By Forris Day Jr.
The Film Detective ( http://www.thefilmdetective.com) hits a home run with their BluRay release of the classic 1959 movie “The Bat” starring Vincent Price, Agnes Moorehead and an all star cast. Looking at the cover and judging from the name you may think this is a cheap horror film, and it is promoted as a horror film, but I feel it is not. It is more of a mystery thriller loaded with plot twists and a bit of comedy with some horror elements.
In The Bat, mystery writer Cornelia van Gorder (Agnes Moorehead) resides in a town terrorized by a mysterious murderer known only as “The Bat,” said to be a man with no face who kills women at night by ripping out their throats with steel claws. Breaking into Cornelia’s countryside home one night, he releases an actual bat, which bites her maid Lizzy (Lenita Lane) sending her into a panic that she has caught “the rabies.” Cornelia calls her doctor, Malcolm Wells (Vincent Price) who happens to be conducting research on bats. Little does Cornelia know that the good doctor has an ulterior motive for coming to her assistance—a thief who has stolen $1 million in bank securities has confided in Wells, leading him to believe the stash is hidden within Cornelia’s home. After dispatching with the thief, Wells plots to claim the missing treasure. When additional break-ins and murders by The Bat continue, local police chief Andy Anderson (Gavin Gordon ) comes to the house with suspicions of both Wells and Cornelia’s butler Warner (John Sutton). Also featuring Darla Hood of the Little Rascal’s Our Gang in her final film appearance.
The movie is presented in widescreen format and is wonderfully preserved with an amazing picture and audio quality. The story is fun to watch unfold and has surprising twists and a bit of corniness mixed in. Great acting from an all star cast makes The Bat stand out. This is a film that any avid movie collector should have in their collection especially as many of these older films aren’t on BluRay yet. Sure some of it is a bit cheesy but that is the charm of many of these mid century films. Hey…it has Vincent Price in it, that alone makes it worth the watch.
Rating: 8/10 – “The Bat does NOT bite”
