THE BAT WHISPERS

US, 1930, 83 minutes, Black-and-white.
Chester Morris, Chance Ward, Richard Tucker, Una Merkel, Grayce Hampton, Maud Eburne.
Directed by Roland West.

Considered something of a classic of the genre, of the old dark house thriller, this seems very creaky in retrospect. The director is ambitious, filming in both 35mm and 65 mm, filming in the dark, setting up all kinds of theatrical framing for many of the sequences. It also has the unusual final credits where the actor portraying the murderer, the Bat, comes through the curtain of the proscenium, revealing himself and asking the audience not to let anyone else know his identity.

The film opens with a daring robbery, the thief in a kind of bat’s disguise but acting as a cat burglar, escaping up to a roof rather than going down to ground level as expected. There is great concern with the police and the reputation of The Bat. The Bat then tells the police that he is going away and giving the police a rest. However, he does another robbery on the way!

The main action of the film takes place in an old mansion, presided over by Grayce Hampton as a demanding dowager matron. Her maid is Lizzie, played by Maude Eburne in the most broad comic style. There is also the granddaughter of the house, Una Merkel, who has a mind of her own.

Of course, there are all kinds of sinister goings-on in the house, eerie presences, lights going off, and all the very broad comedy involving Lizzie and her seeing things, her fright, and her pyjamas that need to be seen!

There are a number of detectives including Chester Morris as one of the main investigators. He was at the beginning of a successful career during the 1930s and 1940s.

The bat costume is used at various times but seems highly artificial rather than credible. Audiences may have guessed who The Bat really is before the actor comes through that final curtain.