La volonté du mort

Titre original : The Cat and the Canary

1927
Passed
1h 48m

ÉVALUATION IMDb

MA NOTE

Laura La Plante in La volonté du mort (1927)

Ajouter une intrigue dans votre langueRelatives of an eccentric millionaire gather in his spooky mansion on the 20th anniversary of his death for the reading of his will.Relatives of an eccentric millionaire gather in his spooky mansion on the 20th anniversary of his death for the reading of his will.Relatives of an eccentric millionaire gather in his spooky mansion on the 20th anniversary of his death for the reading of his will.

Voir l’information sur la production à IMDbPro

ÉVALUATION IMDb

7,1/10

3,5 k

MA NOTE

Voir l’information sur la production à IMDbPro

Prix
- 1 victoire au total

Anecdotes
Writer/director Robert F. Hill not only wrote the adaptation for this film but also served as a sort of assistant/associate director for Paul Leni. Leni, a German, didn't speak much English, and Hill spoke German, so he acted as a liaison between Leni and the cast and crew.

Gaffes
As Tully Marshall's dead body falls to the floor, the actor can be clearly seen extending his hands to break the fall.

Citations
Roger Crosby: I have come to read the will of Cyrus West. Have any of the heirs arrived yet?
Mammy Pleasant: No, Mr. Crosby.
Roger Crosby: You must have been lonely here these twenty years, Mammy Pleasant.
Mammy Pleasant: I don't need the living ones.

Générique farfelu
The ending cast list includes the following statement: "This is repeated at the request of picture patrons who desire to check the names of those players whose work has pleased them."

Autres versions
Kino International distributed a video with the original 1927 musical setting compiled by James Bradford and adapted and performed by Eric Beheim and "The Cyrus West Players." It was produced by David Shepard using film materials from the David Bradley collection, and copyrighted in 1997 by Film Preservation Associates. The running time was 82 minutes.

Connexions
Edited into Histoire(s) du cinéma: Seul le cinéma (1994)

Bandes originales
Symphony No. 3 in C minor Op. 78 'Organ' I. Adagio
Written by Camille Saint-Saëns

Commentaires des utilisateurs63

Commentaire

Commentaire en vedette

7/10

Grandfather of all horror comedies

This is the stereotypical old dark house movie, all the relatives come to and old dark house and some one begins to kill them, or tries to. This has been remade several times, each version having its flaws and its strengths. This is the first version, and while I would like to say its the best, I can't since the silent medium has rendered its pace a bit too slow for modern audiences.

This isn't to say that its a bad film. Its not. Anyone interested in film and what can be done with it should see this film because the first half of this movie is a treasure trove of cinema techniques. The first half is also a damn good movie as well since it wonderfully sets everything up. Only as things begin to follow there course does the pacing slow. Its far from bad, it just may have you look at your watch now and again.

I give it seven out of ten, not perfect but watchable.