The Devil Bat (1940)

User Rating:

5.1/10   

Director:

Jean Yarbrough

Writers:

John T. Neville (screenplay)
George Bricker (original story)

Release Date:

13 December 1940 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Sharp Fanged Blood Sucking DEATH Dives from MIDNIGHT SKIES!

Plot:

A mad scientist develops an aftershave lotion that causes his gigantic bats to kill anyone who wears it.

Plot Keywords:

Bat | Mad Scientist | Aftershave Lotion | Reporter | Revenge

Cast

Bela Lugosi	...	Dr. Paul Carruthers
Suzanne Kaaren	...	Mary Heath
Dave O'Brien	...	Johnny Layton
Guy Usher	...	Henry Morton
Yolande Donlan	...	Maxine (as Yolande Mallott)
Donald Kerr	...	'One-Shot' McGuire
Edmund Mortimer	...	Martin Heath (as Edward Mortimer)
Gene O'Donnell	...	Don Morton
Alan Baldwin	...	Tommy Heath
John Ellis	...	Roy Heath
Arthur Q. Bryan	...	Joe McGinty
Hal Price	...	Chief Wilkins
John Davidson	...	Prof. Raines
Billy Griffith	...	Coroner (scenes deleted)
Wally Rairden	...	Walter King (as Wally Rairdon)

Also Known As:

Killer Bats (USA) (16mm release title)

Runtime:

68 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Sweden:15 | UK:A (original rating) | UK:U (video rating) (2004) | USA:Approved (PCA #6897)

Company:

Producers Releasing Corporation

Trivia:

This was the first, and most successful, horror film from Producers Releasing Corporation (PRC) after it was formed from the failed Producers Distrubuting Corporation (PDC).

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When the reporter wrestles the doctor to the ground near the end of the film, their feet clearly wrinkle the fake grass on the set.

Quotes:

[after listening to a scientist's theory on the radio]
Dr. Paul Carruthers: [thick Hungarian accent] Imbecile! Bombastic ignoramus!

Movie Connections:

Featured in Schlock! The Secret History of American Movies (2001)

Good results on limited budget

I diagree with the detractors of this film. Certainly the budget and therefore the special effects, were indeed limited. But, the storey is reasonabley original and the script reads well. Lagosi gives great conviction to his role and this was particularly remarkable considering the state of his career and personal life at the time. I love the scene in which he has convinced "Bob" (one of the scions of the owners of the cosmetic company that cheated Dr. Caruthers)to put on the fatal after shave lotion. Bob, wishes Dr.Caruthers a good night, Bella sighs deeply then gravely replies,"Good by Bob". He sort of regrets the unpleasant neccesity of unleashing one his giant creations to hunt down the innocent Bob. The other evening was watching bats flitting around at dusk. Naturely I thought emmediatley of old Doc Caruthers. Any film that leaves such an impression must be pretty good.