Search - Bat on DVD

MPAA Rating: NR Content Advisory: Violence, Questionable for Children Movie Release: 1959 DVD Release: 07/11/2000 Format: DVD - Black and White Audio Tracks: English SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 20 mins Studio: Anchor Bay Members Wishing: 2 Genres: Mystery, Horror, Thriller, Haunted House Film See Also: Bat, The Bat, The Bat, The Bat

This fourth film version of the Mary Roberts Rinehart-Avery Hopwood stage chestnut The Bat is so old-fashioned in its execution that one might suspect it was intended as "camp" (though that phrase wasn't in common usage in 1959). Agnes Moorehead plays mystery novelist Cornelia Van Gorder, whose remote mansion is the scene for all sorts of diabolical goings-on. The "maguffin" is a million dollars' worth of securities, hidden away somewhere in the huge and foreboding estate. Vincent Price is seen committing a murder early on-but he's not the film's principal villain. Others in the cast include Gavin Gordon as an overly diligent detective, and former Our Gang star Darla Hood as a murder victim. The Bat was adapted for the screen by its director Crane Wilbur, himself a prolific "old dark house" scenarist and playright. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Vincent Price - Dr. Malcolm Wells
Agnes Moorehead - Cornelia Van Gorder
Gavin Gordon - Lt. Anderson
John Sutton - Warner
Lenita Lane - Lizzie Allen

Vincent Price stars in this campy thriller, which has been given a simple presentation on DVD. The Bat has been transferred to disc in the full-frame aspect ratio of 1.33:1, and the audio has been mastered in Dolby Digital Mono. The dialogue is in English, with no multiple-language options included. As a bonus, the film's original trailer has been included on this release, one of several DVD versions of this film on the market. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide