Writer/director Robert F. Hill not only wrote the adaptation for this film but also served as a sort of assistant/associate director for Paul Leni. Leni, a German, didn't speak much English, and Hill spoke German, so he acted as a liaison between Leni and the cast and crew.
The play on which this film is based opened in New York on 7 February 1922 at the National Theater. It closed in May 1922 after 148 performances.
"The Cat and the Canary" was one of the few American Horror films made by German director, Paul Leni. Sadly, he was to succumb to blood poisoning not long after the film was released.
The black cat on the road was stuffed.
This film was reputed to have been highly influential to James Whale, when he made "The Old Dark House."