The Devil Bat (1940)

User Rating:

5.1/10   

Director:

Jean Yarbrough

Writers:

George Bricker (story)
John T. Neville (screenplay)

Release Date:

13 December 1940 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Sharp Fanged Blood Sucking DEATH Dives from MIDNIGHT SKIES!

Plot:

A mad scientist develops an aftershave lotion that causes his gigantic bats to kill anyone who wears it.

Plot Keywords:

Bat | Mad Scientist | Aftershave Lotion | Reporter | Revenge

Cast

Bela Lugosi	...	Dr. Paul Carruthers
Suzanne Kaaren	...	Mary Heath
Dave O'Brien	...	Johnny Layton
Guy Usher	...	Henry Morton
Yolande Donlan	...	'Frenchy' (as Yolande Mallott)
Donald Kerr	...	'One-Shot' McGuire
Edmund Mortimer	...	Martin Heath (as Edward Mortimer)
Gene O'Donnell	...	Donald 'Don' Morton
Alan Baldwin	...	Thomas 'Tommy' Heath
John Ellis	...	Roy Heath
Arthur Q. Bryan	...	Joe McGinty
Hal Price	...	Chief Wilkins
John Davidson	...	Prof. Percival Garland Raines
Billy Griffith	...	Coroner (scenes deleted)
Wally Rairden	...	Walter King

Also Known As:

Killer Bats (USA) (16mm release title)

Runtime:

68 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Sweden:15 | UK:A (original rating) | UK:U (video rating) (2004) | USA:Approved (PCA #6897)

Company:

Producers Releasing Corporation

Trivia:

This was the first, and most successful, horror film from Producers Releasing Corporation (PRC) after it was formed from the failed Producers Distrubuting Corporation (PDC).

Goofs:

Errors in geography: Throughout the movie, references are made to Illinois locations (Chicago, Peoria, Springfield), yet the scenery shown at the beginning of the movie is clearly Californian.

Quotes:

Dr. Paul Carruthers: Now, rub it on the tender part of your neck.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Watching the Detectives (2007)

A Classic Whodunit for Lugosi Fans

I always watch this Lugosi classic with affection, and I don't agree with its detractors. Here's another bit of harmless detective drama, unusual in the fact that the law teams up with reporters to solve a mystery (imagine that today). Inexpensively made to be sure, and with a sound track that turned up in later thrillers, "Devil Bat" is subtle humor mixed with the obvious. Is there any doubt as to the outcome? Dave O'Brien and Donald Kerr are delightful as the reporter-photographer team, respectively, and the casting is on the money. Except the big mystery for me is that the coroner shows up in the credits but not in the film! Go figure.