Talk:The Cat and the Canary (1927 film)

Good Article!
I'm pleased to report that (with the possible exception of stability, but I let that slide) this article passes- with flying colors- every criterion of WP:WIAGA, and is well-deserving of the title Good Article. It is extremely well-sourced, very comprehensive, cites everything that needs to be cited (which, believe me, is not the same as being well-sourced), and is NPOV. My sole issue with the article are very slight grammatical problems, such as the occasional- but rare- missing comma, but I see no reason not to award this article Good Article status. Well done! -- Kicking222 14:04, 9 January 2007 (UTC)

Yes i must also agree i am surprised a silent film has such extended references good job to the person or people who did all this hard work.Missy1234 00:33, 15 January 2007 (UTC)


 * Thanks to the above editors for the kind words and everyone who has offered advice and critique. Dmoon1 05:02, 15 January 2007 (UTC)

The Cat and Canary
I just realized the quad poster title marks the film as "The Cat and Canary" without the "the" between "and" + "Canary". Is this a forgery of the poster? Or was this just a common mis-print? or even an ackward alternative title for the film?Andrzejbanas 13:56, 18 March 2007 (UTC)
 * I think it's just a misprint. The opening title shot (or whatever it's called) clearly lists it as The Cat and the Canary. Dmoon1 19:23, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

"Old Dark House"
I was surprised to see that the reference to the "old dark house" school of films redirects to "haunted house", which is not the same thing at all. "Old dark house" is a specific, albeit small and antique, sub-genre of film and is marked by a number of trophes -- a clutching hand coming out of a secret panel, secret passages, eyes in a portrait that move because there is someone observing from behind the portrait, terrified servants and, most importantly, the fact that everything in the film can be explained by the actions of a human criminal. This film is definitely one of the cornerstones of the "old dark house" genre (as is "The Bat", from the novel by Mary Roberts Rinehart) but has nothing to do with a "haunted house". I have removed the redirect, which leaves the genre a red-lined link, and have made a note to come back and create an "old dark house" article when I have found appropriate references. Accounting4Taste 21:31, 7 August 2007 (UTC)
 * When the article was first written, there was not an article on "old dark house" films (and as you pointed out, there still isn't), so the link was made to the closest thing: haunted house. It would be great if you started an article on the old dark house film sub-genre. Dmoon1 21:40, 7 August 2007 (UTC)
 * I'd be pleased to do that, and have made a note to do so, but I don't know if I could come up with acceptable references -- anything I wrote at the moment would only qualify as original research. I need to dig out some of my reference books from storage. I note that you have done a lot in this article to differentiate between "old dark house" and "haunted house", and I appreciated your understanding of the distinction -- my only objection was the link to "haunted house".  Accounting4Taste 21:48, 7 August 2007 (UTC)
 * No problem. Dmoon1 04:11, 8 August 2007 (UTC)