Movie Review: The Bat (1959)

The Bat (1959) written and directed by Crane Wilbur

Crime novelist Cornelia van Gorder (Agnes Moorehead) rents an old house called "The Oaks" for the summer. It's owned by local banker John Fleming (Harvey Stephens) who is out hunting for an extended period with a doctor friend (Vincent Price). Lots of rumors and history mark the house as one where tragedy happens. In the last year, a killer known as "The Bat" committed murders there. As a writer of murder mysteries, van Gorder is nonplussed. Her staff from the city are less aloof and most of them leave her after a day or two. They heard noises and saw a faceless man wandering the back stairs. All she has left is her chauffeur and her lady's maid.

In town, the bankers have discovered that the vault has been robbed of a million dollars in securities. The only ones with access are Fleming and Victor Bailey (Mike Steele), the assistant manager. Victor is chucked in jail. Meanwhile, Fleming and the doctor have a conversation in their isolated cabin. Fleming did steal the money and has hidden it. He wants the doctor to return to town with a mangled corpse that he will pretend is Fleming's dead body. Now that Fleming has revealed his plan, the doctor needs to play along or get shot. One of them returns to town and gets pulled into the investigation at "The Oaks," where The Bat has returned and is back to his old tricks.

The premise is interesting and the actors do a good job with their roles, throwing suspicion around on just about everybody. The story itself is a little bit too convoluted and occasional bits of dialog don't make sense, turning the tension into confusion (and not the good kind of confusion). It's a fun movie, but not as fun as I was hoping for. It's a standard B-movie thriller with a couple of surprises but nothing outstanding.

Mildly recommended.