HeadlinesExotic Boring

Hadrina The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Kien Navarro Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Kaydan Christian A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

JohnHowardReid Director: JEAN YARBOROUGH (sic in credit titles). Screenplay: John Thomas Neville. Story: George Bricker. Photography: Arthur Martinelli. Release prints processed in sepia. Film editor: Holbrook N. Todd. Art director: Paul Palmentola. Music director: David Chudnow. Production manager: Melville De Lay. Sound engineer: Farrell Redd. RCA Sound System. Associate producer: Guy V. Thayer jr. Producers: Jack Gallagher, Sigmund Neufeld.Copyright 17 December 1940 by Producers Releasing Corp. U.S. release: 13 December 1941 (sic). Opened in New York, but not reviewed by The New York Times. Australian release through Hoyts: 17 May 1945 (sic). 7 reels. 6,260 feet. 69 minutes.Alternative title: Killer Bats.SYNOPSIS: Crazy scientist nurtures a giant bat in his secret laboratory.NOTES: Directorial debut (for features) of former prop man, Jean Yarbrough.COMMENT: The new DVD version in which the original sepia tones are accurately reproduced is infinitely more watchable than the old black-and-white prints that surface from time to time on late-night television. True, the inert dummy that does duty for the comatose giant bat is as tacky as ever, but the sets are reasonably impressive, whilst the players, led by over-zealous Bela Lugosi, personable hero Dave O'Brien, lovely Suzanne Kaaren and the talented Yolande Dolan (here masquerading as Yolande Mallott), do their level best to keep the silly plot pacing along, despite Yarbrough's somewhat static direction.

mark.waltz In my review of 1935's "The Raven", I commented on Bela Lugosi's character who is an absolute egotist and utilizes his God-given gifts to take revenge. Here, he's another mad doctor, yet unlike the jealousy of his character there, his motivation is revenge for what he feels as being taken for granted in business. Given a check for $5000 for his invention which made rich man richer, he feels he is like a dog being thrown scraps, and invents a shaving lotion that attracts the man-biting titled animal who hates the scent and is enticed to kill. Having aged much since his star-making days of "Dracula" and the Karloff pairings of the mid 1930's, Lugosi is a bit hammier and as a result is now given material of a shoddier nature that stands the test of time in film history as being fun programmers with silly stories and weak co-stars where Lugosi dominates every moment he is on screen.The actual "Devil Bat" is a silly looking creature, carried around by Lugosi upside down on a hangar and put into a vault where electric shock waves are meant to enlarge it so it will increase from the size of a sparrow to being even larger than a grown man's head. Close-ups of these bats aren't all that frightening, and inside the electric vault, Lugosi appears more to be cooking it than training it for his nefarious deeds. But in an era where "PRC" meant "Pretty Rotten Cinema", this one is actually a lot of fun. No awards, certainly, but a film that is daffy entertainment certain to create a lot of unintentional laughs.

Scott LeBrun Out of the "poverty row" productions that star Bela Lugosi made during this period, the diverting "The Devil Bat" is considered to be one of his most notorious - and it's a certainly fun one, although that has a lot to do with Bela himself, who gives his all as usual. The premise makes for agreeably goofy entertainment; direction (by Jean Yarbrough), script (by John T. Neville), and acting are all basically adequate.Bela plays Dr. Carruthers, the beloved and supposedly benevolent doctor in the employ of a cosmetics company in a small town. He's actually quite disgruntled because he hasn't been sufficiently rewarded for his special formula (although this is largely his own fault because of a choice he made). Now he breeds bats in his private laboratory, grows them to a large size, and trains them to savagely attack any person unlucky enough to dab on his super duper "experimental" shaving lotion. A reporter, Johnny Layton (Dave O'Brien), attempts to solve the mystery."The Devil Bat" is much more amusing than scary, but it's so damn amusing that it's a hoot to watch. Bela looks to be enjoying himself in the lead. The ladies present are attractive: Suzanne Kaaren as Mary Heath, and Yolande Donlan as French accented maid Maxine. O'Brien is likable as the reporter who's not as pushy or obnoxious as some reporter characters from this time period. Donald Kerr adds silly comedy relief as his goof ball photographer / sidekick "One-Shot" McGuire. Adding to the appeal is the way the movie cuts from obviously phony prop bats in wide shots to close ups of real bats. And it's nice to see some of the trappings from the horror films of the time, such as the obligatory laboratory equipment and the secret passageways.This is the kind of thing that gets high marks for entertainment value, if not quality.Seven out of 10.

zardoz-13 "King of the Zombies" director Jean Yarbrough's melodramatic black & white horror comedy "The Devil Bat" qualifies as an outlandish, but entertaining caper with "Dracula" star Bela Lugosi. Lugosi plays an insane, revenge-driven researcher who utilizes electricity to breed gargantuan bats. He dispatches these mutant mammals to assail people who have applied his experimental after-shave lotion. These bats severe the jugular vein when they attack their victims. The primary victims are the owners and family of the Martin Health's Heath Cosmetics Limited. Martin's sons Roy and Tommy Heath die first, and Donald and Henry Morton are the third and fourth casualties of the huge bats. In every case but Henry's death, Dr. Paul Carruthers (Bela Lugosi) releases the bats from his attic. In Henry's death, he improvises and releases the bat from the trunk of his automobile. Afterward, Carruthers tries to kill Mary after he substitutes his lethal perfume for the concoction that she keeps on her dressing table. As we learn early on in this briskly paced quickie, the deranged Carruthers is enraged because he signed away the rights to his formulas for a flat-rate fee instead of sharing in what would amount to a million dollar profits. Carruthers' nemesis is Windy City newspaper reporter Johnny Layton of the "Chicago Register" who serves as the driving force behind the police investigation launched by Heatheville Police Chief Wilkins. Layton is accompanied by his cameraman 'One-Shot' McGuire. The irony is that Carruthers kills his first victim, Roy Health, after cosmetics tycoon Martin Heath dispatches his son to give him a $ 5-thousand check. This check appears to rub salt in Carruther's wounds because he rebukes himself for the predicament that he has gotten himself in while working with the family. This moment is interesting because Yarbrough presents Carruthers' thoughts as he is thinking to himself in the form of an inner monologue. Interestingly, in a later conversation, we learn that the company was founded with $10-thousand. The good doctor gets his comeuppance in the end after several innocent people have died. Layton lurks him into the park after he has splashed on the after shave lotion and then sloshes some on Carruthers. The Hollywood-based, poverty-row film studio Producer's Releasing Corporation bank rolled this minor masterpiece of mayhem and reaped enough profits to release a belated sequel years later "Devil Bat's Daughter" (1946) with an anonymous cast. Oddly enough, the studio remade "The Devil Bat" as "The Flying Serpent" with George Zucco and released it several months ahead of "Devil Bat's Daughter.""Homicide Squad" scenarist John T. Neville and "King of the Underworld" scribe George Bricker have conjured up a predictable but amusing storyline that doesn't take itself seriously. Nevertheless, you have to give Yarbrough and his writers credit because they let the audacious elements of the story stand out prominently enough without going overboard. Dr. Carruthers treats the giant bats with respectful affection and it is tempting to overlook the comedy because everybody plays it straight down the line. Bela Lugosi delivers a polished performance as the disgruntled doctor that doesn't slide into mockery. Meanwhile, Dave O'Brien of "Reefer Madness" fame is appropriately energetic as a news hound after a headline story. The bats are so phony looking that you won't be able to take this movie seriously but the cast behaves as if they were in a realistic drama..