The Bat (1959)

• Year: 1959
• Released: 09 Aug 1959
• Country: United States
• Adwords: N/A
• IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052602/
• Rotten Tomatoes: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_bat
• Metacritics:
• Available in: 720p, 1080p,
• Language: English
• MPA Rating: Approved
• Genre: Horror, Mystery, Thriller
• Runtime: 80 min
• Writer: Crane Wilbur, Mary Roberts Rinehart, Avery Hopwood
• Director: Crane Wilbur
• Cast: Vincent Price, Agnes Moorehead, Gavin Gordon
• Keywords: amateur detective, bat, black and white, series of murders, old dark house, doctor patient relationship,

6.0/10

The Bat Storyline

Mystery writer Cornelia Van Gorder has rented a country house called “The Oaks”, which not long ago had been the scene of some murders committed by a strange and violent criminal known as “The Bat”. Meanwhile, the house’s owner, bank president John Fleming, has recently embezzled one million dollars in securities, and has hidden the proceeds in the house, but he is killed before he can retrieve the money. Thus the lonely country house soon becomes the site of many mysterious and dangerous activities.—Snow Leopard

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The Bat Movie Reviews

A sly and atmospherically powerful who-dun-it.

Agnes Moorhead (Endora of “Bewitched” fame) is a sheer delight as a cagey old bird of a mystery writer, and Price is wonderful in his seemingly dual role. As has been lamented here before, the brevity of Price’s screen time is somewhat disappointing but that is the only factor which disappoints.

I found this to be an inventive and disingenuous endeavor full of red-herrings and wrong turns. Figure this one out for yourself. Puzzle the clues, weed out the characters set here as distractions, look past the deliberate contrivances and solve the mystery on your own.

Excellent entertainment with a splendid darkling atmosphere which I found enormous fun to view. While this is not up to “Gaslight” or “Rebecca” standards, there are many worse ways to spend a late Saturday night, or a rainy Sunday afternoon.

It rates a 7.5/10 from…

the Fiend :.

Enjoyable murder mystery.

Cornelia (Agnes Moorehead) is a mystery writer who temporarily moves into a mansion to attempt to get some work done. She later learns that the homeowner embezzled money and hid it in somewhere in the house. After he turns up dead, Cornelia and her houseguests find that someone knows about the money and will stop at nothing to get it. Could it be the notorious spikey-fingered murderer, “The Bat”?

This is a fun little mystery with a delicious performance by the always fabulous Agnes Moorehead. Vincent Price co-stars as the slightly creepy (of course!) town doctor. One of the most intriguing things about the movie is the refreshing treatment of the lead heroine. She has no love interest–something you don’t see often in 50s horror movies. Her only reliance is upon her tough (and slightly butch!) maid, and her independence has garnered admiration by her female houseguests (one of which is played by Little Rascal Darla Hood).

Unfortunately, the movie doesn’t really capitalize much on the potential of its “big creepy house with a claw-gloved murderer on the loose” premise, and seems to run out of fuel towards the end. Once the body count starts, the actors look like they couldn’t care less. But overall, this is an enjoyable and often creepy mystery with terrific performances by Moorehead and Price.

My Rating: 6.5/10

The Adventures of EVIL Batman!

I already encountered quite a few opinions and reviews that labeled “the Bat” as one of Price’s LEAST entertaining movies. Okay, either I’m too biased about this magnificent actor’s work or either I just know crap about horror cinema but I thought it was a GREAT movie!! Granted, the screenplay is a little too ambitious and too many characters are introduced, but overall this is an exciting and well-plotted thriller that satisfies the fans of haunted house stories as well the typical “whodunit” mysteries. The always-amazing Price is part of a well-filled cast and the events take place in an old, luxurious mansion. One million dollar worth of cash has been stolen from the bank, the loot is hidden somewhere in the house and there’s a maniacal killer with a dedication for rabbit bats on the loose. Let the fun begin! The temporary tenant of the mansion, who happens to be a murder-story author, starts her own search for the killer’s identity. “The Bat” is low on visual effects and make-up, but the constantly tense atmosphere and mysterious characters make up for that. The film could have used a little more action instead of all the talking but it remains an absolute pleasure to behold Vincent Price as a sneaky crook. The old “Oaks” mansion is a genuinely creepy horror location and the “Bat” character is a cool and imaginative villain. Certainly not the absolute highlight of Price’s impressive career, but nonetheless a warmly recommended movie for his fans.