An old man (Cyrus West) dies accusing his relatives of hovering over him--like cats over a canary. 20 years after his death his relatives get together as his will is read in his creepy mansion on a dark and windy night at midnight (of course). One person gets all the money and estate--unless they are proved insane. And how about the escaped lunatic from the nearby asylum...?
This is probably one of the first (if not THE first) movie about the reading of the will, a dark and (purportedly) haunted house and people being murdered. Plotwise it's nothing new and contains some terribly unfunny "comedy". Still it's worth catching.
It's very well directed by Paul Leni (the juxtaposing of images was clever) and he has fun with the title cards (see how "HELP!" is done). The acting is a little bit overdone (but that's common in silent films) and star Laura La Plante is pretty good. I saw the restored print (which is still in pretty bad shape) and it has an excellent music score that helps too.
So, worth catching. No great shakes though.
This is probably one of the first (if not THE first) movie about the reading of the will, a dark and (purportedly) haunted house and people being murdered. Plotwise it's nothing new and contains some terribly unfunny "comedy". Still it's worth catching.
It's very well directed by Paul Leni (the juxtaposing of images was clever) and he has fun with the title cards (see how "HELP!" is done). The acting is a little bit overdone (but that's common in silent films) and star Laura La Plante is pretty good. I saw the restored print (which is still in pretty bad shape) and it has an excellent music score that helps too.
So, worth catching. No great shakes though.