| The Bat Whispers | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Roland West |
| Produced by | Joseph M. Schenck |
| Written by | Avery Hopwood (play) Mary Roberts Rinehart (play) Roland West |
| Starring | Chester Morris Una Merkel |
| Music by | Hugo Riesenfeld |
| Cinematography | Ray June (35mm) Robert H. Planck (70mm) |
| Editing by | Hal C. Kern James Smith |
| Studio | United Artists |
| Release date(s) | November 13, 1930 |
| Running time | 83 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The Bat Whispers (1930) is a mystery film directed by Roland West, produced by Joseph M. Schenck, and released by United Artists.
Contents |
A mysterious criminal by the name of "The Bat" eludes police and then finally announces his retirement to the country, while a wealthy Cornelia Van Gorder takes up residence in the estate of a famous banker. Along with her maid Lizzie, her niece Dale, and a bank teller disguised as a gardener, she is terrorized by a series of strange events seemingly set in motion by the mysterious bat. Possible suspects include a doctor, an elderly police lieutenant, a butler, a handyman, and a big-city cop.
An early talkie, this film is the second film version of the 1920 hit Broadway play The Bat, written by Mary Roberts Rinehart and Avery Hopwood. The first film version of the play, The Bat (1926), was also directed by Roland West. Just as in the play and the first film, people explore an old mansion looking for a hidden treasure while a caped killer picks them off one by one. This film is noted by Bob Kane as one of the inspirations for some elements of the Batman character, which he created.
The film was shot in three versions: a pair of 1.33:1 aspect ratio, 35mm negatives for US and foreign prints; and a 2:1 aspect ratio 65mm widescreen "Magnifilm" version (misspelled "Magnafilm" in some advertisements).[1] The domestic negative was cut down to 72 minutes for the 1938 Atlantic Pictures reissue, and subsequently was lost.
In 1988 the UCLA Film and Television Archive restored and preserved the 35mm foreign version and the 65mm Magnifilm from the original camera negatives.[2]
This film was remade again in 1959 as The Bat with Agnes Moorehead and Vincent Price.