THE CAT AND THE CANARY
The first American feature by German director Paul Leni, this film is the finest example of expressionist comedy. It became in fact the prototype for Hollywood Gothic, the style adopted by Unversal in classic horror movies like Dracula and Frankenstein. Leni manages to convey excellently a strong sense of mood and mystery through set design and camerawork, complementing the wonderfully camp characters that populate this ghost story. Neil Brand composed a new score which beautifully accompanies this gem.