Based on a play that was filmed four years earlier by the same director this is a wonderful film that is hampered only by the limitations of sound. That said this is probably the best version of the story.
A fiend known as The Bat is lurking around the mansion of a rich family and its up to an intrepid detective to prevent him from getting the goods.
This movie is a lot of fun, with several wonderful performances especially by Chester Morris as the detective.
Interestingly the film was filmed both in the standard aspect ratio and in an early wide screen process (Both are on the DVD). The films are more or less identical, but since they were taken from different takes they both play like two different nights of the same play.
I like this film a great deal and recommend it to anyone who likes the Old Dark House genre.
