The Cat and the Canary

On a dark and stormy night, six people gather in a decrepit mansion for the reading (at midnight, natch) of a will. Before you can say ''Boo!'' there is a killer and a lunatic on the loose. Scream scribe Kevin Williamson's latest? Nope. Try German director-set designer Paul Leni's The Cat and the Canary, now rereleased in a new transfer at the proper running speed with color tints. What makes Canary sing is Leni's pioneering mix of spooky expressionism and light comedy, fabulous camera work, and nice turns from Laura La Plante, Creighton Hale, and Martha Mattox as the ironically named Mammy Pleasant. Irresistible gimmicks — secret-door bookshelves, a murderer sporting a fright mask — round out the film's charms. It's the cat's meow. A-