Vintage original 8x10 in. US single-weight glossy photograph from the 1930's sound remake of the classic comedy horror story, THE CAT AND THE CANARY, released in 1939 by Paramount Pictures and directed by Elliott Nugent. Based upon the stage play by John Willard, when an eccentric family meets in their uncle's remote, decaying mansion on the tenth anniversary of his death for the reading of his will, murder and madness follow.

The image features an exterior nighttime shot of Wally Campbell (Bob Hope) and Joyce Norman (Paulette Goddard) as the pair discover a hidden door on the grounds of the mansion of Campbell's deceased uncle. Printed on single-weight stock with a glossy finish, this vintage original photograph is in fine+ condition with a 1 in. diagonal crease on the top right corner that just slightly goes into the background area; and a few small scattered creases on and near the bottom right corner.

Although based on a previous stage play and a classic film adaptation, this production was tailored for Bob Hope by adding a completely new character, the wisecracking "Wally Campbell," to the plot. In the original Broadway play and the 1927 film, the dead man was named Cyrus West. In this version the dead man is named Cyrus Norman, possibly because Mae West was still making films at this time.Paulette Goddard did not actually come on board this project until more than three months after Paramount had announced their intention to remake the 1927 film. Successively preceding Goddard as the film's prospective leading lady had been two of Bob Hope's recent co-stars, Martha Raye and Shirley Ross, respectively. Though the reasoning behind Raye's replacement by Ross was never made public, the rationale for Paramount's final choice is no great mystery. A bigger star than either Ross or Raye, Goddard was snapped up by Paramount once she became available, owing to preproduction snafus with Charles Chaplin's The Great Dictator (1940).