Horror Extreme Movie Catalog

Vincent Price was always able to make a run-of-the-mill horror movie seem like so much more. And that's the case with "The Bat," an otherwise okay-but-not-great mystery based on Mary Roberts Rinehart's mystery. It's creepy and a little campy, but not much as a mystery.

Author Cornelia van Gorder (Agnes Moorehead) has rented a rural mansion for her writing, even though her maid Lizzie (Lenita Lane) claims that the serial-killing Bat has been prowling around. Of course, the Bat breaks into the house, scares them silly, and vanishes by the time the police arrive.

The problem is, Cornelia doesn't have anything the Bat would want -- but is his presence connected to a recent bank embezzlement, and the mystery death of the banker who owned the mansion? It seems so, and now the race is on between Cornelia, Lizzie and her friends, and a ruthless masked killer.

Basically it's a straightforward treasure hunt, but with murder thrown in the mix, as well as the question of who the Bat is -- in true mystery tradition, you can guess by figuring out the least likely suspect. In the meantime, there are hidden rooms, forest fires, campy shrieks, rubber bats, and those awkward-looking gloves with fake claws attached.

The big problem with "Bat" is that it doesn't have any clues (neither did the book, admittedly). There are a few red herrings -- such as Price messing around with bats in his lab -- but what is a mystery if the audience doesn't have any chance at all of solving it? (That, and the torn throats are suspiciously bloodless)

Price plays a relatively small part -- that of a jovial, sinister doctor who may or may not be the Bat -- but he steals all his scenes, especially since he also seems to be the most intelligent person in the cast. But Moorehead is also quite good, playing Cornelia as an independent, acid-tongued spinster who doesn't let anyone underestimate her.

There are quite a few versions of this movie out there, most of them terrible. The best one I've seen is Platinum Disc, which comes with a funny menu, as well as clear picture, clear sound, and no fizzing, fuzzing or jumps. They found a very good print for this movie.

"The Bat" is only middling as a mystery, but is pretty fun in a haunted-house kind of way. And it's worth getting, if nothing else, to see Price carrying a bat in a medical bag.

A creepy, campy, silly flick, but the combination of Moorehead and Price is irresistable. The only downside is that Price's character dies too early. Good quality conversion.