The Bat Whispers ( Roland West's The Bat Whispers )

The Bat Whispers (DVD) (*)

~~$26.99~~ $23.98

Original Title: Roland West's The Bat Whispers
Language Selections:
English ( Mono )
French ( Subtitles )

Product Origin/Format:
France ( PAL/Region 2 )

Running Time:
83 min

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen (1.85:1)

Special Features:
Interactive Menu
Scene Access
Black & White

Movie filmed in 1930 and produced in:
United States ( USA, Canada )

Directed By:
Roland West

Written By:
Avery Hopwood
Mary Roberts Rinehart

Actors:
Chester Morris ..... Detective Anderson
Chance Ward ..... Police lieutenant
Una Merkel ..... Dale Van Gorder
Richard Tucker ..... Mr. Bell
Wilson Benge ..... The Butler
Maude Eburne ..... Lizzie Allen
William Bakewell ..... Brook
DeWitt Jennings ..... Police captain
Sidney D'Albrook ..... Police sergeant
S.E. Jennings ..... Man in black mask
Grayce Hampton ..... Cornelia van Gorder
Spencer Charters ..... The Caretaker
Gustav von Seyffertitz ..... Dr. Venrees
Hugh Huntley ..... Richard Fleming
Charles Dow Clark ..... Detective Jones

Synopsis:

Opening with a series of flamboyant tracking shots, director Roland West soon enough settles down to the usual "Old House" shenanigans of sliding panels, mysterious bumps in the night, crawling hands, thunder and lightning, etc. An official remake of the 1926 The Bat (which was itself based on an Avery Hopwood play), The Bat Whispers owed just as much to The Cat and the Canary (1927), the true grand-daddy of all haunted house mysteries. After taunting the New York City police a final time, the notorious criminal "The Bat" announces his retirement to the country. Meanwhile, in said country wealthy spinster Cornelia Van Gorder (Grayce Hampton is leasing the Courtleigh Fleming estate. The news of "The Bat" and the simultaneous disappearance of cashier Brooks Bailey (William Bakewell) shortly after a robbery at the Fleming bank set in motion a series of troubling events - troubling especially for Miss Van Gorder's eternally frightened maid Lizzie (Maude Eburne). The missing Brooks Bailey shows up soon enough courtesy of Van Gorder's pretty niece Dale (Una Merkel), who persuades the young man to impersonate a gardener - a disguise that fools no one. There is a mysterious doctor who speaks with an accent (Gustav von Seyffertitz); an equally alarming caretaker (Spencer Charters),; a piece of missing blueprint that leads to a secret room; and, of course, "The Bat," who appears to be prowling the estate as well. Enter into all this Detective Anderson (Chester Morris), who in his unique gritty way gets to the bottom of things.

Despite advance warning to the police, who seal off the area, The Bat, a master criminal, steals a necklace from the safe in the house of a rich socialite. He leaves a note saying he is going to the country to give the police a rest. Pausing only to rob a bank at Oakdale, he proceeds to terrorise the occupants of a lonely country mansion, in a mixture of thrills, chills and laughs. At the end, an actor steps forward through a proscenium arch and asks the viewers not to reveal the Bat's identity to their friends. A film noir shot in black and white, mainly at night in dimly lit scenes.

This product was added to our catalog on Monday 02 January, 2012.

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