Developed as a remake, Universal Pictures initially tried to re-cast Laura La Plante from The Cat and the Canary, but on finding her unavailable re-titled the film to The Cat Creeps. While filming was done during the day, the sets were used at night for a Spanish-language version of the film. The Cat Creeps was first shown in New York on November 7, 1930 and received critical acclaim from contemporary reviews finding it creepy and praising its cast, specifically Helen Twelvetrees and Raymond Hackett. The film is currently a lost film, with only two minutes of footage known to exist in the 1932 Universal short film Boo!.
The Cat Creeps opened in New York on November 7, 1930.[2]La Voluntad del muerto was released in November 1930.[5]
Less than two minutes of The Cat Creeps survive, as they were incorporated into the 1932 Universal short film Boo![1] The soundtrack of the film still exist on discs.[1]
Remakes
The Cat Creeps was remade as The Cat and the Canary in 1939 with Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard with a more comedic approach.[3] Elizabeth Patterson repeated her role in the film as Aunt Susan.[3] The film was repeated again in the late 1970s as The Cat and the Canary in the United Kingdom as a more horror oriented film.[3][6]
In 1946, Universal released a second film titled The Cat Creeps which is unrelated to the original story and borrowed more from the 1940 film Horror Island.[6]
Reception
Helen Twelvetrees received praise for her role in the film by Exhibitor's Forum and The Bioscope.
From contemporary reviews, a review in Film Daily declared the film as "excellent" with "an all-around fine cast [...] Rupert Julian's direction is intelligent and effective."[7]Exhibitor's Forum found that the film was a "mystery thriller expertly produced with an excellent cast" specifically noting Twelvetrees and Raymond Hackett.[7]Picture Play Magazine also liked the film, calling it "well done."[7]
Variety found the film to production values to be "first rate and the punch thrills neatly timed and built" while finding that "the creepy thrill value is still there, but in the translation from silent to sound it has been badly slowed up."[7] A reviewer in The Bioscope found the film to be a "lurid enough melodrama" and that "it is rather clap-trap stuff, [...] but it nevertheless achieves its object." as well as praising the acting of Helen Twelvretress, Raymond Hackett, Neil Hamilton and Blanche Frederici. [7]Harrison's Reports declared the film to be "a weird mystery drama, filled with thrills and with considerable comedy. It is well act and well presented and it keeps one in suspense to the very end"[7]Silver Screen lamented that the original The Cat and the Canary film was "a much better mystery-thriller" and the "good cast is wasted" concluding the film to be "a very sad affair."[3]
