The Cat and the Canary

The relatives of Cyrus West are summoned to his rural England mansion to mark the twentieth anniversary of his death. They assemble to view a filmed reading of his last will and testament. The atmosphere is thick with jealousy, fear, and a hint of murder on the horizon.

Cyrus declares his contempt for the kin and rigs a deadly condition to claim the fortune. Annabelle West is named sole beneficiary, but she must spend the night in the house and be deemed sane by morning. If she fails, a second reel will name the secondary heir.

Dr. Hendricks, a psychiatrist from a nearby sanitarium, warns that a deranged patient who believes himself to be a cat has escaped. He cautions that this danger could target the inheritance plot. The warning adds a thread of dread to the night.

Allison urges the others to keep the revelation from Annabelle, fearing it will frighten her. Susan, however, breaks the news to Annabelle herself. Suspicion and unease spread as the family wrestles with trust and motive.

Annabelle is startled when Allison vanishes behind a false bookcase in the library. The incident sparks alarm and raises questions about who controls the house. The group grows more wary as the night deepens.

Paul Jones confides that he has found secret passageways beneath the mansion. He suspects Allison and Mrs. Pleasant are hiding something. The discovery intensifies the paranoia among the relatives.

Susan provides Annabelle with a gun for protection after warning signs multiply. The gesture heightens the danger in the house and shifts the balance of power. Everyone remains on edge as strange happenings continue.

The group uncovers a West family heirloom—a gold necklace—frozen in a block of ice within the house. The find underscores the value of the inheritance and the lengths people will go to obtain it. The atmosphere tightens with the looming threat of violence.

An intruder enters Annabelle's room through a trapdoor and steals the necklace from her throat, waking her with a scream. The incident confirms that someone within the manor is targeting the inheritance. Tension erupts as fear gives way to pursuit.

Paul opens a hidden trapdoor to discover Allison's bloodied head wrapped in a pillowcase. The revelation confirms a killer is among them and compounds the sense of peril. The investigation accelerates toward a deadly confrontation.

Paul ventures into the basement tunnels to uncover the second reel and is knocked unconscious by the killer. He survives the attack, returning to warn the others. The danger moves deeper into the mansion's bowels.

Susan is murdered by the killer in the dining hall while searching for West's second reel. The body count climbs as the murderer demonstrates a willingness to kill to control the fortune. Panic spreads as the survivors realize the killer may be among them.

On the staircase, Annabelle confronts the killer and tears away his rubber mask, revealing Charlie as the disfigured heir. Dr. Hendricks arrives and his presence complicates the revelation. The moment reframes the night as a calculated inheritance scheme.

Charlie and Hendricks trap Annabelle in a basement room, but Paul and Mrs. Pleasant intervene. Mrs. Pleasant shoots Charlie to death, and Paul shoots Hendricks to stop the mutilation. The dawn nears as the survivors begin to secure the aftermath of the murders.

As dawn breaks, an ambulance arrives to remove the bodies and the living prepare to leave. Harry Blythe and Cicily depart the mansion with the surviving relatives. Mrs. Pleasant serves tea as Annabelle and Paul view West's second reel, which names Charlie the second heir.