Roland West’s 1930 classic crime thriller, The Bat Whispers is a mystery movie during the pre-code era that is about a master criminal named ‘The Bat’ who wears a black costume that resembles a bat. The Bat had a rich history in cinema as the movie was remade several times. There aren’t that many movies that can say they were remade more than once or twice.
There are at least four different versions featuring The Bat. The first one, called The Bat which was released in 1926, was also directed by Roland West. West remade the film, titled The Bat Whispers, which was the first sound remake, followed by two more movies that were back to being called The Bat. The last two had different visions and were completely different than the first two predecessors but the narrative was the same. The ’59 edition of The Bat is notable because it stars the great Vincent Price along with Agnes Moorehead and Darla Hood of The Little Rascals. Then there is The Bat from 1960, which is an obscure, made for television film. The Bat Whispers, in my humble opinion, is the best of all the versions, and now has been released on Blu-ray and can be watched and enjoyed in high definition.
The Bat Whispers is the story about The Bat, who is kills and steals right under the noses of police officers. He escapes capture because he out-maneuvers the cops with his agility and uses a rope to climb around buildings unseen by the police! His latest scheme is to frighten a family out of their mansion because there is stolen money in a hidden room. The Bat wants the place all to himself, along with the blueprints so he can find that hidden room with the money. The number of guests and detectives that suddenly appear in the mansion increases as the film progresses, to go with a few red herrings. One person inside also happens to be The Bat!
Among the characters in this film include screen legend Chester Morris (Meet Boston Blackie, Alibi, Red-Headed Woman, The She-Creature) as Detective Anderson, Grayce Hampton (Piccadilly Jim, The Shanghai Gesture) as Cornelia Van Gorder, Maude Eburne (Ladies They Talk About, The Vampire Bat, Among the Living) who nearly steals the show as Mrs. Van Gorder’s maid Lizzie and Una Merkle (42nd Street, Evelyn Prentice, Daddy Long Legs) as Dale Van Gorder (Cornelia’s niece).
The Bat Whispers is one of my favorite mystery crime films from any era. It has a creepy atmosphere that doesn’t resort to music to make the film feel eerie. The lack of music makes the film that much better, at least to me. The acting by the cast, the brilliant direction and cinematography make this movie a real classic. It is one of the first movies to be filmed in widescreen that has a some truly breathtaking and outstanding trick photography and cinematography by Robert H. Planck.
VCI presents The Bat Whispers in a Region Free two disc set and is a most impressive release. There are three versions of the film that were restored by UCLA Film and Television Archive. There are two movies on each disc, with disc one featuring a pair of full screen versions of The Bat Whispers in 35mm, a USA version and an alternate British cut, while the second disc has the 65MM widescreen version of the movie and as a bonus the 1959 version of The Bat.
The image quality for The Bat Whispers on the first disc is satisfactory. The US version looks overall excellent with a nice, polished release. It is clean and looks as smooth as I have ever seen the film. Blacks look dark, with the whites, while bright and cheerful to me, did seem to be a tad bit too bright at times. Greys look balanced and the scenery boasts plenty of details. The British cut also looks fantastic and appears to look identical to the US release. Overall, I did find the image quality for both cuts to be well-done. There is minimal print damage, outside some faint vertical lines near the end but it wasn’t distracting. Film grain is present in both films and maintains a natural, organic appearance
The Bat Whispers on the second disc is the Magnifilm 65mm widescreen version, and unlike the previous DVD release, this one is presented in 16 x 9. The image to me overall looks fantastic with crisp blacks and whites and has a consistently balanced grey scale. Indoor and outdoor scenery shows some depth with strong textures. Close-ups of the characters’ faces also show a lot of detail. Film grain is present throughout and no DNR appears to have been applied to the widescreen or the other versions on this release. I think the picture quality on the widescreen version is superior the full screen releases, but you cannot really go wrong with any of them.
Also on this disc is the 1959 edition of The Bat starring Vincent Price, which unfortunately despite the image looking decent, you should hold onto your Film Detective Blu-ray. I am unsure as to what happened with this offering, but the video has a great deal of judder making this somewhat unwatchable. Others have reported the same thing, so this isn’t an isolated issue. I think this might be due to the source used, be it an upscaled DVD or one that is used for streaming. It is a good thing that this feature is not the main feature on this disc and is basically an extra and on the back of the Blu-ray case on the sleeve artwork, it says “just for fun”. This is the only real negative aspect of this release.
VCI has opted to go with an English LCPM 2.0 for their audio on all three versions and everything sounds perfectly clear with no drop-offs or hissing detected. Dialogue is loud and clear, with other sounds such as cars passing, loud screams and gun shots all sound perfectly fine. The action noises are a little strong but nothing overwhelming. English subtitles are available for this release.
VCI has given us a bevy of extras for this Blu-ray. Disc one has a still and photo gallery and you will see a lot of posters, production stills and color lobby cards, bits from the press kit, and studio portraits.
Also on the first disc is a “USA vs. UK Version Comparison” which is a side by side showing the differences of The Bat Whispers in the respective countries.
The second disc is also loaded with extras, starting with the already mentioned 1959 edition of The Bat. This is the disc that has an audio commentary track from film critic and historian Mick LaSalle.
“Version Comparisons” compares The Bat Whispers in widescreen and in full screen so you can see how different they looked during some of the key moments of the film.
There are still more fascinating comparisons with “The Bat(1926) vs The Bat Whispers (1930) Comparison”, which showcases more differences with the 1926 silent to the 1930 version.
“The Bat Restoration Comparisons” offers a before-and-after peek at the restoration work currently being done with the silent 1926 version of The Bat . This will be released this October and I look forward to having it sit alongside The Bat Whispers on my shelf!
Another extra is a cool booklet as well that features a cast and crew list, along with several stills, lobby cards, and posters. There are also some notes and information on the restoration of the film, and an admiration of The Bat Whispers by film historian Richard Barrios. Easily a good read and worth your time.
Despite the one negative in the extras department, which was the 1959 offering of The Bat, this to me is one great release, with lots of interesting extras to go with what I would call remarkable audio and video quality for a once obscure folm. I am so pleased that The Bat Whispers has finally received a Blu-ray release and was given the time and care that it deserves. I cannot fathom this movie receiving another release for the foreseeable future, at least in the USA. Easily recommended!
The Bat Whispers
Director – Roland West
Cast- Chester Morris, Una Merkel
Country of Origin-USA
Distributor – VCI Entertainment
Number of Discs –2
Reviewed by – David Steigman
Date –9/19/2024