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Monogram Studio's "The Devil Bat", is definately one of those minor horror efforts which over the years develops a strong cult following. In the case of this minor little horror effort from 1940 it has the added bonus of having the King of "B" horror in the lead in none other than Bela Lugosi who on countless occasions managed to breath life into a story which otherwise would never have retained its appeal over 60 years later. Here Bela Lugosi plays one of his sinister mad doctors to perfection and despite the films limited budget manages to work wonders with the little he has to work with.
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Running a mere 68 minutes, "The Devil Bat" remains a classic among poverty-row chillers. Bela Lugosi's sinister presence and memorable one-liners - such as the immortal "bombastic ignoramus" - outshine the clumsy special effects. The above-average supporting cast includes Dave ("Reefer Madness") O'Brien and Arthur Q. Bryan (the voice of Elmer Fudd). Released by the Lugosi Estate, the DVD offers an excellent 35mm print and plenty of extras. Watch it if you dare!
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Bitter scent-inventor Dr. Carruthers (Bela Lugosi) is betrayed by his employers when they became rich fat-cats thanks to perfumes and aftershaves he created. He extracts reeking revenge by growing giant bats in his lab and sending them out to kill his former employers. Ah, the sweet smell of success! (Some real-live fruit bats are shown in fuzzy close-ups, but mostly they are flying puppets that look sort of like kites.) This Golden Turkey classic was enough of a hit to spawn a sequel, The Devil Bat's Daughter (1946). The Devil Bat's Daughter is almost entirely unrelated to this film - in the flimsy follow-up, Rosemary La Planche plays Carruthers daughter, who is hypnotized into believing that she is possessed and being compelled to kill (no Lugosi or bats here).
Staci Layne Wilson
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The Devil Bat is clearly a Poverty Row movie with its minimal sets and fairly derisory visual effcts but it remains worth watching if only to see an icon like Lugosi struggling to transmute base metal into gold and to carry some less than adequate supporting players in the process
He plays a scientist working for a cosmetics company whose family members have grown rich on the perfumes and unguents he created .He is embittered and sets out to wreak revenge by breeding a giant bat and training it to attack when smelling his latest prototype aftershave lotion a concotion he is at pains to ensure is worn by the family members he seeks to kill.Ranged against him are an intrepid reporter and that worthy's cameraman -the latter seving as comic relief of the notably irritating type
Sympathy is undercut by the fact that the Lugosi figure is largely responsible for his own situation having settled for a flat fee rather than accept an offer of a partnership and is treated well by the family who donot deserve to be slaughters in this cavalier manner
An interesing curiosity and one for Lugosi completists ,this is enjoyable in its way but is by no stretch of the imagination a good movie
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The "Bad Props Co." was generous enough to donate all of its resources to this film...and that makes it great. In it, a giant bat terrorizes a small group of classy people. This bat is under the control of The Great Bela Lugosi. The Great and Generally Underused Bela Lugosi.
He makes the bat giant and sics it on people that carry handkerchiefs in their suit jackets. But it's not the handkerchiefs that the bat is after...that was just the time period having its effect. This bat is after a strong scent emitted by Bela's "new shaving lotion" he gives to people. This is a great film for all ages and all fans of props as main characters. I love it.
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