The Cat Creeps (1930 film)

The Cat Creeps
Directed byRupert Julian
Screenplay byGladys Lehman
Based onThe Cat and the Canary
by John Willard
Starring
Cinematography
Edited byMaurice Pivar
Production
company
Distributed byUniversal Pictures
Release date
  • November 7, 1930 (1930-11-07) (New York)
Running time
71 minutes
CountryUnited States

The Cat Creeps is a 1930 American pre-Code mystery film directed by Rupert Julian based on the 1922 play The Cat and the Canary by John Willard. The film is a sound remake of The Cat and the Canary (1927). Starring Helen Twelvetrees, Raymond Hackett, Neil Hamilton, Lilyan Tashman, Jean Hersholt, Elizabeth Patterson, and Montagu Love.

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!.