Review of The Bat Whispers (1930) by Bernard A — 25 Jun 2010

THE BAT WHISPERS has got to be one of the looniest films I have ever seen. There is no point trying to make any sense of the plot. It's like watching a screwball comedy, sans comedy. Oh, I do think the film has it's funny moments - just not in the ways the filmmakers probably intended, though.

The prologue to the film is in two parts and sets up the plot. Firstly - there is a mysterious villain called "The Bat" who, in a letter boasts that he will steal a valuable necklace from the home of a wealthy individual come 12:00 sharp midnight. The police are alerted and surround the home. Now, I've always thought the police are pretty incompetent in a lot of the classic 30's films I've seen and THE BAT WHISPERS is no exception...The Bat steals the necklace from under their noses.

Secondly - we see another mysterious figure steal a cool half-million dollars from a bank safe. You know this figure is not The Bat since you can see the silhouette of The Bat witnessing the actual robbery from the sidelines. The Bat then secretly follows the robber as he makes his getaway to the rural Fleming Estate - a creaky mansion where the rest of the film will take place. The robber hides the loot somewhere in the mansion - setting the stage for the action...

On a side note...there is a sight gag used in some of those old, classic Warner Brothers cartoons. Two or more characters are shown chasing one another and they end up in a corridor. There are multiple doors on each side and the characters enter a door only to exit another door on the opposite side. The characters then enter and exit doors seemingly at random - faster and faster, until they are all a-blur. The gag is rather silly...but I have a suspicion that the animators may have gotten that gag from THE BAT WHISPERS. If you extend the gag to a full 83 minutes you really have the gist of the action in THE BAT WHISPERS.

Inside the Fleming Estate, there are doors...staircases...mysterious passageways...laundry chutes...windows...you name it - characters will appear and disappear within them on a whim. The point really is to keep the audience off balance in trying to guess the identity of The Bat (and also the bank robber too). I think the film succeeds in that regards. Plenty of red herrings are tossed your way by director/writer Roland West.

Living at the mansion is the matronly Cornelia Van Gorder (Grayce Hampton) and her maid, Lizzie Allen (Maude Eburne). I'm not too sure why a Van Gorder is living in the Fleming Estate...but Cornelia seems the most level headed of all the characters in the film. The mansion is supposed to be haunted but Cornelia doesn't believe in that sort of stuff...unlike her maid, Lizzie - who is as annoying a character as I've come across. Her screaming, yelling and whimpering had me turning down the volume on more than a few occasions. Sure, sound may have been a novelty in 1930 - but Lizzie's voice really got old fast - I'm willing to bet! There is also a caretaker (Spencer Charters) who is easily spooked and is one of those who like to run in and out of the doorways - just like in the cartoons.

Cornelia's niece, Dale Van Gorder (Una Merkel) joins the festivities alongside her boyfriend Brook (William Bakewell), a bank clerk suspected by the police to be the bank robber. Dale and Brook spend most of their time banging on the mansion walls - trying to find the hollow spot where the robber could have hidden the loot. They hope to find the money to prove Brook innocent. But how they figured the loot was hidden in the mansion in the first place is beyond me.

Investigating the robbery is the no-nonsense police Detective Anderson (Chester Morris). You know that he is a no non-sense type guy in the way he scowls and snarls throughout the film. He is too busy scowling to investigate or even question the sound of Dale and Brook banging on the walls upstairs (I told you police are incompetent)...

Although THE BAT WHISPERS was filmed in a 65mm widescreen format...I don't think it really added anything to the film's viewing experience. Unlike another widescreen film from 1930, THE BIG TRAIL (one of John Wayne's first starring roles btw) which utilized the format to full advantage and shot outdoors - providing the viewer with some gorgeous sweeping vistas...THE BAT WHISPERS on the other hand was shot exclusively inside soundstages. I think it could just as well have been shot in the standard 35mm format and the film would have looked the same.

The film does have it's moments though. Director Roland West used some interesting shots - some tracking and some overhead shots that you don't see too often in early 30's films. Effective too was the use of shadows and silhouettes. A low, rumbling sound effect added tension to certain scenes.

THE BAT WHISPERS really is a relic from the early sound era and should be viewed on it's own term to be fully appreciated. Modern audiences may just be too sophisticated to fall for this film's shenanigans so it's really no use comparing this to a modern mystery / thriller. You will only be disappointed.

6.