Thursday, October 20, 2022

'The Bat' BD: The Ghoul and Miss Moorehead


The Film Detective shows old-school Halloween spirit by releasing "The Bat" on Blu-ray on October 25, 2022. The pristine restoration of this black-and-white film really enhances the thrills and chills of this whodunit with numerous eerie twists. This IS your grandfather's thriller! 

It is clear from the opening voice-over by star/former Mercury Player Agnes "Endora" Moorehead that "Bat" makes excellent use of the elite pompous persona of Moorehead. The only thing missing is a contemptuous reference to "Derwood." 

Once the game gets fully afoot, we see the descent into terrified madness that makes the appearance of Moorehead in the 1961 episode of "The Twilight Zone" "The Invaders." The "unearthly" threats in that one are tiny brothers from another planet to whom Moorehead tries to give a clean sweep. 

"Bat" also highlights the wonderfully understated sinister persona that kept co-star Vincent Price employed for decades. No one does menacing better than him. 

Our story commences with Agatha Christie caliber mystery writer Cornelia van Gorder (Moorehead) and her faithful companion/secretary Lizzie Allen spending the summer in a large rented house with a history. Quasi ala the under-rated '60scom "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir," the nephew (Mark Fleming) of the house enters the lease over the objection of his (living) owner John Fleming. John is a bank executive spending time in a cabin in the woods with Dr. Malcolm Wells (Price). Wells aptly frequently finds himself in the middle in the film. 

The two paths that ultimately merge in "Bat" are that the titular killer with a reported supernatural element is terrorizing the community, and $1,000,000 in assets have been robbed from the bank. Of course, the nice young junior executive with the loving and loyal girl is the prime suspect regarding the latter. The many hats of van Gorder regarding this including trying to be the Jessica Fletcher to this kind-and-gentle "innocent." 

A series of unfortunate circumstance giving Wells the opportunity to show the elder Fleming that he is not the boss of him fully sets the game afoot and brings the wolf to the door. van Gorder and Allen essentially are ladies in a cage when the very creepy Bat invades their home and essentially threatens their lives with a switchblade knife. No pun is intended in stating that this is one of the best executed scenes in this film that retains all of the live-stage vibe of the Mary Roberts Rinehart play on which it is based. 

The awesome twists with the exceptional payoff regarding the theme of "the butler did it" further makes "Bat" worthy of joining the cult-classic library of Film Detective titles. The "good to the last drop" aspect is the final scene with an element of "gotcha" regarding exposition that seems to combine a soliloquy and the breaking of the fourth wall but turns out not to be either. This proves that Moorehead is bewitching no matter which character she portrays. 

Detective additionally continues its tradition of excellence regarding special feature. As usual, a documentary featurette by Ballyhoo Motion Pictures is the highlight. This one on "Bat" writer-director Crane Wilbur tells the tale of his fascinating career along with the history of every stage and film version of our feature presentation. We also get a written essay on the work of Rinehart  and audio versions of Vincent Price radio broadcasts.

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