“THE CAT AND THE CANARY”

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 265, 30 January 1928, Page 13

“THE CAT AND THE CANARY”

PRINCESS, TIVOLI AND EVERYBODY’S Mystery in its most enthralling form, compounded with tragedy and drama combine to form one of the most startling, interest compelling dramas ever filmed, in “The Cat and the Canary,” the Universal production now playing at the Princess. Tivoli and Everybody’s Almost from the very first foot of film of this absorbing mystery-play, directed by Paul Leni, action commences in ever-increasing tempo; climax caps climax; dramatic sequence pile up one after another, while tjhe suspense is tempered with opportunely injected comicalities, contributed by Flora Finch. Gertrude Astor and Creighton Hale. Laura La Plante, the vivacious blonde star, deserves the greatest praise for her excellent portrayal of Annabelle West, the sole legatee of an eccentric old recluse's estate, who, actuated by strange motives, stipulates that his last will and testament be read in an abandoned country mansion, in the very room in which he died, at the midnight hour. A featured cast, including Arthur Edmund Carew, Forrest Stanley, George Siegmann, Tully Marshall, Martha Mattox and Lucien Littlefield, give exceptionally fine support in their respective roles. The second feature at the Princess and Tivoli Theatres is “The Texas Trail," with Harry Carey in the leading role. It is a story of the great wide West, with Carey as the hero and pretty little Ethel Channon as the heroine. The high-pitched tenseness of the very appealing story is relieved from time to time by bits of delightful comedy supplied by Sidney Franklin, who plays the part of the general merchant. At Everybody’s the supporting programme includes First National’s "American Beauty,” starring Billie Dove.