The Bat Whispers
The Bat Whispers

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- 63/100 based on 1,099 votes

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... (Full plot summary below)

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Actors in The Bat Whispers:

Chester Morris
Chance Ward
Una Merkel
Richard Tucker
Wilson Benge
DeWitt Jennings

Full Plot Details

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.

Review & Comments

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Movie Reviews

Not Coming to a Theater Near You - 9/10 by Michael NordineThere's no doubting the sincerity or intention of The Bat Whispers, only how well it's aged.
Ozus' World Movie Reviews - 8/10 by Dennis SchwartzThe Bat Whispers is a talkie remake of Roland West's silent 1926 version.
Radio Times - 6/10 by Alan Jones[It] is by far the best movie adaptation of the stock spoof horror play set in a creepy mansion where masked menace lurks. It's also a superior mystery chiller in its own right.
User Review - 8/10 by Sonia Jan unusual film with great pionereing wide screen cinematograpthy
User Review - 8/10 by Thomas MDans la forme un film exceptionnel. Le travail sur la photographie, le cadrage, les trucages et autres mouvements de cameras est prodigieux pour l'epoque. Dans le fond, un divertissement honnete mais qui perd en legerete et en efficacite de part des personnages et des situations parfois trop "vaudevillesque"... Neanmoins, le film est marque d'une empreinte unique pour son temps et meriterait a etre plus connu... L'une des sources d'inspiration de Bob Kane dans la creation du personnage de Batman...
User Review - 8/10 by Steve GMost of those who have seen it probably did so for the same reason. The influence it had on Bob Kane in forging the epic Batman legacy. Even though 'The Bat' is the villain in this film, one can clearly see the parallels between the two. This film is very noirish & mysterious. Really, the noir elements are so stark, that one is surprised that it's rarely mentioned among the initial exemplars of the genre. It's all here! It really is an excellent movie. Great story. Great ending. Superb villain. Worthy of being compared to Batman. The minor quibbles for me relate to the fact that the closer it got to the climax, the more frantically the comic relief started behaving, and that became annoying. The comic relief was a little over the top. Also, some loose ends as far as motives & behavior could've been more neatly tied.
User Review - 8/10 by Sarah BA classic example of a forgotten genre known as "Old dark house mysteries". Usually involving various people showing up at a mansion or inn on a dark and/or stormy night. Murders and dissapearances abound in these stories. Originally popular on the stage (The Bat Whispers was a play), the genre was frequently used in early sound films of the early thirties. They would later be absorbed into the horror and mystery genres. This film even includes the original curtin speach by one of the actors asking the audience to not reveal the ending to their friends. It's stylishly photographed and the plot moves at a quick pace. A great example of earily thirties film making.
User Review - 8/10 by Gratton CIn my opinion better than its predecessor and its 1950's remake starring Vincent price. Pretty fun movie. Just watch it, you'll have a good time.
User Review - 6/10 by bernard aTHE BAT WHISPERS has got to be one of the looniest films I have ever seen. There is no point trying to make any sense of the plot. It's like watching a screwball comedy, sans comedy. Oh, I do think the film has it's funny moments - just not in the ways the filmmakers probably intended, though. The prologue to the film is in two parts and sets up the plot. Firstly - there is a mysterious villain called "The Bat" who, in a letter boasts that he will steal a valuable necklace from the home of a wealthy individual come 12:00 sharp midnight. The police are alerted and surround the home. Now, I've always thought the police are pretty incompetent in a lot of the classic 30's films I've seen and THE BAT WHISPERS is no exception...The Bat steals the necklace from under their noses. Secondly - we see another mysterious figure steal a cool half-million dollars from a bank safe. You know this figure is not The Bat since you can see the silhouette of The Bat witnessing the actual robbery from the sidelines. The Bat then secretly follows the robber as he makes his getaway to the rural Fleming Estate - a creaky mansion where the rest of the film will take place. The robber hides the loot somewhere in the mansion - setting the stage for the action... On a side note...there is a sight gag used in some of those old, classic Warner Brothers cartoons. Two or more characters are shown chasing one another and they end up in a corridor. There are multiple doors on each side and the characters enter a door only to exit another door on the opposite side. The characters then enter and exit doors seemingly at random - faster and faster, until they are all a-blur. The gag is rather silly...but I have a suspicion that the animators may have gotten that gag from THE BAT WHISPERS. If you extend the gag to a full 83 minutes you really have the gist of the action in THE BAT WHISPERS. Inside the Fleming Estate, there are doors...staircases...mysterious passageways...laundry chutes...windows...you name it - characters will appear and disappear within them on a whim. The point really is to keep the audience off balance in trying to guess the identity of The Bat (and also the bank robber too). I think the film succeeds in that regards. Plenty of red herrings are tossed your way by director/writer Roland West. Living at the mansion is the matronly Cornelia Van Gorder (Grayce Hampton) and her maid, Lizzie Allen (Maude Eburne). I'm not too sure why a Van Gorder is living in the Fleming Estate...but Cornelia seems the most level headed of all the characters in the film. The mansion is supposed to be haunted but Cornelia doesn't believe in that sort of stuff...unlike her maid, Lizzie - who is as annoying a character as I've come across. Her screaming, yelling and whimpering had me turning down the volume on more than a few occasions. Sure, sound may have been a novelty in 1930 - but Lizzie's voice really got old fast - I'm willing to bet! There is also a caretaker (Spencer Charters) who is easily spooked and is one of those who like to run in and out of the doorways - just like in the cartoons. Cornelia's niece, Dale Van Gorder (Una Merkel) joins the festivities alongside her boyfriend Brook (William Bakewell), a bank clerk suspected by the police to be the bank robber. Dale and Brook spend most of their time banging on the mansion walls - trying to find the hollow spot where the robber could have hidden the loot. They hope to find the money to prove Brook innocent. But how they figured the loot was hidden in the mansion in the first place is beyond me. Investigating the robbery is the no-nonsense police Detective Anderson (Chester Morris). You know that he is a no non-sense type guy in the way he scowls and snarls throughout the film. He is too busy scowling to investigate or even question the sound of Dale and Brook banging on the walls upstairs (I told you police are incompetent)... Although THE BAT WHISPERS was filmed in a 65mm widescreen format...I don't think it really added anything to the film's viewing experience. Unlike another widescreen film from 1930, THE BIG TRAIL (one of John Wayne's first starring roles btw) which utilized the format to full advantage and shot outdoors - providing the viewer with some gorgeous sweeping vistas...THE BAT WHISPERS on the other hand was shot exclusively inside soundstages. I think it could just as well have been shot in the standard 35mm format and the film would have looked the same. The film does have it's moments though. Director Roland West used some interesting shots - some tracking and some overhead shots that you don't see too often in early 30's films. Effective too was the use of shadows and silhouettes. A low, rumbling sound effect added tension to certain scenes. THE BAT WHISPERS really is a relic from the early sound era and should be viewed on it's own term to be fully appreciated. Modern audiences may just be too sophisticated to fall for this film's shenanigans so it's really no use comparing this to a modern mystery / thriller. You will only be disappointed. 6
User Review - 6/10 by Pamela DGood, slightly better then the original "The Bat", made by the same director. I really like Roland West going to town on the cinematography and special effects (his tracking shots were exceptionally well done). The story though, still feels awfully stagey, and since this is an early talkie, suffers from the usual "no music" syndrome (aka, there's hardly any music where some should be), and some of the actors may be talking too low. But still worth a look for the great cinematography work they pull off.

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