid and a homicidal maniac who has just escaped from a nearby sanitarium.
By today’s standards, the film offers some mild thrills but Hope’s quick wit and his chemistry with the beautiful Goddard make the film work. Gale Sondergaard as the creepy maid pre-dates Judith Anderson’s turn as the similarly drawn Mrs. Danvers in Hitchcock’s Rebecca, but it’s difficult not to draw comparisons between the characters. It also makes one wonder how Sondergaard would have taken on the role of the Wicked Witch of the West if MGM hadn’t decided she was ‘too beautiful’ for the part. Fans of the classic sitcom I Love Lucy will get a kick out of seeing the Ricardos’ neighbor and babysitter Mrs. Trumbull (Elizabeth Patterson) as one of the greedy family members. The film tries to throw in a lot of red herrings when it comes to who is trying to get the fortune for themselves, but if you pay attention there is one very obvious ‘tell’ that basically screams ‘I’m the culprit’. While it may be obvious, it’s still a fun little film, and a way to see Hope just as he was on his way to becoming a superstar two years before the release of the first Road to… movie.
Paramount Pictures
Kino Lorber’s Blu-ray is simply exquisite for a film that’s more than 80 years old. The print appears undamaged (there’s no indication of the film’s source or if it was rescanned from the original negative) and the black and white cinematography is gorgeous. There is nothing to complain about with the video presentation. That goes for the DTS HD mono audio track as well, keeping the dialogue clear, nicely balanced with the music and sound effects. Listening with head phones, there are no audible issues such as hiss or pops on the track. It’s a top notch production all around.
The disk’s main bonus is a feature-length audio commentary by author and film historian Lee Gambin. I can’t say it’s one of my favorite commentary tracks. Gambin certainly knows film history, but I prefer these commentaries to focus more on the film and this one gives a little information about what’s on screen from time to time (and Gambin sometimes talks so quickly that he stumbles over his obviously scripted words) but it often veers far off track, feeling more as if we’re listening to a written essay instead of a breakdown of the film. Of course, with a film of this age, it’s hard to find people who worked on it to still be around to talk about it. Other bonus material is the film’s theatrical trailer (in SD), and a collection of trailers for other Hope films from Kino Lorber.
The Ghost Breakers
Paramount Pictures
Ghosts and gags collide in this witches’ brew of laughs, with Bob Hope as a Manhattan radio commentator who finds himself marooned on an island of the walking dead! Larry Lawrence (Hope), sought in connection with a murder he did not commit, eludes New York police by hiding in a steamer trunk. Soon the trunk (and Larry) are aboard a ship bound for Cuba, where the trunk’s owner, pretty Mary Carter (Goddard), is sailing to take possession of a recent inheritance: a ‘haunted’ castle. Sensing that Mary is in danger, Larry and his valet Alex (Willie Best) precede her to the island, which is inhabited by a ghost, a zombie and perhaps even a flesh-and-blood fiend. There’s romance, comedy and chills as Hope and Goddard contend with earthly and un-earthly foes — and try to keep from ending up as ghosts themselves.
A year after the success of The Cat and the Canary, Paramount re-teamed Hope and Goddard for another ‘spooktacular comedy’ but this one spends so much time getting to the castle that it begins to feel longer than it actually is. The last third of the film is fun once they reach Cuba, but oddly not much is made of the actual ghost Alex sees in the castle as they try to determine who is behind the more earthly ‘haunting’. There is a pretty frightening zombie (classic zombie, not the flesh-eating kind), and a little more surprising horror as the film races to its climax, but the story should have spent more time in the castle than on the voyage to Cuba (where, or course, many red herrings are introduced including an early appearance by Anthony Quinn). Some may also note that the character of Alex is ‘problematic’ seen through the lens of today, but at least the audio commentary does discuss actor Willie Best’s career in proper context.
Paramount Pictures
Like The Cat and the Canary, the disk’s video presentation is remarkable, this time taken from a brand new 2K master. The black and white photography runs a wide range of black, white and gray tones, with the blacks being appropriately inky, lending more dread to the island and castle, particularly when the zombie shows up. Details pop and while there may be a bit of speckling here and there, it’s still a stellar presentation. The DTS HS Master Audio mono track is on par with the other film. Nothing to complain about here either.
As with The Cat and the Canary, the disk’s main bonus is another somewhat rambling audio commentary from Lee Gambin, again more film essay than film commentary, but he does point out a few more things happening on screen than in the previous commentary, and his in depth talk about Willie Best is very welcome. Unfortunately, there seems to be an issue with the commentary track, at least on the Blu-ray reviewed, where it goes badly out of sync with the film (you really notice when Gambin does talk about things happening on screen that don’t happen until several minutes later), followed by a long space of nothing but the film’s soundtrack before the commentary kicks back in, in sync, for the last several minutes of the film. The disk’s producers have been alerted to the problem and we’re awaiting a response to see if there will be an effort to correct the problem or of this was just an aberration on the review disk.
Also included is a segment of Trailers from Hell with Larry Karaszewski, in which he gives a little more detail about the film in a short 3 minute segment. The film’s theatrical trailer (in SD) is also included, as are trailers for more Kino Lorber releases.
If you’re a fan of Bob Hope or the classic horror-comedies like The Old Dark House and Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein, or are just a classic film buff, then both of these films are definite ‘must haves’ for your collection. Regardless of the somewhat lackluster bonus material, the video and audio presentation of the films is more than enough to recommend a purchase.
Kino Lorber generously provided Hotchka with the Blu-rays for reviewing purposes.
The Cat and the Canary has a running time of 1 hour 12 minutes and is not rated.
The Ghost Breakers has a running time of 1 hour 25 minutes and is not rated.
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