THE BAT: Special Edition (1959): A Blu-Ray Review

Introduction

Much like its contemporary Night of the Living Dead (1968), The Bat (1959) has been readily available via the public domain for decades. Crane Wilbur’s feature film has seen many DVD releases over the years. Anchor Bay, unfortunately, presented the film in a vastly inferior full-frame format. Film Chest Media Group then followed this up with an HD transfer, which looked fantastic. Now, The Film Detective has released this HD transfer on Blu-Ray, and it’s, by far, the best this camp classic film has ever looked.

Synopsis

The Bat centers around an infamous and brutal killer known as ‘The Bat’ who is back on the loose and headed for The Oaks. The remote country mansion is the former stalking grounds for the murderer and is now owned by famous horror and mystery novelist Cornelia van Gorder (Agnes Moorehead). With the Bat stalking victims again, all of the employees of The Oaks have resigned in fear. This leaves only Cornelia, her chauffeur Warner (John Sutton), and her faithful assistant Lizzie (Lenita Lane) to protect themselves from the terror that awaits.

Cornelia has rented the home from bank president, John Fleming (Harvey Stephens). Fleming has been embezzling bank bonds to the tune of a million dollars. While on a hunting trip with his friend Dr. Malcolm Wells (Vincent Price), Fleming tells Wells about the scheme and threatens to kill him if he doesn’t help him fake his own murder. Fleming also offers to split the money with Wells and, foolishly, implies to him where the money is located. When a forest fire breaks out, Wells shoots Fleming (in self-defense) and covers up the murder.

An Agatha Christie-like mystery soon ensues as Dr. Wells attempts to find the location of the money by befriending Cornelia. Meanwhile, the murders start to accumulate as the Bat sneaks his way back onto the estate, dressed in black and armed with a leather glove, replete with steel claws. The local chief of police, Andy Anderson (Gavin Gordon) soon shows up with suspicions of both Warner and Dr. Wells. With a house full of suspects, and a vicious killer on the loose, all is eventually revealed in a thrilling whodunnit-type ending.

Analysis

The original source material for The Bat came from Mary Robert Rinehart’s 1908 novel The Circular Staircase. This was eventually turned into a hit Broadway show, The Bat, as well as two feature film versions, released in 1926 and 1930. In this third version of the film, Crane Wilbur is trying to build on the previous versions, stretching the narrative out and expanding on the confines of the stage play. In this sense, the director somewhat succeeds and is more faithful to Rhinehart’s novel than any previous version before it. Still, it feels somewhat bland compared to the films that Price starred in during the 1950s and 1960s. It’s just not on the same level as the masterful House of Usher, released a year later in 1960, also starring Price.

One thing that The Bat certainly does have going for it is its strong and now legendary cast. At the very top of this list is the fantastic Agnes Moorehead. While the three-time Oscar-nominated actress was at the tail end career, here she delivers a crisp and witty performance. Unfortunately, while the hype and subsequent decades-long promotion of this film have centered around the legendary Vincent Price, it’s not one of his better performances. Rather, it’s Price retreading the same character that he has played so many times before in far better films.

Takeaways

Those expecting a Vincent Price horror vehicle will be sorely disappointed as The Bat is really an old-fashioned murder mystery disguised as a horror film via its promotional materials and putting Price at the forefront of its marketing campaign. Also, despite the numerous posters and one-sheets that have been released over the years, the film actually has very little to do with bats. Wilbur’s direction is adequate if unflashy. The film just plods along with very little character development. Further, the pacing is so slow that if watched late at night, you might just fall asleep before the big reveal at the end. Still, if you are a fan of this genre, you can do worse than The Bat. For what it is, it’s entertaining.

Fans of Old Hollywood will likely notice Darla Hood from The Little Rascals in her final screen performance. She’s largely wasted here but it’s notable nonetheless. Also, a bald and aging Gavin Gordon as the police chief is another performance of note as Gordon has had supporting roles in some of the true classics from Hollywood’s Golden Age. This includes Romance (1930), playing opposite Greta Garbo, and Bride of Frankenstein (1935), portraying Lord Byron. Unfortunately, all of this star power doesn’t really take away from the fact that the film underdelivers. Price is underused and wasted and the supporting characters merely exist to get from point A to point B.

The Blu-Ray

This new release from The Film Detective is presented in 1080p HD. Delivered in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio, The Bat looks as good as its ever been. Restored from the original 35mm print, this version is clean, sharp, and has fantastic detail. Shown in its original black and white, the film is not overblown or too grainy. The blacks are deep, dense, and effective while the whites are not overexposed. DNR (digital noise reduction) was used to great effect here. However, depending on the quality of your home theater, there is some digital residue and compression that can be seen. It doesn’t take you out of the picture, but it is noticeable.

In terms of the audio on this latest release by The Film Detective, it’s solid. They use a DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel at 1782 kbps in 24-bit. If you’re listening to the film in surround sound, it certainly shows. The fantastic and atmospheric score by Louis Forbes shines on this disc with deep resonating bass tones. You can hear some minor instances of ‘popping’ on the soundtrack, but it’s extremely minimal. As has become expected from a release by The Film Detective, the Blu-Ray comes with the following bonus features: 

• New Restoration From 35mm Archival Elements
• The Case for Crane Wilbur – new program by Ballyhoo Motion Pictures
  
• Audio commentary track by professor and film scholar Jason A. Ney
  
• Nine archival radio episodes featuring Vincent Price

• Fully illustrated booklet featuring “The Case of The Forgotten Author” by Jason A. Ney

• Optional English subtitles for the main feature

Conclusion

More a murder mystery than a genuine horror film, The Bat has cemented its legacy as a cult classic that is only marginally entertaining. It’s a step below the William Castle films of the day, but it’s still worth a watch, if only for the fantastic performance by Agnes Moorhead. Vincent Price being underused is the film’s fatal flaw as The Bat is the perfect vehicle for him, yet director Crane Wilbur and his team don’t know how to effectively utilize him. As a result, he fades into the background as does the film itself. The Film Detective, once again, shows why they are at the forefront of American classic film restoration and distribution, as their latest release looks and sounds great. If only the source material was better.

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