THE BAT (1959)
Special Edition Blu-ray
Label: The Film Detective
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 80 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono with Optional English Subtitles
Vide0: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1)
Director: Crane Wilbur
Cast: Vincent Price, Agnes Moorehead, Gavin Gordon, Darla Hood, Harvey Stephens, Mike Steele, Lenita Lane, John Bryant, John Sutton, Riza Royce
In the whodunit mystery-thriller The Bat (1945) banker president John Fleming (Harvey Stephens, Abe Lincoln In Illinois) is on a hunting vacation in the North Woods with his close friend Doctor Malcom Wells (Vincent Price, A Comedy of Terrors). There he confesses to the Dr. that he has embezzled a million bucks from the bank, and that he's hoping to pin in on his bank manager, nice guy Victor Bailey (Mike Steele, Revenge of the Cheerleaders). He tells the doc, at gunpoint, that if he goes in with him and helps him fake his own death by misadventure, by killing a hired hunting guide and mutilating his body, he will split the million with him right down the middle. However, when a forest fire presents an unexpected opportunity the doc shoots Fleming dead, sort of in self-defense, but figuring he will keep the whole million, and he has a pretty good idea where the banker stashed the bank notes - blaming the bankers death on the convenient forest fire.
Enter world-famous mystery writer Cornelia van Gorder (Agnes Moorehead, Hush … Hush, Sweet Charlotte) and her secretary Lizzie Allen (Lenita Lane, The Mad Magician), who are renting The Oaks mansion for the summer, a creepy old estate owned by the late Fleming, which was rented to them by the bankers son Mark (John Bryant, The Lost Missile). Meanwhile, Bailey is still on the hook for the unsolved theft, and there's a murderer stalking the area, a killer dressed completely in black from head-to-toe and donning a pair of vicious looking metal-clawed gloves, with a an unsavory reputation for shredding his victims - though the carnage is left to our imaginations.
This set-up evolves into an old dark house whodunit at the The Oaks with someone, maybe even several people as it turns out, attempting to get into The Oaks after dark to find the stolen loot. The stakes of the situation are raised when Flemming's son and one of Cornelia's overnight dinner guests, poor Judy (Darla Hood, little Darla from Our Gang all grown-up), have deadly encounters with the clawed intruder. Other salient characters include the overly suspicious chauffeur/butler Warner (John Sutton, Tower of London), the cook Mrs. Patterson (Riza Royce, Hollywood Horror House), and the determined local detective Lt. Anderson (Gavin Gordon, Mystery of the Wax Museum).
Based on a popular stage play the film written my mystery writer Mary Roberts Rinhart and directed by Wilbur Crane (screenwriter of other Vincent Price vehicles The Mad Magician and House of Wax), does have a stagey presentation at times, but it does have some handsomely lensed moments by Joseph F. Biroz (Blazing Saddles) in spots, particularly the entrances and reveals of The Bat, often casting looming shadows, being quite suspenseful. We also get a top-notch score from Louis Forbes (The River's Edge) that helps drive the atmosphere and suspense of the whodunit throughout. The cast is great, and it's 80-minutes breeze by, plus the whodunit plot machinations kept me guessing right up to the end with a cast of interesting and offbeat characters with a multitudes of schemes and quirky personalities. The show is ensemble in nature but anchored by the impressive performances from Price and Moorehead, the latter of whom I grew up watching as the witchy Endora from the TV series Bewitched. I thought Moorehead was particularly wonderful as the mystery writer taking inspiration from the true-crime happening all around her to write her next novel, and her rapport with her secretary played by Lenita Lane is just terrific, their back and forth is wonderful, and I loved Lane's bug-eyed hysterics.
Audio/Video: The Bat (1959) arrives on region-free Blu-ray from The Film Detective in 1080p HD widescreen (1.85:1) advertised as being restored from original 35mm archival elements. The source looks to be in great shape, the black and white visuals have good depth, layered grayscale, and solid contrast. It does looks a tad filtered in spots with facial features having a waxiness to them, but there is some appreciable texture to the image. Audio comes by way of English DTS mono with Optional English subtitles. The track is clean and largely free of hiss and distortion, and while it does sound it's vintage I found it problem free.
The Bat was previously released by The Film Detective when they were fledgling as a barebones 2015 BD-R this new pressed edition comes updated with new extras. We start off with a brand new Audio Commentary by professor and film scholar Jason Jason A. Ney, who also shows up again in the 22-min The Case for Crane Wilbur featurette, handsomely produced by by Ballyhoo Motion Pictures, that explored Crane's early acting careers, many notable screenwriting credits, and notable directorial turns. The featurette is presented in HD and has optional English subtitles.
We also get Nine Archival Radio Re-broadcasts featuring Vincent Price, these range from the popular radio drama Suspense to a more comedic performance, which are here courtesy of a partnership with Retro Entertainment. These total about four and a half hours and are presented in DTS-HD MA audio with optional English subtitles, which I thought was super cool!
The single disc release arrives in a standard keepcase with a single-sided sleeve of artwork baring the original illustrated movie poster. Inside there's a 16-Page Illustrated Booklet with essay, “The Case of The Forgotten Author,” by professor and film scholar Jason A. Ney that examines the criminally under appreciate mysteries of the Mary Roberts Rinehart, her works having long gone OOP of print and favor after her death in 1958.
Special Features:
- Audio Commentary by professor and film scholar Jason Jason A. Ney
- The Case for Crane Wilbur, by Ballyhoo Motion Pictures (22 min)
- 16-Page Illustrated Booklet with essay, “The Case of The Forgotten Author,” by professor and film scholar Jason A. Ney
- Nine Archival Radio Episodes Featuring Vincent Price.
- Suspense: Ep. The Strange Death of Charles Umberstein, Original Airdate: 11-23-49 (29 minutes)
- Suspense: Ep. Fugue in C Minor, Original Airdate: 6-1-44 (30 mins)
- Suspense: Ep. Hunting Trip, Original Airdate: 9-12-46 (30 min)
- Escape: Ep. Present Tense, Original Airdate: 1-31-50 (30 mins)
- Escape: Ep. Three Skeleton Key, Original Airdate: 3-17-50 (29 mins)
- Escape: Ep. Blood Bath, Original Airdate: 6-30-50 (29 mins)
- Theatre of Romance: Ep. Angel Street, Original Airdate: 10-9-45 (25 mins)
- Hollywood Startime: Ep. The Lodger, Original Airdate: 5-19-46 (30 mins)
- The CBS Radio Workshop: Ep. Speaking of Cinderella, Original Airdate: 4-6-56 (29 min)
Screenshots from The Film Detective Blu-ray:
