4/10
The Cat Sleeps
20 April 2020
You wouldn't know it by first glance but this cheap-looking borefest is one of the final Universal horror movies of the 1940s. It's a remake of the 1930 lost film of the same name, itself a remake of the silent classic The Cat and the Canary which was also remade as a Bob Hope comedy in 1939. So this is a worn-out plot that had been made into movie four times in nineteen years. Five if we count the also-lost Spanish version of the 1930 picture. To make matters worse this particular version stars Frederick Brady (who?) as one of those annoying "I'm a reportah baby" types that were all over movies in the 30s and 40s. He's so annoying I just wanted to reach through the screen and punch him. This is a very tired unimaginative movie that doesn't even benefit from the usual atmosphere Universal horror-thrillers had. You would be forgiven for thinking it was a Poverty Row production. Avoid unless you need to see all versions of this story. I'll stick with the silent one or even the Hope comedy.
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