Selected horror profile
William Peter Blatty (January 7, 1928 – January 12, 2017) was an American writer and filmmaker best known for his 1971 novel
The Exorcist and for the
Academy Award–winning screenplay of its
film adaptation. He also wrote and directed the sequel
The Exorcist III. After the success of The Exorcist, Blatty reworked
Twinkle, Twinkle, "Killer" Kane! (1960) into a new novel titled
The Ninth Configuration, published in 1978. Two years later, Blatty adapted the novel into a film of the same title and won Best Screenplay at the
38th Golden Globe Awards. Some of his other notable works are the novels
Elsewhere (2009),
Dimiter (2010) and
Crazy (2010).
Born and raised in New York City, Blatty received his bachelor's degree in English from Georgetown University in 1950, and his master's degree in English literature from the George Washington University. Following completion of his master's degree in 1954, he joined the United States Air Force, where he worked in the Psychological Warfare Division. After service in the Air Force, he worked for the United States Information Agency in Beirut. Selected horror work
The Cat and the Canary (
1927) is an American
silent
horror film adaptation of
John Willard's 1922
black comedy play of the
same name. Directed by
German Expressionist filmmaker
Paul Leni, the film stars
Laura La Plante as Annabelle West,
Forrest Stanley as Charles "Charlie" Wilder, and
Creighton Hale as Paul Jones. The plot revolves around the death of Cyrus West, who is Annabelle, Charlie, and Paul's uncle, and the reading of his
will 20 years later. Annabelle inherits her uncle's fortune, but when she and her family spend the night in his haunted mansion they are stalked by a mysterious figure. Meanwhile, a
lunatic known as "the Cat" escapes from an asylum and hides in the mansion.
The Cat and the Canary is part of a genre of comedy horror films inspired by 1920s Broadway stage plays. Paul Leni's adaptation of Willard's play blended expressionism with humor, a style Leni was notable for and critics recognized as unique. Leni's style of directing made The Cat and the Canary influential in the "old dark house" genre of films popular from the 1930s through the 1950s. The film was one of Universal's early horror productions and is considered "the cornerstone of Universal's school of horror." It has been remade five times, with the most notable starring comedic actor Bob Hope. Horror topics
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