The Devil Bat (1940)

Director:

Jean Yarbrough

Writers:

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

Release Date:

13 December 1940 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Horror | Mystery | 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:

B Horror | Psychotronic | Cult Favorite | Cult Director | B Movie

Cast

Bela Lugosi	...	Dr. Paul Carruthers
Suzanne Kaaren	...	Mary Heath
Dave O'Brien	...	Johnny Layton (reporter)
Guy Usher	...	Henry Morton
Yolande Donlan	...	Maxine 'Frenchy' (maid) (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 (editor)
Hal Price	...	Chief Wilkins
John Davidson	...	Prof. Percival Garland Raines
Billy Griffith	...	Coroner (scenes deleted)
Wally Rairden	...	Walter King (radio announcer)

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 low-budget thriller, boosted by Bela Lugosi, was one of the biggest successes for the poverty row Producers Releasing Corporaton (PRC). After the war, the studio tried to recapture this success by producing a non-sequel "sequel", Devil Bat's Daughter (1946), and a virtual shot-by-shot remake, The Flying Serpent (1946).

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:

Reporter Johnny Layton: [to Dr. Paul Carruthers] Not so funny when it's your own jugular vein that's in danger. Is it, doc?

Movie Connections:

Featured in Dark Romances Vol. 2 (1990) (V)

Good results on limited budget

I diagree with the detractors of this film. Certainly the budget and therefore the special effects, were indeed limited. But, the storey is reasonabley original and the script reads well. Lagosi gives great conviction to his role and this was particularly remarkable considering the state of his career and personal life at the time. I love the scene in which he has convinced "Bob" (one of the scions of the owners of the cosmetic company that cheated Dr. Caruthers)to put on the fatal after shave lotion. Bob, wishes Dr.Caruthers a good night, Bella sighs deeply then gravely replies,"Good by Bob". He sort of regrets the unpleasant neccesity of unleashing one his giant creations to hunt down the innocent Bob. The other evening was watching bats flitting around at dusk. Naturely I thought emmediatley of old Doc Caruthers. Any film that leaves such an impression must be pretty good.