The Bat Reviews
The Bat is a good enough movie that you wouldn't expect to see it featured on a showcase like MST3K. It is not Vincent Price's best work, but it is thoroughly a Vincent Price movie. The plot manages to have him play every role possible in a crime movie. Definitely not a spoiler to say that viewers assume that Mr. Price might be the elusive Bat-man. One of the many surprises of this film is that it *was not* another William Castle and Vincent Price collaboartion.
A fantastic caper with an intriguing mystery. Director Crane Wilbur's horror mystery thriller The Bat (1959) is a neat film with a surprising mystery full of Red Herrings and clues galore. Wilbur's direction is all about misdirection as he leans into suspects to give the audience clues, but never so many that you can immediately guess the secrets of the enigmatic killer The Bat. I love the use of real bats, toy bats, shadowy corners, numerous guns in darkness, and several supporting suspects. How do you hide stolen money in the open? Only The Bat knows. Writer Crane Wilbur came up with a cool crime narrative. He combines an unknown murderer known as The Bat with a plethora of suspects to get the viewer off the trail. I only guessed the murderer towards the end, so there is plenty of misdirection in Wilbur's script. I liked his pithy jokes, playful characters, and clever mystery. The Bat is a lot of fun. He really tricks you immediately with the premise and first murder that has you convinced for most of the film of who the villain is for certain. Vincent Price is fearsome and devilishly fiendish as Dr. Malcolm Wells. He's the perfect suspect because we're introduced to him fully capable of committing murder to gain a million dollars. Price is wondrous at making you suspect him at all hours of the night as The Bat strikes. Vincent Price is one of my all time favorite actors. I've never seen Price give a bad performance and The Bat is no exception. Price is so entertaining as he hints at details to the ladies, so that he might uncover the whereabouts of Fleming's fortune. Agnes Moorehead is delightful as the brilliant mystery author Cornelia van Gorder. Her commanding voice and piercing gaze are gripping. Her mystery writer's cautious nature and shrewd personality make for a charismatic heroine in The Bat. Moorehead has real screen presence and a charming confidence that's fun to watch. Agnes Moorehead is one of my favorite Golden Age of Hollywood actresses. I loved seeing Moorehead and Price share the silver screen. Gavin Gordon is slick as detective Lieutenant Andy Anderson. His mistrusting nature is interesting as he follows characters around unknowingly. This inept cop lets several men and women get killed when he's nearby on watch. Remember to never trust a cop. John Sutton is suspicious as the conveniently available chauffeur Warner with a mysterious past. Lenita Lane is hysterical as Cornelia's assistant Lizzie Allen with her screams and complaints. Elaine Edwards is pretty, sincere, and captivating as Dale Bailey. Darla Hood is good as the nervous girl Judy Hollander. John Bryant is neat as the unsuspecting Mark Fleming. Harvey Stephens gets a great opening monologue as John Fleming offering half of the million dollars he's embezzling to Vincent Price if he can provide him with a scapegoat body. Riza Royce is eerie as the maid Jane Patterson. Editor William Austin's fading transitions and cool cuts to shadows keep you enthralled. The Bat has a fast pace and is super short at a brisk 80 minutes. Joseph F. Biroc's shadowy cinematography uses the manor house as a creepy setting with dark corners and eerie angles. I love all the wide shots of everyone with neat reveals of The Bat at just the right perspective. Dave Milton's art direction looks like a moody period drama, but finds flames in the forest and darkness near the light points of this old mansion. Rudy Butler's set decoration provides a beautiful grandfather clock, traditional beds and fainting couches, to all sorts of medical equipment in the doctor's office. Composer Louis Forbes crafts a creepy and thrilling score that winds up with bursts of fast rhythms during the action moments. His eerie melodies work wonders for the horror atmosphere of The Bat. Kiva Hoffman's make-up is nice on Agnes Moorehead and really does up her hair in a long fancy braid. I like the very trim and proper look for Vincent Price. Overall, The Bat seems simple on the surface, but delivers a haunting horror feature with refreshing redirects and misdirects that kept me guessing.
hokey goofy schlock. almost unwatchable. An old maids mystery. No 'horror' except guy called the Bat wearing clawed gloves. Saw it again, hopefully for the last time 2.11.22
A thriller/mystery/suspense classic! Agnes Moorehead (Endora from Bewitched) gives one of her greatest performances in this film.
I love this old movie .
OK mystery drama obviously based on a stage play is neither very exciting nor scary, but well-made in an old-fashioned way.
The Bat is a frustrating offering, a mystery that isn't all that mysterious and a thriller that holds back on the thrills. The primary problem is the fact that none of the characters are particularly likable, so when the killing starts you don't have a rooting interest in who lives and who dies. The dialogue is annoyingly glib and the acting is over-the-top, with the exception of Vincent Price, who is surprisingly subdued. The film falls victim to the standard crime thriller pitfalls. For example, when you're going to shoot the bad guy, just shoot him. Lengthy explanations as to why you're killing them serves no purpose and gives the intended victim time to turn the tables. Also, when there is a killer in the house, get the hell out of the house. Unless you like scene chewing and thin plots, pass on The Bat.
The film has now been restored in glorious color and it looks even better! The story is not really about bats but someone who dresses up in black with a bat claw hand and kills people to get to the truth of where a million pounds is hidden in an old mansion. Mr. Price is for once not the bad guy and not the lead either! It is a delightful mild horror, but more of a murder mystery
Agnes Moorehead stars as a mystery writer living in a rented house where a million dollars in stolen bank securities is hidden. Where is it stashed? Who will find it? And, in a separate storyline, who is the masked serial killer--dubbed the Bat by the media--terrorizing the neighborhood? Once the Bat is unmasked, nothing is ever said about his motives--in fact, they're ignored completely--but this is a darkly funny film, nicely photographed in handsome black-and-white, and Moorehead is a delight. With an equally charming Lenita Lane as Moorehead's maid and chief confidant, and Vincent Price as a greedy doctor. No masterpiece, certainly, but not a bad way to spend an hour-and-a-half, either.
A really terrible screenplay and pedestrian direction, but you keep watching because of the camp seriousness of Agnes Moorehead and Vincent Price. Plot? Oh, some rubbish about a masked criminal aka The Bat trying to steal some bonds from an old dark house. Seventy minutes of tosh.
A decent murder mystery that was not at all what I expected, but it wasn't bad. I would have liked to see more of Vincent Price though as he was the reason I watched this movie. It is also showing its age a little. (First and only viewing - 6/24/2018)
Good horror film. It is definitely underrated. Most of the critics like to ruin good things and leave us with garbage such as A Streetcar Named Desire.
The story for this movie is just too damn illogical.
Fun old school mansion murder mystery scooby doo cheese fest. Not as good as the 1930 version: the bat whispers, but it's still entertaining none the less.
A mystery writer (Agnes Moorehead) moves into a mansion where an embezzled fortune may be hidden, and has to deal with evil small-town doctor Vincent Price and a claw-gloved serial killer known as "the bat." The solution to this oft-filmed mystery play is obvious, but a campy Moorehead and Price keep this version watchable.
A mystery writer (Agnes Moorehead) moves into a mansion where an embezzled fortune may be hidden, and has to deal with evil small-town doctor Vincent Price and a claw-gloved serial killer known as "the bat." The solution to this oft-filmed mystery play is obvious, but Moorehead and Price keep this version watchable.