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Horror in Black and White: ‘The Bat’ (1959)

Published

5 years ago

February 7, 2019

A mysterious old house, a masked killer, a $1 million theft, and a best-selling mystery novelist converge in 1959’s The Bat…

You thought I was going to say “Murder, She Wrote” didn’t you?

Sorry, this is Horror in Black and White, and while you’ll find no Angela Lansbury here, you will be treated to Agnes Moorehead and Vincent Price!

The Bat began its life as a novel called The Circular Staircase by Mary Roberts Rinehart in 1908. Just over a decade later Rinehart and Jazz Age playwright Avery Hopwood adapted it for the stage, first called A Thief in the Night becoming The Bat when it moved to Broadway where it ran for more than 800 performances and spawned six touring companies.

Naturally, it was a prime candidate to bring to film, and it was adapted three times before the 1959 version that I’ve chosen. Each has their strengths and weaknesses, but only one had Agnes Moorehead in all her glory.

Perhaps one of the greatest character actresses of her time, Moorehead rarely saw herself in the leading role. In fact, she only really held that spot twice in a decades long career: The Bat and 1972’s Dear Dead Delilah, though it’s important to note that despite her leading lady status, she wasn’t given top billing here.

Agnes Moorehead The Bat — Agnes Moorehead was never more regal than she was in *The Bat*…okay, maybe she was as Endora on Bewitched…

That went, of course, to the master of the macabre himself, Vincent Price, but more on him later, because I think Ms. Moorehead more than earned her time in the spotlight here.

Moorehead plays Cornelia Van Gorder, a best-selling mystery novelist who has rented a rather magnificent manor referred to by locals as “The Oaks” to work on her latest novel. The home has a checkered past, however. It was the scene of several murders by a mysterious, and reportedly faceless man, known as The Bat.

The home’s owner, who also owns the local bank, recently embezzled one million dollars and hid the money in the house, but is killed before he can retrieve it.

Soon, Cornelia and her maid/assistant find themselves along with a few other locals trapped in the house with someone. Could it be The Bat or is it simply an imitator out to find the money? You’ll just have to watch to find out.

What’s important here is that Moorehead is at her regal best in the role of Van Gorder. Elegant, charming, level-headed, and always in charge, she wonders at those around her losing their heads over silly stories. However with the discovery of a body, and upon seeing a masked man herself, she decides to put that rather impressive novelist’s imagination to work to see if she can figure out the mysteries around her.

Honestly, just listening to her speak in this film is a treat, as she thinks through each successive problem in her attempt to unmask the madman.

Okay, okay, we’ll talk about Vincent Price. Price agreed to do the film because he saw a production of the play as a child and it terrified him. He felt, however, that this particular incarnation was inferior to that previous play.

Still, he is Vincent Price, and even with an admittedly smaller role, he manages to impress. I’d like to say that it’s surprising the he took top billing over Moorehead, but let’s be honest, it’s not at all.

Price was the “bigger” star, and he also happened to be male and this was 1959 after all.

There’s a lovely symmetry in the two acting together. They were both formidable talents, after all, and I wonder what it would have been like to see the two play the MacBeths…?

The rest of the cast is quite good, as well, and you might find one actress, in particular, familiar. Her name was Darla Hood, and she was THE Darla from the Little Rascals films. This film was her final performance on the big screen.

The Bat has more than its fair share of tension thanks to director Crane Wilbur’s sense of place, coaxing The Oaks and its shadowed halls to life and making it a character all its own. It was also Wilbur’s decision to focus more on the horror elements in the story with this particular adaptation of the source material.

Louis Forbes also lends his considerable talents with an impressive score.

By the end of the film, when the plot has twisted and the mystery has been solved, The Bat is at its core an entertaining, melodramatic spectacle, and because it has fallen into the public domain can be viewed just about anywhere in multiple formats.

For the fair price of free, check out The Bat on Amazon Prime or even YouTube. You’ll be glad you did!

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Jake Gyllenhaal’s Thriller ‘Presumed Innocent’ Series Gets Early Release Date

Published

2 hours ago

April 26, 2024

Timothy Rawles

Jake Gyllenhaal’s limited series Presumed Innocent is dropping on AppleTV+ on June 12 instead of June 14 as originally planned. The star, whose Road House reboot has brought mixed reviews on Amazon Prime, is embracing the small screen for the first time since his appearance on Homicide: Life on the Street in 1994.

Jake Gyllenhaal’s in ‘Presumed Innocent’

Presumed Innocent is being produced by David E. Kelley, J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot, and Warner Bros. It is an adaptation of Scott Turow’s 1990 film in which Harrison Ford plays a lawyer doing double duty as an investigator looking for the murderer of his colleague.

These types of sexy thrillers were popular in the ’90s and usually contained twist endings. Here’s the trailer for the original:

According to Deadline, Presumed Innocent doesn’t stray far from the source material: “…the Presumed Innocent series will explore obsession, sex, politics and the power and limits of love as the accused fights to hold his family and marriage together.”

Up next for Gyllenhaal is the Guy Ritchie action movie titled In the Grey scheduled for release in January 2025.

Presumed Innocent is an eight-episode limited series set to stream on AppleTV+ starting June 12.

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Movies

Trailer for ‘The Exorcism’ Has Russell Crowe Possessed

Published

21 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Timothy Rawles

The latest exorcism movie is about to drop this summer. It’s aptly titled The Exorcism and it stars Academy Award winner turned B-movie savant Russell Crowe. The trailer dropped today and by the looks of it, we are getting a possession movie that takes place on a movie set.

Just like this year’s recent demon-in-media-space film Late Night With the Devil, The Exorcism happens during a production. Although the former takes place on a live network talk show, the latter is on an active sound stage. Hopefully, it won’t be entirely serious and we’ll get some meta chuckles out of it.

The film will open in theaters on June 7, but since Shudder also acquired it, it probably won’t be long after that until it finds a home on the streaming service.

Crowe plays, “Anthony Miller, a troubled actor who begins to unravel while shooting a supernatural horror film. His estranged daughter, Lee (Ryan Simpkins), wonders if he’s slipping back into his past addictions or if there’s something more sinister at play. The film also stars Sam Worthington, Chloe Bailey, Adam Goldberg and David Hyde Pierce.”

Crowe did see some success in last year’s The Pope’s Exorcist mostly because his character was so over-the-top and infused with such comical hubris it bordered on parody. We will see if that is the route actor-turned-director Joshua John Miller takes with The Exorcism.

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News

Win a Stay at The Lizzie Borden House From Spirit Halloween

Published

22 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Timothy Rawles

Spirit Halloween has declared that this week marks the start of spooky season and to celebrate they are offering fans a chance to stay at the Lizzie Borden House with so many perks Lizzie herself would approve.

The Lizzie Borden House in Fall River, MA is claimed to be one of the most haunted houses in America. Of course one lucky winner and up to 12 of their friends will find out if the rumors are true if they win the grand prize: A private stay in the notorious house.

“We are delighted to work with Spirit Halloween to roll out the red carpet and offer the public a chance to win a one-of-a-kind experience at the infamous Lizzie Borden House, which also includes additional haunted experiences and merchandise,” said Lance Zaal, President & Founder of US Ghost Adventures.

Fans can enter to win by following Spirit Halloween‘s Instagram and leaving a comment on the contest post from now through April 28.

The prize also includes:

An exclusive guided house tour, including insider insight around the murder, the trial, and commonly reported hauntings

A late-night ghost tour, complete with professional ghost-hunting gear

A private breakfast in the Borden family dining room

A ghost hunting starter kit with two pieces of Ghost Daddy Ghost Hunting Gear and a lesson for two at US Ghost Adventures Ghost Hunting Course

The ultimate Lizzie Borden gift package, featuring an official hatchet, the Lizzie Borden board game, Lily the Haunted Doll, and America’s Most Haunted Volume II

Winner’s choice of a Ghost Tour experience in Salem or a True Crime experience in Boston for two

“Our Halfway to Halloween celebration provides fans an exhilarating taste of what’s to come this fall and empowers them to start planning for their favorite season as early as they please,” said Steven Silverstein, CEO of Spirit Halloween. “We have cultivated an incredible following of enthusiasts who embody the Halloween lifestyle, and we’re thrilled to bring the fun back to life.”

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Spirit Halloween is also preparing for their retail haunted houses. On Thursday, August 1 their flagship store in Egg Harbor Township, NJ. will officially open to start off the season. That event usually draws in hordes of people eager to see what new merch, animatronics, and exclusive IP goods will be trending this year.