Roland West’s The Bat Whispers offers a period appropriate approximation of one of the era’s most famous mystery thrillers.
The Production: 3/5
What Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap was to theater audiences of the 1950s (and beyond; it’s still running in London after seventy-two years), so Mary Roberts Rinehart’s The Bat was to theater patrons of the 1920s: a mystery thriller with a murdering thief on the prowl killing any and all who cross his path. Director Roland West had already brought the piece to the silent screen in 1926, but his sound version retitled The Bat Whispers made in 1930 gave movie audiences for the first time an authentic taste of the sights AND sounds of the long-running, creepy whodunit. Truth to tell, the mystery and mayhem which were taut by early sound movie standards are now rather dated and cobweb-strewn in the 21st century, but there is more here than at first meets the eye: a widescreen version that shows remarkable cinematic agility for this early period of sound movie production and in both versions some solid performing and a fair mystery of identity to solve amid an unnecessarily protracted story, often overdone comic elements, and some variable acting of occasionally questionable effectiveness.
Renting banker Fleming’s (S.E. Jennings) country mansion for the summer, rich matron Cornelia van Gorder (Grayce Hampton) and her skittish maid Lizzie Allen (Maude Eburne) find themselves besieged by numerous unknown presences determined to drive them away from the house. Unknown to them, half a million dollars of stolen bank funds have been hidden in the house and is being sought by a notorious thief and killer known as The Bat. Cornelia’s niece Dale (Una Merkel) is hiding her fiancé Brook (William Bakewell) at the estate since he’s being blamed for the bank robbery having been a cashier there. Also prowling around the estate are a cadre of suspicious characters: police detective Anderson (Chester Morris), the sneaky Dr. Venrees (Gustav von Seyffertitz), a rattled caretaker (Spencer Charters), a bumbling private detective (Charles Dow Clark) hired by Cornelia to investigate all the strange noises, and banker Fleming’s nephew Richard (Hugh Huntley) looking for the stolen loot himself. It’s a long night ahead for everyone as a couple of murders occur amid power ebbs and a succession of assaults on various people as the Bat flits in and out of the shadows of winding staircases and secret rooms pursuing the spoils that everyone else eventually becomes aware of.
Director Roland West provided the screenplay adapted from the original play by Mary Roberts Rinehart and Avery Hopwood. He gives the film a good kick in the pants to start in an inventive new sequence showing us The Bat in action gaining entrance to a locked room and stealing a valuable necklace from a man he kills while the police stare in disbelief at his ingenuity and treachery. From there, we’re back to the stage play though he continually punctuates it ingeniously by opening up what could have been a static narrative by the use of dollying through his sets inside and outside, staging clever overhead shots, and in his widescreen version showing quite a creative use of the wide frame by placing his actors and action spread across his horizontal canvas. Throughout, expressionistic lighting and shadows intensify the suspense and give the atmosphere an occasional shuddery feel. On the detrimental side, however, are unsuccessful attempts at comic nonsense using several of his actors utilizing broad slapstick behavior (sitting on hot water bottles, hiding under the bed, running around a room searching for a rope that’s right in front of them) and some poorly staged climactic encounters with the helpless ingenue and The Bat in the secret room.
Top-billed Chester Morris was fresh off an Oscar nomination for Alibi (also directed by Roland West) when he was chosen for the important role of Detective Anderson, but rather than using a charming and ingratiating demeanor to ease the fears of the house’s terrified women, he’s too stern and brusque through much of the film losing sympathy we might have otherwise felt for him when he’s attacked from behind by Gustav von Seyffertitz’s Dr. Venrees. Seyffertitz’s thick accent makes his verbal acting somewhat choppy and unnatural, but his suspicious behavior nevertheless makes him one of the story’s most puzzling enigmas. Grayce Hampton shows confidence and resolve as the resolute Cornelia van Gorder while Una Merkel and William Bakewell as the young sweethearts play well together. Ben Bard as an assaulted onlooker has an authoritative few minutes in the final reel tying the mystery’s loose ends together. Cast for comic relief from the tensions of the mystery and the murders, three of the film’s performers bring overbroad vaudeville shtick to their characterizations but manage to wear out their welcomes pretty quickly: Maude Eburne’s screeching and wailing maid Lizzie Allen, Spencer Charters goggle-eyed ghost whispering caretaker, and Charles Dow Clark’s dim-witted private detective.
Video: 3.5/5
3D Rating: NA
The set offers three versions of the film on two discs: the U.S. and British versions of the film in 1.32:1 and the Magnifilm 2:1 widescreen version (all AVC codec). The grayscale is more consistent and appealing in the Magnifilm version, and it’s cleaner, too. Occasional hairs and some emulsion artifacts do occasionally plague the 35mm full frame versions which also seem a little milkier in contrast. The movie has been divided into 12 chapters.
Audio: 3.5/5
The LPCM 2.0 (2.3 Mbps) mono sound mix is pretty remarkable for a film of this ancient vintage. Dialogue is always clear and understandable, and the many sound effects are quite effective giving this “old, dark house” its spooky ambiance. There is some soft hiss present on all versions of the films, particularly noticeable in the latter reels, and there are some slight synch issues on the U.S. full frame version especially in the first third of the movie.
Special Features: 4/5
Audio Commentary: appended to the widescreen version (disc 2) are observations and opinions from film critic and historian Mick LaSalle. He’s actually rather ambivalent about the movie finding occasional strengths amid a ton of what he considers weaknesses. Fans of the film pretty much may be triggered by his opinions, but it’s only an average commentary at best.
The Photo Gallery (5:26, HD): an animated arrangement of posters, production stills and color lobby cards, bits from the press kit, and studio portraits.
U.S. Vs. British Version Comparison (10:14, HD): side by side contrasts showing the (minor) way sequences were handled differently in the British and American cuts of the 35mm version.
The Bat (1959) (1:19:57, HD): basically the same transfer seen in DVD, cable, and streaming sources but in high definition. This entertaining, more modernized version but still rather faithful adaptation of the play stars Vincent Price, Agnes Moorehead, and Darla Hood.
Version Comparisons (10:14, HD): the 35mm 1.32:1 version is compared in a side-by-side arrangement with the 65mm 2.0 version in key moments of the action.
The Bat Vs The Bat Whispers Comparison (7:33, HD): key scenes from the 1926 silent version are compared side-by-side to the 1930 sound version.
The Bat (1926) Restoration Comparisons (1:54, HD): before-and-after samples of the restoration work currently being done on the silent version of the property.
Enclosed Booklet: offers a cast and crew list, some enjoyable stills, lobby cards, and posters, notes on the restoration of the films, and an appreciation of The Bat Whispers by noted film historian Richard Barrios.
Overall: 3.5/5
Historically important as only one of two remaining widescreen American films of the early sound period, Roland West’s The Bat Whispers offers a period appropriate approximation of one of the era’s most famous mystery thrillers. VCI’s impressive two-disc Blu-ray release offers good sound and video of the movie’s various versions and some excellent bonus features to give the package an added value.
Matt has been reviewing films and television professionally since 1974 and has been a member of Home Theater Forum’s reviewing staff since 2007, his reviews now numbering close to three thousand. During those years, he has also been a junior and senior high school English teacher earning numerous entries into Who’s Who Among America’s Educators and spent many years treading the community theater boards as an actor in everything from Agatha Christie mysteries to Stephen Sondheim musicals.
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