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THE DEVIL BAT Starring Bela Lugosi and Suzanne Kaaren Bela Lugosi, starring as the evil Dr. Caruthers in Jean Yarbrough's The Devil Bat, had captivated audiences back in the 1930s and 1940s when an unsuspecting generation of moviegoers saw him play various movie villains. The most popular was Dracula, a role in which he had played repetitively. Released several times on home video and DVD, Alpha Video serves up another budget disc for the masses.
Dr. Caruthers is a disgruntled scientist who developed a product for a family-owned cosmetic company. Instead of taking stock in the Heath company, he opted for $10,000 cash in return for his formula. After the family sees seven-figure profits, Caruthers becomes resentful. The doctor plans his revenge. He develops an aftershave lotion with a very distinct scent. At the same time, he raises a giant vampire bat in his dungeon that has a violent reaction to the aftershave scent. Every time he meets with a member of the Heath family, he has them rub a bit of the lotion on their necks. When they are on their way home, he lets out the bat. The bat finds them and goes straight for their throats.
A city reporter and his photographer get exclusive coverage of the story, as the reporter becomes romantically involved with a member of the Heath family. After a few nights staking out the Heath family garden, the Devil Bat is killed. Enraged, Caruthers raises a new, larger bat. The reporter has his suspicions after making a connection between Caruthers' lotion and the killings, and decides to invite the doctor out to the Heath family garden in an attempt to trap and kill the new vampire bat. The reporter even wears some of the lotion, making it far more likely that the bat would come for him. Caruthers happily agrees to stake out the grounds with the reporter, and tries to assure him that it is a waste of time to look for the bat. The reporter surprises the doctor and splashes a healthy dose of the lotion onto him, making it a 50/50 chance that the doctor's own creation will do him in.....
Although a low-budget film when compared to the Universal classics of the 1930s, The Devil Bat is a decently-written story with comedy relief by the reporter-photographer team. This is not the only instance where Lugosi found himself in a movie where the genre had been lampooned. Lugosi starred opposite Abbott and Costello, the Bowery Boys and Mitchell and Petrillo. As time went on, Lugosi was cast in films with lower and lower budgets. He finally ended up acting for Ed Wood, Jr., the notorious director of schlock and camp in the 1950s. Alpha Home Video presents The Devil Bat 1.33:1. It is doubtful that the film exists in a print better than that used by Alpha or any other video distributor; the image is soft, fuzzy and bears scratches. However, the fact that the film is as widely available at all is a blessing.
The dolby digital mono sound quality is as high as can be expected. Although mastered digitally, the clarity reveals the limits of the original master. There are no extras included on this release. As with the majority of Alpha's releases, extras are not included. However, given the nature of budget DVD releases, extras are a rare find.
Not only genre film fans have come to love The Devil Bat. Fans of classic cinema as well hold the film in high esteem. The combination of a decent story and Bela Lugosi contributed the film's longevity. Lugosi went on to star in the lesser-known Devil Bat's Daughter, and classics such as The Ape Man and Scared to Death. Lugosi died in 1956, but has a rich legacy in genre film. The man's face is considered an icon in the horror film industry as millions worldwide are inspired by his work. | ||
