Don't listen to the negative reviews

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

Producer: Roland West. Executive producer: Joseph M. Schenck.Copyright 24 November 1930 by Art Cinema Corp. Released through United Artists: 29 November 1930. New York opening at the Rivoli: 15 January 1931. 7,991 feet. 88 minutes. SYNOPSIS: With the exception of an enlarged role for Spencer Charters, the plot is more or less exactly the same as for the 1926 version. Even some of the dialogue is identical to the 1926 title cards (although no doubt it actually derives from the original stage play or even the 1906 novel).NOTES: The play was re-made in 1959 by writer-director Crane Wilbur, who was hampered both by a small "B" budget and his own inherent lack of talent. The promising leads — Vincent Price as the two-faced doctor, Agnes Moorehead as Cornelia Van Gorder — were both let down by a script that generated neither excitement nor atmosphere. COMMENT: I like the silent version best. This sound version is almost a frame-by-frame re-make, except oddly on a smaller scale. The sets are not as grand and Menzies' thrilling touches of scenic inventiveness are often missing. What's more, Mr. West's direction seems far less assured. Both sound and the big screen have slightly overawed him. Atmosphere, pace and audience involvement in the silent version are all superior to the sound (although admittedly the widescreen effect on audiences in a big theater would have been quite overpowering).Cast-wise, the silent version has it all over the sound re-make. True, Chester Morris is very effective, but the strength of his characterization is often due more to clever lighting than personal charisma. He had not yet evolved the personable tough-guy image he was to project in later films.However, stage actress, Grayce Hampton, in her first sound film (in fact she had made only one previous movie appearance, and that way back in 1916) is certainly the equal of Emily Fitzroy. Oddly her excellent performance in what is virtually a starring role seems to have done little for her subsequent career. By 1933, she was reduced to playing bits. As for an Una Merkel versus Jewel Carmen comparison, there is little to say except for the fact that Una doesn't seem to be trying very hard to overcome Miss Carmen's far greater curiosity appeal. Jewel was married to Roland West and Bat was her final film. (She divorced West in 1936). On the other hand, as implied above, in the difficult role of the detective, Tullio Carminati outshines Chester Morris. Despite the fact that he's robbed of his voice, he still makes his Moletti a really penetrating characterization, whereas Morris relies heavily on lighting and other atmospheric effects. And for comedy relief, Miss Fazenda easily contrived a much funnier Lizzie, while comic Eddie Gribbon similarly outclassed dull and dour Charles Dow Clark.Nonetheless, it's still a most fascinating early widescreen version (I love the film's run-out music) and it's available on DVD from Image. Quality rating: 9 out of ten.

Well for heaven's sake, who would have thought that once upon a time Una Merkel would have been considered leading lady material. Not for very long though as the next year, 1931, she played Ricardo Cortez's sexy secretary, Effie, in the original "The Maltese Falcon". She was a discovery of D.W. Griffith who thought she had a Lillian Gish look about her and she did extra work in "Way Down East" and "The White Rose". So when she went to United Artists in 1930 Griffith thought she would be ideal as Ann Rutledge for his "Abraham Lincoln" but it was on a Fox loan out that her brilliant comedy vein was found. In Roland West's talkie remake of his 1926 success "The Bat" she starred alongside "Mr. Versatile" Chester Morris who was already being noted for his anti-hero parts.West certainly tried to experiment with camera shots and sound (much like with his "Alibi" of the previous year) - from the panning shot from the top of the clock tower to the street below, there is a cacophony of noise - sirens, police radios, newsboys jeering at the police's inability to catch the Bat who has just claimed another victim. Most people would be familiar with the plot that centres around the Fleming residence where Miss Van Gorder and her petrified maid (Maude Eburne) pass an eventful night. First visitor is Van Gorder's niece, Dale (Merkel) who brings her boyfriend (William Bakewell), who is disguised as Bailey, a jobbing gardener - in reality he is on the run having been falsely accused of embezzling funds from the bank at which he is a teller. They are both convinced that the missing money is hidden in the house - but in this crazy place no one is who they appear, even the owner, Fleming, is out to find the money for himself and there is also a strange doctor (Gustav Von Seyffertitz) who seems to have a morbid fascination with matches.Keeping the whole movie ticking along is Chester Morris as the mesmerizing, handsome detective Anderson - you just can't take your eyes off him, even though he doesn't make his appearance until 30 minutes after the movie has started. This movie is just terrific fun and trumps the silent one by having a powerful actor in the leading role (Jack Pickford was the star in the original - he played Bailey!!). Bob Kane did get the idea for Batman from the 1926 movie which did have a clearly defined bat's head as a silhouette and also flashed the bat insignia up in the sky - whenever the Bat was about to strike again. "The Bat Whispers" had plenty of atmosphere and frights and the bat costume, when illuminated by shadows, filled the screen - but it was easy to see it was only a costume after all. And the ending was great!! Chester Morris actually comes on to the stage and chats with the audience, asking them not to divulge the ending to their friends!! For a stage trained actor he was a complete natural in front of the camera and you have to scratch your head and wonder why he didn't become a major star. Maybe he was just too good!!!

Roland West's THE BAT WHISPERS was based on a hugely successful Broadway play, The Bat, widely credited for having created the vogue for thriller plays in the 1920's. (The 1927 production "Dracula" which starred Bela Lugosi on stage was part of the mystery vogue, and led directly to the 1930 Universal film which kicked off the 30's cycle of horror movies). West filmed The Bat in 1926 as a silent, with great success. The 1930 remake was a large production, shot simultaneously in standard 35mm and a new widescreen 65mm process. Theater owners largely rejected the expense of installing 65mm equipment, and most people who saw this film on its release saw the 35mm version. Among them was Bob Kane, who credited it as a major influence in his creation of Batman in the late 30's. It's easy to see why. This is a stunning looking film (I'm referring to the 35mm version, which I saw at the 2004 UCLA Festival of Preservation) gorgeously photographed by Ray June. In an old dark house where the lights are constantly going off, and lighting is frequently provided by candles, or lightning, bizarre lighting effects start to become the norm, and the dramatic possibilities take off. The director used every conceivable angle to keep things visually lively, mirroring the ridiculous complexity of the plot with a visual complexity that always keeps the viewer slightly off balance.Much has been made of the sweeping camera moves and the use of miniatures. The miniatures are a bit obvious, but their intent remains effective if you're willing to go with it. (Being willing to "go with it" is pretty much a necessity in general for this film, which was a wild and unrealistic ride in its time, and deliberately so.) The photography benefits from a number of technical innovations, including a lightweight camera dolly invented for this production that allowed the camera to be moved 18 feet vertically in a matter of moments. The performances - both comic and dramatic characters - are deliberately hokey, very stagey turns that were the standard for this genre. Much of Chester Morris' mugging and squinting, however, are attributable to the violently bright underlighting that was used in his closeups, which eventually scorched his retinas (a condition which became known as Klieg Eye). Within that context, they are wonderful performances. Morris is particularly engaging, as is Grayce Hampton as the patrician Cornelia Van Gorder, the middle-aged spinster who refuses to be scared out of the house. (Hampton appears to be a very capable stage actress, and offers perhaps the most natural performance in the film. She had made one previous film – in 1916 – and made numerous subsequent ones, usually in bit parts, until she was nearly 80.) Her no-nonsense dowager centers the film perfectly, keeping the other characters (and performances) from plunging completely off the deep end.The plot? A master criminal, The Bat, is on the loose, a half-million dollars have been stolen from a bank by somebody else, and The Bat is trying to get it. The money has apparently been brought to a lonely mansion in a rural town (apparently somewhere on then-rural Long Island) where a middle-aged woman and her made are renting for the summer. Someone is trying to scare her out of the house, so she has sent for detectives. From there, anything goes.

A tour-de-force of chases, shootouts, and robbery, as "The Bat" terrorizes a city, and particularly the renters of a mansion where he makes his hideout. Nearly everybody is a suspect, but the key lighting pretty much gives it away. Nonetheless, West keeps the pace moving so fast that we don't really have time to stop and think about much of anything. Features West's trademark effects with miniatures and wires. Some remarkable photography (in 65mm, no less) in the disappearing silent gothic tradition makes this movie a link from the newly emerging horror scene to the old "haunted house with criminals" genre into which it more properly falls. "Goofy gothic" excellence.