Post by Zone Fighter on Oct 15, 2005 9:40:20 GMT -8
The Bat (1959)
Vincent Price - Dr. Malcolm Wells
Agnes Moorehead - Cornelia van Gorder
Gavin Gordon - Lt. Andy Anderson
John Sutton - Warner, the chauffeur
Lenita Lane - Lizzie Allen
Elaine Edwards - Dale Bailey
Darla Hood - Judy Hollander
John Bryant - Mark Fleming
Harvey Stephens - John Fleming
Robert B. Williams - Detective Davenport
Mike Steele - Victor Bailey
Riza Royce - Jane Patterson
A banker embezzles a million dollars in bounds, converts them to cash and hides the money in his house. After the banker is murdered a mysterious figure dressed in black breaks into the house searching for the money. People who encounter "the bat" end up dead.
Vincent Price plays a medical doctor/local coroner with an interest in bats, who murders the embezzler than tries to convince a mystery writer (Agnes Moorehead) who has rented the bankers house to leave it so he can look for the money. A local police investigator suspects the doctor of being the bat. The identity of the bat is kept secret to the end.
I enjoyed The Bat, wasn't until just before his identity was revealed that I made up my mind who he was.
"The Bat" was originally a play. Then a 1915 silent movie, a 1926 silent movie, a 1930 "talkie" (The Bat Whispers) and finally this version.
In radio Agnes Moorehead was the first Margo Lane, sidekick to Orson Wells' Lamont Cranston/The Shadow, and starred in the most popular, most requested and most repeated episode of Suspense, "Sorry, Wrong Number". (Barbara Stanwyck got the role in the movie version). On TV Agnes Moorehead was Endora in "Bewitched".
The Bat is available on several DVDs, I have it on "Masters Of Mayhem" which includes "The Gorilla" and "Horror Hotel".
Dr. Malcolm Wells: In my report I shall state that death was caused by a stunning blow followed by severe laceration and hemorrhage.
Lt. Andy Anderson: In plain English, he didn't know what hit him.
Dr. Malcolm Wells: Oh he knew, but he didn't have time to think about it.
