poe-48833 Superb silent that clearly influenced Bob Kahn ("Bob Kane") when he conjured forth his AcroBat-Man, The Bat-Man, in DETECTIVE COMICS #27, way back in 1939. If I have a quibble with THE BAT (and, of course, I DO), it's that it tends to drag quite a bit when the title character's not on screen. The only other problem I have with this version is that it often suggests a Supernatural Element that turns out to be misleading: at one point, we see The Bat's SHADOW reach out, NOSFERATU-like, and close a door; we also see a bat flittering about a rooftop, then cut to the rooftop, where we find The Bat himself looking for a way into the building (and there's no sign of the bat we just saw swoop down to where he is). The fanged mask he wears (see DONNIE DARKO) looks like a Monster straight out of a Fright Film (it's too bad the character wasn't in fact Supernatural...) and the method employed to try to catch him- a bear trap, of all things- is novel, to say the least. Due for another remake- only THIS time, they need to make him a Supernatural creature.

BA_Harrison Master criminal 'The Bat' dresses in furry mask and cape to carry out a daring jewel heist, leaving behind a distinctive bat-shaped calling card to announce his imminent vacation in the country. The action then switches to the country home of the late Courtleigh Fleming (Charles Herzinger), currently occupied by Miss Cornelia Van Gorder (Emily Fitzroy), who has leased the property unaware that a fortune is supposedly stashed somewhere within the building in a secret room. A variety of characters turn up at the old mansion, each with their own agenda, and much crazy 'old-dark-house' style shenanigans ensue.Impressive sets and creative use of lighting provide The Bat with some arresting visuals, but with an unnecessarily intricate plot, umpteen intolerable characters (including a thoroughly annoying, perpetually hysterical maid and a creepy Japanese butler called Jappy!), a lack of action, and some really weak comedy, the film also proves incredibly tedious for much of the time. What makes matters slightly more interesting, particularly for comic book fans, is the fact that the film was clearly the inspiration for DC's legendary superhero Batman, and some fun can at least be derived from spotting the elements that the caped crusader's creator Bob Kane cribbed for his comic character.3.5 out of 10, rounded up to 4 for IMDb.

kidboots The German expressionist cinema had a huge influence on Hollywood in the twenties as seen in "The Bat". The stylized sets of William Cameron Menzies, the elongated doors, furniture making the people look small. All of it makes "The Bat" a beautiful looking production.Gideon Bell has been notified by "The Bat" that he will be robbed of his famed Favre Emeralds and if he notifies the police he will be killed. The film opens with the police standing by ready to act. Of course "The Bat" has killed Bell, stolen the emeralds and left a note to say he is going to the country before the police realize anything is going on.In the country Miss Cornelia Van Gorder (Emily Fitzroy), her niece (Jewel Carmen) and a zany housekeeper (Louise Fazenda) are leasing an estate but are being forced out because of a disputed will.It turns into an "Old Dark House" style thriller with "the Bat" holding people captive and terrorizing them. I found it exciting and "the Bat" was a real surprise. People who have seen the 1960 Vincent Price film will know what's going on but they are very different films and I think this one is better.Jack Pickford is pretty ordinary as Brookes Bailey, a bank clerk, who is being unjustly accused of embezzling bank funds.Jewel Carmen played the niece, Dale. This was her last film. She was married to Roland West, the director and in the next decade was to be involved in the Thelma Todd murder.

sbibb1 This 1926 film is one of the first films in the "spooky house" genre. The plot is simple, "The Bat" is a killer who is trying to get a wealthy woman and her niece out of a huge mansion that was left over when a bank president dies. Hidden in the house is $200,000 in cash, and its a race to try and find the money before "The Bat" gets to it.The film stars are probably not very well known today, Emily Fitzroy plays the wealthy Aunt, always doing her knitting, her companion/housekeeper is played by Louise Fazenda, with over the top/slapstick type of comedy. Jack Pickford plays the newly hired gardner, this is before his wife, actress Olive Thomas died of a drug overdose, and not too long before he himself was the victim of an overdose.The real "star" of the film is Jewel Carmen. She was married to director Roland West at the time. Years later both West and Carmen, long after they were out of the spotlight both would play roles in one of the biggest of Hollywood mysteries, the death of actress Thelma Todd.West was a business partner in Thelma Todd's Sidewalk Cafe along the West Coast Highway in Los Angeles. Todd and West were having an affair at the time of her mysterious death.The coroner set Todd's death at a certain time, but Jewel Carmen, a friend of Todd's testified under oath that she saw Todd out driving in her car with an unidentified man, well after the corner had claimed she was already dead.Some authors have speculated that Todd, who was found slumped dead behind the wheel of her car in a closed garage; a victim of supposed Carbon Monoxide poisoning, was accidentally killed by West when he locked her out of her apartment.