Scanialara You won't be disappointed!

Hayden Kane There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Aneesa Wardle The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Arianna Moses Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

JohnHowardReid Director: ROLAND WEST. Screenplay: Julien Josephson. Titles: George Marion, Jr. Adapted by Roland West from the 1926 stage play by Mary Roberts Rinehart and Avery Hopwood, which in turn was based on the 1906 novel The Circular Staircase by Mary Roberts Rinehart. Photography: Arthur Edeson. Art director: William Cameron Menzies. Film editor: Hal C. Kern. Special effects: Ned Mann. Assistant directors: Frank Hall Crane, Thornton Freeland. Producer: Roland West.Copyright 23 March 1926 by Feature Productions, Inc. Released through United Artists. New York opening at the Mark Strand: 14 March 1926. 8,219 feet. SYNOPSIS: A mysterious criminal, identified as "The Bat", is at large in a cavernous but spooky old mansion leased to a wealthy spinster and her niece. A faithful but frenzied servant is also on hand. The niece attempts to introduce her lover, a bank teller suspected of embezzlement, into the household as a gardener because he believes the real criminal has hidden the loot in a secret room. Three detectives and a calculating doctor complicate matters.NOTES: The stage play opened on Broadway at the Morosco on 23 August 1920 and ran a colossal 878 performances. Effie Ellsler starred as Miss Van Gorder, supported by Mary Vokes and Edward Ellis. The play was directed by Collin Kemper, who also co- produced with Lincoln A. Wagenhals. Mrs. Rinehart adapted the play into a novel, The Bat, in 1926. Movie headliner Jack Pickford was Mary Pickford's brother.AVAILABLE on DVD from Alpha. Quality rating: 7 out of ten.As, for once, both versions are extremely similar, I am reviewing this title in tandem with "The Bat Whispers" (1930). Both versions were directed and adapted by Roland West! So please turn to West's re- make, "The Bat Whispers" for my Comments.

MartinHafer This is a film that could never be made today. The idea of a master criminal running about in a bat costume is pretty silly--and the outfit is actually rather cute. Oddly, today we cannot imagine such silliness in a criminal but we COULD in a crime fighter! However, there are many more silly moments in this film--so many that it's hard to take it all very seriously. The plot is also amazingly convoluted...so trying to figure it all out isn't particularly important.The film begins with a bank robbery. The trail to the robber goes to an old mansion and inside are some innocent folks. However, when people start appearing, the chaos begins. Heck, after a while it's all pretty funny, as detectives, private detectives, bloody strangers and gardeners who know nothing about gardening all show up unannounced. It's a typical whodunnit style film morphed with an old dark house movie and it never seems to take itself very seriously.While there are MANY logical errors throughout the film (too many), the whole thing is pretty entertaining and you can't help but marvel at the set and cinematography. The film certainly looks good--and it doesn't hurt that the print they recently unearthed is, for the most part, rather pristine.Overall, for silent movie fans, this is an excellent picture. For others, however, it may all just seem too silly and trite to make it worth seeing. My advice is that if you aren't a silent fan, try watching some other silents first--this one probably isn't good enough to make you a fan of the genre...and it's all a bit silly.

pocca "The Bat" is often described as one of the first haunted house movies, but it also brings to mind those action films that specialize in droll, stylish villains for whom the art of the crime is just as important as whatever material gains can be had from it. The villain of "The Bat," who chooses to disguise his identity with an elaborate bat costume and takes the time to leave taunting notes to the police and his victims, is akin to those witty nemeses of Superman and James Bond—the sort of highly imaginative evil genius who was spoofed in the Austin Powers series. The best sequence occurs at the beginning of the film when the Bat steals some priceless emeralds after telling the police exactly when and where he will strike —swiping them almost literally from under the owner's nose. The rest of the movie features an ensemble cast (an ingénue, a detective, a doctor, a gardener…) gathered at a mansion where 20 000 stolen dollars are hidden and the Bat is due to show up next, all trying to find the money and figure out which one of them is the original thief. The storyline drags now and then, but the antics of the high strung maid and the dry quips of the elderly eccentric millionaires who's forever knitting keep the viewer's attention whenever the pace flags.Recommended, but avoid the Alpha version which features a monotonous, mournful musical score (that I'm certain was also used with their version of "Way Down East") that is completely at odds with the film's humorous tone.

dbborroughs This film, like the play that it comes from asked the audience to keep the secret of the Bat secret so I will do the same and so I'll only speak in generalities.One of the grand old dark house films this is the story of the super criminal known as The Bat and his attempt to steal a great fortune. This film isn't the best ever made. The passage of time has diminished its impact a bit. Part of the problem is that at times the film has to wrestle with its stage origins, things seem to stagnate and you become bored. However at other times this film soars with a visual style that has rarely been matched. The mask of the villain for example hasn't been equaled. Thankfully its always watchable.Certainly worth a look.