kidboots 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!!!

wes-connors With long lines to see "Garbo Talks!" director Roland West and United Artists hoped to make you laugh and bring in some cash for "The Bat Whispers" - but, fewer people were interested in hearing The Bat-Man whisper. Moreover, he doesn't really "whisper" in this re-make of Mr. West's popular and influential silent version of "The Bat" (1926) - he talks. Neither of the Bat-films are truly magnificent, but both are technically excellent. The plot is almost the same; obviously, West started with the same script.The earlier version featured Jewel Carmen and Jack Pickford as lead the romantic couple; herein, they are successfully replaced by Una Merkel (as Dale) and William Bakewell (as Brooks). Broadway lady Grayce Hampton (as Cornelia Van Gorder) handles the knitting chores. Also moving from stage to film, comic relief Maude Eburne (as Lizzie) doesn't quite match Louise Fazenda (a daunting task). For the re-make, Chester Morris (as Anderson) takes center stage, as part of an uneasily altered story development.While West's technical skill is brilliant, but the sound of "The Bat" whispering is startlingly inferior - with the thunder sounding more like a foghorn from "Anna Christie" (one of those films with that talking Swedish actress). The wide-screen "Magnifilm" and visuals are terrific, though. Both films are worth seeing - in any order; the endings are different, but the mystery never mattered.******* The Bat Whispers (11/13/30) Roland West ~ Chester Morris, Una Merkel, William Bakewell, Grayce Hampton

MARIO GAUCI The film does feel creaky, the humor is laid a little too thick for my tastes at times (much like Paul Leni's THE CAT AND THE CANARY [1927], in fact) and Maude Eburne as the cowardly maid IS unbearable…but this is more than made up for, in my opinion, by the film's dazzling cinematography, atmospheric sets and deliberate theatricality (complete with asides to the audience in the finale). In any case, it's easily miles ahead of the inept and boring Vincent Price remake of 1959! You will have noticed that I have preceded (as is my fashion) the film's name with that of its director. I'll be the first to admit that nearly nobody today remembers Roland West, let alone be prepared to accord him "auteur" status, but you'll agree that the VERY distinctive visual style of the film indicates an assured guiding hand behind the whole project. Although hardly as well-known today or as easy to find, THE BAT WHISPERS is by no means West's only notable feature; as a matter of fact, based on the minute information I've managed to find on them in my reference books, I'd be very interested in watching THE UNKNOWN PURPLE (1923; an intriguing-sounding precursor to James Whale's THE INVISIBLE MAN [1933]), THE BAT (1926; the original Silent-film version of THE BAT WHISPERS), the gangster drama ALIBI (1929; which even earned Chester Morris a Best Actor Academy Award nomination) and CORSAIR (1931), his last film. As for myself, the only other Roland West film I've seen is the atypical and rather unsatisfactory Lon Chaney vehicle THE MONSTER (1925), which also happens to be a bizarre 'old dark house' melodrama.Elliott Stein, in Richard Roud's indispensable tome, "Cinema: A Critical Dictionary – The Major Film-Makers" described Roland West as "one of America's supremely original visual stylists, the director of a series of stunning thrillers." He also names ALIBI "one of the most oppressive films ever made…the distorted sets, odd angles and restless camera make it West's most Germanic work…this claustrophobic little nightmare would be fully at home in a retrospective of the American avant-garde film." Furthermore, he acclaims THE BAT WHISPERS as "a pictorial knock-out" and CORSAIR "a visual treat"! Unfortunately, his promising career was suddenly curtailed by a real-life tragedy. West was involved and living with renowned comedienne Thelma Todd (a frequent foil for Laurel & Hardy and The Marx Brothers) in Malibu at the time of her mysterious death in 1935. Neighbors heard them quarreling the night before the morning she was found in her garage overcome by carbon monoxide poisoning; though a suspect, he was never arrested but, of course, he could never work in Hollywood (or elsewhere) again.I've only watched THE BAT WHISPERS (twice), in Widescreen, on VHS and I've been meaning to pick up Image's DVD edition (comprising also the 'alternate' full-frame version, shot simultaneously by a different cameraman!) for the longest time. As it happens, from the online reviews I've read of the disc, the verdict as to which version is actually 'better' seems to be pretty mixed.

dbborroughs Based on a play that was filmed four years earlier by the same director this is a wonderful film that is hampered only by the limitations of sound. That said this is probably the best version of the story.A fiend known as The Bat is lurking around the mansion of a rich family and its up to an intrepid detective to prevent him from getting the goods.This movie is a lot of fun, with several wonderful performances especially by Chester Morris as the detective.Interestingly the film was filmed both in the standard aspect ratio and in an early wide screen process (Both are on the DVD). The films are more or less identical, but since they were taken from different takes they both play like two different nights of the same play.I like this film a great deal and recommend it to anyone who likes the Old Dark House genre.