#The Devil Bat

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The Devil Bat (1940)

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The Devil Bat

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The Devil Bat was released on December 13, 1940(US).

#BelaLugosi #horror #scifi #sciencefiction

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Dread by the Decade: The Devil Bat

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Year: 1940 Genre: Creature Feature, Sci-Fi Horror Rating: Approved (Suggested: PG) Country: United States Language: English Runtime: 1 hour 8 minutes

Director: Jean Yarborough Writer: John Thomas Neville Cinematographer: Arthur Martinelli Editor: Holbrook N. Todd Composer: David Chudnow Cast: Bela Lugosi, Suzanne Kaaren, Dave O'Brien, Guy Usher, Yolande Mallot, Donald Kerr

Plot: A vindictive chemist creates giant bats to kill his enemies.

Review: Despite Lugosi's presence, this film is imbued with none of his charm. It's too silly to be taken seriously, yet too boring to laugh at.

Overall Rating: 1/5

Story: 1/5 - A terrible combination of stupid, repetitive, and dull. Any camp is negated by stock characters and empty filler.

Performances: 2/5 - Lugosi is sometimes fun to watch in a campy (and weirdly sweaty) way, but everyone else is fairly one-note.

Cinematography: 2.5/5 - Serviceable enough.

Editing: 2/5

Music: 2/5

Effects & Props: 1/5 - Hilariously bad. There's a stuffed bat that swings from a string and screams like R2-D2.

Sets: 3/5 - Most of the sets are generic, but the doctor's lab at least has some personality and dressing.

Costumes, Hair, & Make-Up: 3.5/5 - Just normal clothing, but of good quality.

Trigger Warnings:

Mild violence

Animal death

Casual racism (brief, dialogue-only)

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On June 12, 1965, The Devil Bat was screened on Jeepers Creepers Theater.

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Bela Lugosi in The Devil Bat (1940)

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Bad movie I have The Devil Bat 1940

[adamwatchesmovies]

The Devil Bat (1940)

Sometimes, you dig through the films that have fallen into the public domain and find some gems. Most of the time, you find the likes of The Devil Bat.

Dr. Paul Carruthers (Lugosi) is beloved by the town of Heathville. Particularly by the Morton and Heath families, whom he’s made rich by developing several of the beauty products they sell. Bitter and resentful of their fortunes, Carruthers has devised an elaborate means of getting revenge. Using electricity, he’s enlarged an ordinary bat to enormous size and trained it to attack anyone wearing a new aftershave he’s developed. After several murders, reporter Johnny Layton (Dave O’Brien) and his sidekick photographer “One-Shot” McGuire (Donald Kerr) begin investigating.

If the plot sounds needlessly complicated and dumb, it's because it is. Carruthers’ plan has way too many phases. Step one: train ordinary bats to attack anyone wearing a very specific scent. Step two: use his SCIENCE! to enlarge one of these bats. Step three: convince his targets to try the aftershave he’s developed. Step four: release the animal from its cage. Hopefully, it rips his target's’ throat out. Meanwhile, he’s got to cross his fingers hoping the police don’t connect him and the victims’ death, a task that would be pretty hard considering he’s always the last person they talk to before getting shredded.

The plot is ludicrous and made more comical by several unintentional quirks in the direction and set design. To release the Devil Bat, Carruthers has to open a secret door in a bookcase which leads to a secret room. In this secret room, there’s a hidden door in the wall which leads to a staircase. At the top is another room whose entrance is hidden in a wall. That final room, by the way, has a window which opens to the outside. After the first murder, you figure the police will need some time to connect the victim to our villain but no! Since no one saw the bat attack the first Heath son, they assume a person attacked him despite 1) the killer getting away fast as lightning 2) the strange bite marks and scratches around the victim’s neck and shoulders 3) the “rat-like” hairs found on the man’s clothing 4) the animal-like shrieks heard as the man’s sister, Mary (Suzanne Kaaren) ran towards him. Imagine going through all these hoops and still becoming suspect #1.

Watching the characters slowly piece together what would be obvious to everyone watching even if the “twist” wasn’t revealed in the first scene is funny. I’ll give the special effects a break - the bats featured don’t look much better than the ones alongside Lugosi in 1931’s Dracula - but the dialogue is so wooden and clunky it feels like a first draft. The characters show no emotion whatsoever. Even after their loved ones are violently killed. I’ve seen stronger reactions from people who spilled a drink than from Mary after her brother is torn apart! Everyone’s a cartoon, with Lugosi faring the best out of everyone. I guess because at least his hamminess fits the part of a mad scientist obsessed with bats.

Classic horror-movie connoisseurs may find their interests peaked when they see Bela Lugosi’s name in the credits. If I had to pick, I’d say the horror icon is the best part of this movie but in this case, that doesn’t mean a whole lot. The Devil Bat only lasts 68 minutes, which is one of its strong suits. It may be worth a watch… if you want some laughs. (On DVD, March 18, 2020)

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Bela Lugosi and Edmund Mortimer in The Devil Bat (1940)

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Bela Lugosi

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Released November 11, 1940(premiere).

#TheDevilBat

#BelaLugosi #horror

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On December 16, 1940, The Devil Bat debuted in Meyersdale, Pennsylvania.