"
The Bat Whispers"
*** 1\2 (out of ****)
The shadow of the bat lurks in the wings, instilling fear in those that see it. He appears to be a menacing figure eager to demonstrate his prowess and mental superiority.
From that description you might have thought I was referring to the famous DC comics superhero, Batman, when in fact I was describing the villain from "The Bat Whispers" (1930), a criminal known only as "The Bat". It's no accident than that Batman creator Bob Kane cited the character The Bat as his inspiration for the creation of Batman.
Based on the 1920 Broadway play The Bat by Mary Roberts Rinehart and Avery Hopwood, which was an adaptation of Rinehart's novel, The Circular Staircase, "The Bat Whispers" is one of Hollywood's earliest examples of the haunted house sub-genre of horror movies. And was itself a "talkie" remake of the silent movie "The Bat" (1926).
Although some movie critics (AKA sheep) were dismissive of "The Bat Whispers" when it was initially released - NY Times critic Mordaunt Hall described the movie as "a waste of time" with the original movie still fresh in his memory - "The Bat Whispers" is actually an influential movie featuring arresting cinematography and like the best movies of this genre - "The Cat & The Canary" (1927) and "The Old Dark House" (1932) - is an exercise in style, pacing, and atmosphere. Unfortunately, it remains a forgotten movie - it was even believed at one time to be a "lost movie" - though I have always championed it when given the chance. Back when I wrote for the website Third Coast Review for example, I included it among a list of lesser known horror movies audiences should seek out.
Directed by Roland West, himself an overlooked though once vital filmmaker, "The Bat Whispers" begins by establishing police have been unable to capture a theft known as The Bat. Testing his abilities, The Bat gives warning to his next victim, a wealthy jewel collector, that he plans to steal a priceless necklace at midnight from the man's home. The police believe they finally have the break they need and have completely blocked off street access to the home, which they have surrounded both inside and out. While it seems The Bat's luck has run out, he is nonetheless able to pull off the heist and give the police one last taunt, informing them he is headed for the country to give them a rest.
The sequence helps to create the tone, look and feel of the rest of the movie. The entire movie will take place a night, deal with shadows, have characters on high alert and in a constant state of suspense, and place the viewer in a state of anticipation, suspecting the motivates of each character introduced. The cinematography techniques used by Robert H. Planck, a four time Oscar nominee, and Ray June, a three time nominee, in this sequence and throughout the movie is commendable. If the movie is known for anything it may be its cinematography, which creates the illusion of flying around by placing us in The Bat's POV while the camera appears to be swooshing.
In what may have been the following night - the timeline is never properly explained - The Bat, spying from the rooftops, is witness to a bank robbery. It just so happens the bank's president, Mr. Fleming is out of the country on vacation. Prior to his leaving, he leased his house to Cornelia Van Gorder (Grayce Hampton) and her maid, Lizzie (Maude Eburne). His servants however have all left the two ladies alone. Lizzie suspects because they were afraid of The Bat or ghosts. Lizzie believes the house is haunted. The only servant to remain is the caretaker (Spencer Charters) who scares Lizzie almost as much as The Bat does.
As is customary in these kind of movies, the objective is to gather a large group of highly suspicious individuals in the house and allow the circumstantial evidence to fly. "The Bat Whispers" has no shortage of characters of questionable behavior. First there is Cornelia's niece, Dale (Una Merkel) and her fiancé Brook (William Bakewell), whom she hasn't told her aunt about. Then there is Dr. Venrees (Gustav von Seyffertitz) who always happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. And Fleming's nephew (Hugh Huntley) who may have been the one to rent out his uncle's home without his permission. Plus two men from the law, Detective Anderson (Chester Morris) and a cowardly private eye Cornelia has hired, Detective Jones (Charles Dow Clark). One of these people may be The Bat or know who The Bat is.
Once all of these characters are under the same roof "The Bat Whispers" becomes a story of murder, greed, corruption, and false identities. Director West and his cinematographers cultivate a demonstration in style over substance. The movie creates an eerie atmosphere through its use of lighting and shadows and sound effects (thunder and lightening). Sadly some modern "critics" often fault the movie for these techniques describing them as "creaky" and "outdated". They seem to lack the knowledge and understanding that what we are seeing in movies such as "The Bat Whispers", "The Cat and the Canary", and the silent version of "The Bat" were setting the standard for the haunted house genre, which had come a long way since the days of George Melies' "The House of the Devi" (1896). Rather than dismiss the movie's techniques as "cliché" they should be applauded for their innovation for the time period and their lasting contributions to the genre.
One unique thing about these early haunted house movies was their reliance on comedy. In addition to the frights "The Bat Whispers" tries to produce it also attempts to get as much comedy mileage as it can out of this material through Maude Eburne's performance in particular as well as Charles Dow Clark's. "The Cat and the Canary" for example was even remade as a
Bob Hope vehicle in 1939. Although I don't find "The Bat Whispers" very funny. Its humor is manifested in Eburne's whining and squawking which after a while I simply found grating. Give me Bob Hope's cowardice over this any day!
The most interesting character in the movie might be Cornelia. In "The Bat" it was explained she was a writer, this time around her occupation is not mentioned but she turns into a no non-sense amateur sleuth, unfazed when the lights go out and things go bump in the night. She seems to be one step ahead of every character, just waiting for each person to make a mistake. Sometimes, surprisingly, she even calls out characters directly to their faces. Even more surprising, they never have answers to her accusations!
Despite the laden "comedic" performances of Eburne and Clark, the actor that seems to be giving the most consciously aware performance is Chester Morris, who worked often with Roland West. He too is playing a no non-sense character determined to figure out who The Bat is. His performance is typical for the time period in the ways it is meant to exude masculinity and authority. The performance seems slightly out of place and more deserving of a gangster movie.
During a relatively short career, lasting only 15 years, Roland West did achieve great success and made some promising movies. He made further contributions to the horror genre with a movie that proceeded "The Bat Whispers" and "The Bat", a mad scientist / haunted house movie,
"The Monster" (1925) starring Lon Chaney. He also made contributions to the gangster genre, directing the influential movie "Alibi" (1929), also with Morris, which might explain his performance. If you happen to doubt West's talents, all one needs to do is watch the remake of this movie,
"The Bat" (1959) with Vincent Price. It is a movie that lacks the wit and visual style of either of West's Bat adaptations. Unfortunately, some film historians may only associate West's name with actress Thelma Todd, who starred in his final movie, "Corsair" (1931). The two were romantically linked and some say he played a part in her mysterious death.
Maybe because of issues in the editing room, "The Bat Whispers" falls just short of greatness. At 83 minutes too many little details are left out of the movie. One would have to combine "The Bat" and "The Bat Whispers" to get a full understanding of the story, which I prefer not to do. Each movie should stand on its own and offer its own explanation of events.
Given the age of the movie, nothing in "The Bat Whispers" is going to scare modern audiences. You would watch a movie like this if you have an interest in film history, horror movies in particular, and want to see the evolution of the genre. I would seriously doubt the casual viewer would get much enjoyment out of this movie, which is unfortunate that movies like "The Bat Whispers" can't be enjoyed in today's day and age. For those adventurous souls however that are willing to watch movies from this time period, "The Bat Whispers" is a treat!
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