The Cat and the Canary is a 1939 American southern gothic horror comedy film directed by Elliott Nugent starring Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard.

The first indicates that Joyce will inherit the entire estate, under one condition: concerned about a streak of insanity in the family's blood, Norman stipulated that his heirs must remain sane for the next 30 days.

After the reading, Crosby informs everyone that they will have to stay overnight; Miss Lu warns them of spirits in the house; and a security guard found prowling outside claims that a murderer called "The Cat" has escaped from the nearby insane asylum.

At this point, Joyce is almost out of her mind with fear and confusion, but Wally finds a movable wall panel near her bed and opens a hidden door leading to a secret passageway.

After the Cat chases Joyce into a shed and threatens her with a knife, Wally arrives and calls him "Charlie", having found the second part of the will in Charles's coat.

Charles removes his Cat mask, pins Wally to the wall with his knife, and begins to strangle Joyce, but Miss Lu arrives with a shotgun and kills him.

The New York Times wrote that Elliott Nugent "has directed it smartly, taking full advantage of the standard chiller devices for frightening the susceptible of his audience but never losing sight of his main objective—comedy...the objective is carried briskly and to our complete satisfaction.

"[4] Variety wrote that the movie retained "the basic spooky atmosphere and chiller situations" of the original play and "will amply satisfy the mystery fans, and provide spine-chilling thrills for audiences generally.