The Bat (1926)

Overrated and overhyped

Excellent but underrated film

As Good As It Gets

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

"A master criminal known as 'The Bat' has held the city in a grip of error during his crime spree. His latest caper involves some embezzled bank money that apparently is hidden in the bank president's mansion. A reclusive woman and her niece are currently renting the mansion… Our villain must find a way to frighten off the unsuspecting boarders in order to find the stolen money, as well as try to stay one step ahead of the law," according to the DVD sleeve's synopsis."Can you keep a secret?" the film begins, "Don't reveal the identity of 'The Bat'. Future audiences will fully enjoy this mystery play if left to find out for themselves." This excellent silent film should be much more highly regarded than it is, currently. Director Roland West, with cinematographers Arthur Edeson and Gregg Toland, creates a fine "Dark Night" setting for "The Batman"; the film either influenced, or inspired imitations which influenced, DC's comic book hero. One of the film's many imitators was Mr. West's own "The Bat Whispers" (1930).Jack Pickford (as Brooks Bailey) and West's wife, Jewel Carmen (as Dale Ogden), lead the ensemble cast. This was Ms. Carmen's last feature film; she was a fairly big star, but worked less as her popularity grew. The even more popular Mr. Pickford (brother of Mary) is quite good; certainly, none of the problems which plagued Pickford in the late 1920s show up in his performance. Comedic maid Louise Fazenda (as Lizzie Allen) manages to stand out, despite datedness. And, Emily Fitzroy (as Cornelia Van Gorder) knits throughout.******** The Bat (3/14/26) Roland West ~ Jack Pickford, Jewel Carmen, Louise Fazenda, Emily Fitzroy

Years ago, there used to be a toy football game, which featured little figurines of players, and a vibrating field. The vibrations of the field would cause the figures to move about, like little men running; except that, well, they were like little men running randomly, into each other or into corners or perhaps in useless circles.Unfortunately, after an extremely good start, The Bat begins to remind one of that dreadful vibrating toy. The characters to some extent move purposefully, but much of their behavior just amounts to moving about as if randomly.The film should certainly be judged in context, and the fact is that this film is very much a product of its time. Attacking it for the story that it tells and the way in which it tells it is somewhat like attacking it for being silent and in greyscale; but, after all, it would indeed also be unfair to let a potential viewer think that this movie were a treat for the ears and in glorious color.Those particularly interested the Old Dark House genre should definitely watch this film, as it is either the first of the genre or the immediate precursor. And those interested in the influences that led to the character of the Batman should also watch this film, as the Bat of the title wears a bat costume and swings about the sides of buildings with the aid of ropes, and as there is a sort-of bat-signal.Spoiler: .stiderc eht ni eil a si erehT (And IMDb's spell-checker is okay with ".stiderc"! Go figure!)

"The Bat" is often described as one of the first haunted house movies, but it also brings to mind those action films that specialize in droll, stylish villains for whom the art of the crime is just as important as whatever material gains can be had from it. The villain of "The Bat," who chooses to disguise his identity with an elaborate bat costume and takes the time to leave taunting notes to the police and his victims, is akin to those witty nemeses of Superman and James Bond—the sort of highly imaginative evil genius who was spoofed in the Austin Powers series. The best sequence occurs at the beginning of the film when the Bat steals some priceless emeralds after telling the police exactly when and where he will strike —swiping them almost literally from under the owner's nose. The rest of the movie features an ensemble cast (an ingénue, a detective, a doctor, a gardener…) gathered at a mansion where 20 000 stolen dollars are hidden and the Bat is due to show up next, all trying to find the money and figure out which one of them is the original thief. The storyline drags now and then, but the antics of the high strung maid and the dry quips of the elderly eccentric millionaires who's forever knitting keep the viewer's attention whenever the pace flags.Recommended, but avoid the Alpha version which features a monotonous, mournful musical score (that I'm certain was also used with their version of "Way Down East") that is completely at odds with the film's humorous tone.

This 1926 film is one of the first films in the "spooky house" genre. The plot is simple, "The Bat" is a killer who is trying to get a wealthy woman and her niece out of a huge mansion that was left over when a bank president dies. Hidden in the house is $200,000 in cash, and its a race to try and find the money before "The Bat" gets to it.The film stars are probably not very well known today, Emily Fitzroy plays the wealthy Aunt, always doing her knitting, her companion/housekeeper is played by Louise Fazenda, with over the top/slapstick type of comedy. Jack Pickford plays the newly hired gardner, this is before his wife, actress Olive Thomas died of a drug overdose, and not too long before he himself was the victim of an overdose.The real "star" of the film is Jewel Carmen. She was married to director Roland West at the time. Years later both West and Carmen, long after they were out of the spotlight both would play roles in one of the biggest of Hollywood mysteries, the death of actress Thelma Todd.West was a business partner in Thelma Todd's Sidewalk Cafe along the West Coast Highway in Los Angeles. Todd and West were having an affair at the time of her mysterious death.The coroner set Todd's death at a certain time, but Jewel Carmen, a friend of Todd's testified under oath that she saw Todd out driving in her car with an unidentified man, well after the corner had claimed she was already dead.Some authors have speculated that Todd, who was found slumped dead behind the wheel of her car in a closed garage; a victim of supposed Carbon Monoxide poisoning, was accidentally killed by West when he locked her out of her apartment.