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Customer Reviews of The Bat Whispers

The movie opens on a lovely miniature of Gotham at night, with a lush matte paining backdrop. A slow pan down a large building leads us to policemen waiting outside the front of the building, and then we move inside through a lighted window. The cinematography is quite exquisite here, worth watching more than once. Inside the room is a man reading a letter, one written by The Bat, a criminal who claims he will steal a valuable necklace at 12 midnight, and dares the man to be alone in the room. With police just outside the door and surrounding the building, The Bat manages to pull off an impossible caper in a unique and interesting way.

Soon we cut to a darkened bank, and someone opening the large safe, and making a hasty departure. The fellow is followed to a large house, one occupied by an older woman, her maid, and a creepy caretaker. The man who robbed the bank makes his way into the house, and is soon followed by a great number of characters.

First of all, let me just say this is one of the crazier plots in a movie I've seen in while. Throughout the entire first half of the film, there were characters coming and going in the great, spooky house with secret passages, moving paintings, hidden rooms, and lights that fail almost on cue. Some characters had formal introductions, some didn't, and confusion ran rampant. It was like every five minutes or so, I found myself asking, "Now who the heck is that?" Eventually everyone is made known, some not until the end of the film, as the plot threads untangle themselves. This is basically a crime/mystery/thriller with a dash of horror (the house is supposed to be haunted) and touches of comedy. You see, there is a large amount of money hidden in the house, and various characters are trying to locate it, each for reasons of their own. Not only that, but throw in a police detective, a private detective, a suspicious gardener, a man with amnesia, and arch criminal The Bat, and you've got quite the stew. The red herrings certainly do begin to fly fast and furious as the plot barrels along to its' final act, to which I was highly satisfied as all was finally revealed.

In a nice touch, after the story ends, the film doesn't, as the audience is asked not to reveal the identity of The Bat, first as a plea, and then as an ominous warning, that if you do spill the beans to your friends, The Bat will haunt you up good. While the acting in the film may never win anyone awards and such, it does fit with the characters and the story. The under lit sets are wonderful, along with the cinematography, adding the moody atmosphere, playing with the light and darkness to create spooky shadows that serve well to send a chilling tingle up your spine. And throw in the occasional thunder and flash of lighting and you've got all the makings of a suitably hair-raising thriller from an age long ago.

Available here are two versions of the film, one in the standard full screen 35 mm print, and another in a 65 mm 'Magnifilm' format, providing a rare wide screen presentation of a pre-1950's film. The wide screen format we are used to seeing nowadays wasn't really utilized throughout until the early to mid 1950's. Both versions look really great, despite the fact that the film is 70 plus years old, and do suffer speckling and slight deterioration due to age. The sound is a bit soft, but, again, given the age, one has to be somewhat generous in not being overly critical. Along with basically two versions of the film, also included is extensive liner notes on the fold out cardboard cover of the DVD case. The product information page here lists deleted scenes and alternative endings also available, but I didn't see those features. Could be that I missed them, but the menu options on the disc are limited to choice of which format you want to watch and chapter stops. I wouldn't recommend this film to anyone, but if you like old films and have the patience to hang in there, you will be rewarded at the end.

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The Inspiration For Batman.
THE BAT WHISPERS is Roland West's 1930 sound remake of his 1926 version of Mary Roberts Rhinehart's long running comedy/mystery play THE BAT. While the earlier version had the benefit of a better all around cast including Jack Pickford and Louise Fazenda, this version was shot in an early widescreen process called Magnavision (65mm) which allowed director West the opportunity to employ a startling array of visual tricks that still have the power to impress today. Chester Morris gives a strong performance as the detective who holds the key to the mystery. Una Merkel plays the heroine in one of her earliest roles and William Bakewell (the twin monarchs in Douglas Fairbanks' THE IRON MASK) acquits himself nicely in the thankless role of the wrongly accused fiance'. The story of a masked killer on the loose in an old dark house was already old hat by the time this film was made. The performances are deliberately over the top in accordance with the creakiness of the story which only adds to the fun. There is even a plea at the end to not reveal the killer's identity to future patrons. What makes THE BAT WHISPERS so remarkable is its stunning cinematography, its expressionistic use of light and shadow and its innovative use of sound. The bat costume, though not as striking as in the 1926 version, is said to have been the inspiration for Bob Kane when he came to create BATMAN over 10 years later. Roland West was a premiere visual stylist and quite an innovator for his time. He was forced to give up directing in 1935 after the high profile death of his girlfriend actress Thelma Todd for which he is now believed responsible. The DVD from Image Entertainment contains both the 65mm and 35mm versions shot by different cameramen as well as outakes, deleted scenes, etc. If you enjoy old movies and want to see a little pop culture history as well then you can't afford to pass this one up. If you like this one then check out Roland West's other available film ALIBI. For 1929 it's truly amazing and it also stsrs Chester Morris.

odd macabre thriller
THE BAT WHISPERS is an odd macabre thriller, with enjoyable performances and is very good.

Starring Chester Morris, Una Merkel, Maude Eburne, DeWitt Jennings and Chance Ward, THE BAT WHISPERS was filmed in 70mm widescreen (very odd since widescreen wasn't patented until the 1950's), an experimental move that works to the film's advantage.

The story of the search for a demonic, depraved killer known as The Bat is a wonderfully entertaining piece of whimsy, with Merkel and Eburne in top form.

Directed by Roland West.