''The Bat'' is a 1959 American

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in C ...

- mystery thriller starring

Vincent Price Vincent Leonard Price Jr. (May 27, 1911 – October 25, 1993) was an American actor, art historian, art collector and gourmet cook. He appeared on stage, television, and radio, and in more than 100 films. Price has two stars on the Hollywood Wal ...

and

Agnes Moorehead Agnes Robertson Moorehead (December 6, 1900April 30, 1974) was an American actress. In a career spanning four decades, her credits included work in radio, stage, film, and television.Obituary ''Variety'', May 8, 1974, page 286. Moorehead was th ...

. It is the fourth film adaptation of the story, which began as a 1908 novel ''

The Circular Staircase ''The Circular Staircase'' is a mystery novel by American writer Mary Roberts Rinehart. The story follows dowager Rachel Innes as she thwarts a series of strange crimes at a summer house she has rented with her niece and nephew. The novel was Rin ...

'' by

Mary Roberts Rinehart Mary Roberts Rinehart (August 12, 1876September 22, 1958) was an American writer, often called the American Agatha Christie.Keating, H.R.F., ''The Bedside Companion to Crime''. New York: Mysterious Press, 1989, p. 170. Rinehart published her fir ...

, which she later adapted (with

Avery Hopwood James Avery Hopwood (May 28, 1882 – July 1, 1928) was an American playwright of the Jazz Age. He had four plays running simultaneously on Broadway in 1920. Early life Hopwood was born to James and Jule Pendergast Hopwood on May 28, 1882 ...

) into the 1920 play '' The Bat''.Thompson, Nathanie
"The Bat" (article)
on TCM.com The first film version of the play was the 1926 American silent film '' The Bat''. The film version was adapted by playwright

Crane Wilbur Crane Wilbur (November 17, 1886 – October 18, 1973) was an American writer, actor and director for stage, radio and screen. He was born in Athens, New York. Wilbur is best remembered for playing Harry Marvin in '' The Perils of Pauline''. He ...

, who also directed. ''The Bat'' was distributed in 1959 on a double bill with the British Hammer film ''

The Mummy A mummy is an unusually well preserved corpse. Mummy or The Mummy may also refer to: Places * Mummy Range, a mountain range in the Rocky Mountains of northern Colorado in the United States * Mummy Cave, a rock shelter and archeological site in P ...

''. Now in the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly waived, or may be inapplicable. Because those rights have expired ...

, ''The Bat'' is available for online download.

Plot

Mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' Films * ''Mystery'' (2012 film), a 2012 Chinese drama film * ''Mystery'' ( ...

author Cornelia Van Gorder rents The Oaks, a summer home in a small town, from local bank president John Fleming. While on a hunting trip with his physician, Dr. Malcolm Wells, Fleming confesses to stealing over $1 million in negotiable securities from the bank. He offers to split the money with Wells in return for help faking his own death and threatens to kill him if he does not comply. Wells shoots Fleming and covers up the murder. Meanwhile, the town is being terrorized by a mysterious murderer known as "the Bat", said to be a man with no face who murders women at night by ripping out their throats with steel claws. Van Gorder's assistant Lizzie tells her all the servants, except the chauffeur, have quit in fear. As they lock up The Oaks that night, Lizzie sees the Bat's clawed hand reaching through an unlocked window. Van Gorder calls the police, who promise to send officers to investigate. The Bat breaks into the house and releases a bat, which bites Lizzie. Lizzie fears she may have contracted

rabies Rabies is a viral disease that causes encephalitis in humans and other mammals. Early symptoms can include fever and tingling at the site of exposure. These symptoms are followed by one or more of the following symptoms: nausea, vomiting, ...

. Van Gorder calls for Wells to treat the bite. Wells is in his laboratory, doing experiments on bats. The local chief of detectives, Lieutenant Andy Anderson, is watching through a window. When Wells leaves to answer Van Gorder's call, Anderson breaks into the laboratory and searches it. Wells checks Lizzie's wound and catches the bat that bit her. Anderson arrives shortly after and says an officer will watch the house for the rest of the night. Van Gorder is visited by Wells, Dale Bailey, and Judy Hollander. Dale's husband, Victor Bailey, is a clerk at the bank and the

prime suspect ''Prime Suspect'' is a British police procedural television drama series devised by Lynda La Plante. It stars Helen Mirren as Jane Tennison, one of the first female Detective Chief Inspectors in Greater London's Metropolitan Police Service, who ...

in the theft of the securities, having been framed by Fleming; Judy works at the bank and is a witness in his defense. While Anderson is visiting Mark Fleming, the nephew and heir of John Fleming, Van Gorder has Dale call him about

blueprints A blueprint is a reproduction of a technical drawing or engineering drawing using a contact print process on light-sensitive sheets. Introduced by Sir John Herschel in 1842, the process allowed rapid and accurate production of an unlimited numb ...

that may show a hiding place in The Oaks. Dale promises to help her look for them that evening. Meanwhile, Van Gorder has hired new servants and promoted Warner the chauffeur to butler. While Van Gorder, Judy, and Dale are having dinner, Mark sneaks into the house to look for the blueprints on his own. The Bat kills him and takes the blueprints. Anderson and Wells (who is also the local coroner) arrive to investigate the murder. Anderson questions the women and Van Gorder's new butler, Warner. Anderson tells the women to lock themselves into their rooms for the rest of the night; he will stay to watch for the Bat. After the women go to bed, Anderson goes into the woods behind the house with a flashlight; Warner follows him. Soon after, the Bat enters the house again. He cuts the phone line and goes to the third floor, where he begins chiseling a hole into one of the walls. Hearing the noise from his chiseling, Dale and Judy go to investigate. The Bat kills Judy and flees the house. Anderson returns, saying he saw a man in the woods. He accuses Warner, whom he recognizes as a suspect for a robbery in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

; Warner replies he was

acquitted In common law jurisdictions, an acquittal certifies that the accused is free from the charge of an offense, as far as criminal law is concerned. The finality of an acquittal is dependent on the jurisdiction. In some countries, such as the ...

. Wells comes to the house, saying he had an accident in his car nearby; Anderson casts suspicion on the doctor as well. Van Gorder investigates the room the Bat was in and realizes there is a secret room behind the wall where he was chiseling. She accidentally traps herself in the room, but is freed by Detective Davenport, the officer assigned to watch the house that evening. Meanwhile, the Bat comes to kill Wells in his laboratory. Wells pulls a gun and taunts the Bat, whose identity Wells seems to know. Wells tells the Bat that ''he'' knows where the money is and that, after the Bat is dead, he (Wells) will collect it. Wells then attempts to shoot the Bat but the other attacks. The two men struggle and Wells is killed. The Bat leaves a fake

suicide note A suicide note or death note is a message left behind by a person who dies or intends to die by suicide. A study examining Japanese suicide notes estimated that 25–30% of suicides are accompanied by a note. However, incidence rates may depen ...

to frame Wells as the Bat. The Bat returns to Van Gorder's house, where he sets the garage on fire to draw the occupants outside. Mystery writer Van Gorder sees through this ruse, however. She has Dale, Lizzie, and Davenport hide and wait for the Bat. When confronted, the Bat, wearing the mask which obscures the outlines of his face (hence his description as "a man with no face") shoots Davenport, though it is unclear how badly, and is about to kill the three women when Warner returns and shoots him dead. Van Gorder unmasks the Bat, who is revealed to be Lieutenant Anderson, whose motives here were pecuniary as he was one of the first people notified of the theft of the bank securities later converted into cash.

Cast

as Dr. Malcolm Wells *

as Cornelia van Gorder * Gavin Gordon as Lt. Andy Anderson * John Sutton as Warner *

Lenita Lane Lenita Mary Lane (December 16, 1901 – March 15, 1995) was an American stage and film actress. She appeared in several Broadway plays before turning to movies. Her more than two dozen movie appearances include '' The Mad Magician'' (1954) ...

as Lizzie Allen * Elaine Edwards as Dale Bailey *

Darla Hood Darla Jean Hood (November 8, 1931 – June 13, 1979) was an American child actress, best known as the leading lady in the ''Our Gang'' series from 1935 to 1941. She was born in Leedey, Oklahoma, the only child of music teacher Elizabeth Da ...

as Judy Hollander * John Bryant as Mark Fleming *

Harvey Stephens Harvey Stephens (August 21, 1901 – December 22, 1986) was an American actor, known initially for his performances in Broadway productions, and thereafter for his work in film and on television. He was most active in film beginning in the 193 ...

as John Fleming * Mike Steele as Victor Bailey * Riza Royce as Jane Patterson * Robert B. Williams as Detective Davenport Cast notes * ''The Bat'' was the final film appearance for Darla Hood, who between 1935 and 1941 played "Darla" in ''

Our Gang ''Our Gang'' (also known as ''The Little Rascals'' or ''Hal Roach's Rascals'') is an American series of comedy short films chronicling a group of poor neighborhood children and their adventures. Created by film producer Hal Roach, also the ...

'' comedy

shorts Shorts are a garment worn over the pelvic area, circling the waist and splitting to cover the upper part of the legs, sometimes extending down to the knees but not covering the entire length of the leg. They are called "shorts" because they ...

Production and release

RKO Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orph ...

bought the rights to remake ''The Bat'' from

Mary Pickford Gladys Marie Smith (April 8, 1892 – May 29, 1979), known professionally as Mary Pickford, was a Canadian-American stage and screen actress and producer with a career that spanned five decades. A pioneer in the US film industry, she co-founde ...

, who produced the original 1926 film adaptation for

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the stu ...

, the studio she founded in 1919 with

Douglas Fairbanks Douglas Elton Fairbanks Sr. (born Douglas Elton Thomas Ullman; May 23, 1883 – December 12, 1939) was an American actor, screenwriter, director, and producer. He was best known for his swashbuckling roles in silent films including '' The Thi ...

Charles Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is consid ...

and

D. W. Griffith David Wark Griffith (January 22, 1875 – July 23, 1948) was an American film director. Considered one of the most influential figures in the history of the motion picture, he pioneered many aspects of film editing and expanded the art of the n ...

. ''The Bat'' was released as a

double feature The double feature is a motion picture industry phenomenon in which theatres would exhibit two films for the price of one, supplanting an earlier format in which one feature film and various short subject reels would be shown. Opera use Opera h ...

with the

Hammer horror Hammer Film Productions Ltd. is a British film production company based in London. Founded in 1934, the company is best known for a series of Gothic fiction, Gothic horror and fantasy films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Many of thes ...

film ''

''.

Reception

According to

Turner Classic Movies Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of ...

, in an era of films featuring "rampaging aliens and sinister ghouls", ''The Bats period piece approach was not a crowd pleaser, although its reputation has improved over time. Film critic

Leonard Maltin Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic and film historian, as well as an author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives. He is perhaps best known for his book of fi ...

awarded the film 2 1/2 out of 4 stars (a rating that he used more than any other rating), calling it " faithful filming of Mary Roberts Rinehart-Avery Hopwood play".

Allmovie AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) is an online database with information about films, television programs, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne. History AllMovie was founded by popular-cul ...

gave the film a mixed review, complimenting the film's screenplay, but criticized the script's mechanical nature and lack of scariness, as well as the varying quality of performances from the cast. But they also stated, "While it's all done in a by-the-numbers manner, there's more than enough here to entertain whodunit fans". In a contemporary review of the film, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' praised Moorehead's "good, snappy performance" and Crane Wilbur's direction.

References

External links