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The Saturday April 28, 2012 MOVIE - Thriller "THE BAT" (1959) The classic story of a bat-like hooded killer that creeps around an old mansion. Agnes Moorehead as a mystery writer is tormented by The Bat. Vincent Price is the local doctor with a suspicious gleam in his eye! Suggested by David Meyers, Bryant, IN.
Had a chance to watch this while at the Chiller Theatre Expo in New Jersey this past Saturday. I've seen this before a few times. Price is, as always, great as smooth and sinister. Agnes Moorehead plays an Agatha Christie-type author. A nice glossy production, but I still favor both the two earlier versions of the same story: THE BAT (1926) and THE BAT WHISPERS (1930). I remember seeing a TV promo for this movie running on TV back in the mid-1960s. It features the claw-glove hand withe the steel nails comingaround the door. THAT was spooky and I wasn't too see the movie for decades, but that TV promo stayed with me. Still fun, even with all kinds of plot holes. -Ron Adams, Ligonier, PA
Hi Ron,
This past Saturday night, Debi and I kicked back and enjoyed the Vincent Price movie that, believe it or not, I hadn't watched in its entirety for over 20 years! "The Bat", a 1959 classic, which is of course on nearly every public domain collection of horror movies, is a superbly crafted film, with right touches of humor. Granted, Vincent Price, who is the main star, doesn't have as much screen time as you would think, but this is still a fun movie.
Above: Darla from "Little Rascals" goes bats in THE BAT! Speaking of Gavin Gordon in the cast, another 'surprise' is the appearance of Darla Hood as Judy. -Frank Nicoletti, NY
Ron: - Leobard Kohl, Chicago, IL "Herr Kohlzig"
This is one of my favorite Vincent Price movies along with "House on Haunted Hill" and "The Tingler". In "The Bat' Vincent as Dr. Welles seems to be the logical choice as the killer. He shot John Fleming, studies bats in his lab and seems very interested in where the missing money is. He even receives a head wound just like the Bat. But there are other suspects- the butler (John Sutton) and even the nephew of John Fleming.The movie does a good job of making you wonder who is actually the Bat. Sure there are a lot of plot holes but it is still enjoyable to watch. The dialog between Dr. Welles and Lt. Anderson was great. You think that the policeman really thought Dr. Welles was the Bat until the end when you realize that he was just looking for a scapegoat. Agnes Morehead was great as the writer and her servant did a good job of comic relief. I have seen the 2 previous versions of this movie and like them both. But I like this version because of Vincent Price. He can bring any movie up a notch or two by his presence. thanks -Dave Myers, Bryant In. Submit your review, thoughts, memories of THE BAT (1959)!
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As we watched it, I kept listening to the voice of the actor (Gavin Gordon) who played the police Lieutenant Andy Anderson, and I kept thinking...I know that voice...and the occasional "roll" of his "R's", so after the movie, I looked it up and verified that it was indeed the same man who played Lord Byron at the beginning of Bride of Frankenstein. He sure looked different in The Bat, but then again it was 24 years after 'Bride'. Was Gavin perhaps wearing a wig in 'Bride'? If so, the hair looked natural! I do realize that I'm probably in a small number of people who didn't know that about Gavin Gordon, but all the same, it was a cool surprise for me.
