Devil Bat (B&W)

Starring:Bela Lugosi, Suzanne Kaaren, Dave O'Brien, Guy Usher, Yolande Donlan, Donald Kerr, Edmund Mortimer, Gene O'Donnell (II), Alan Baldwin, John Ellis, Arthur Q. Bryan, Hal Price, John Davidson, Billy Griffith, Wally Rairden
Director: Jean Yarbrough
Studio: Rph Productions
Product Type: DVD

Average customer rating:

"Ah My Friend, Our Theory Of Glandular Stimulation Was Correct!"
"15 Frightful Horror Films ... Bela Lugosi ... Passport Video"
A DVD From The Lugosi Estate
"Your brain is too feeble to conceive what I've accomplished in the realm of science."
One Of Bela Lugosi's Most Fondly Remembered Horror Efforts

The Devil Bat
Starring: Bela Lugosi , Suzanne Kaaren , Dave O'Brien , Guy Usher , and Yolande Donlan
Director: Jean Yarbrough
Manufacturer: Rph Productions
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Similar Items:

Bowery at Midnight
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ASIN: B00006G8HQ
Release Date: 2002-09-03

Customer Reviews:

"Ah My Friend, Our Theory Of Glandular Stimulation Was Correct!".......2007-02-19

"The Devil Bat" is a 1940 classic starring Bela Lugosi as (surprise!) a mad scientist up to no good. Lugosi, as Dr. Paul Carruthers, seems like a model citizen, but evil lurks. Lugosi is a cosmetics researcher (who obviously participates in animal testing) out for vengeance, as he feels betrayed by his employers over money issues. He contrives a nefarious plot to enlarge bats with electricity in conformance with his "theory of glandular stimulation" and simultaneously teaches the bats to target a new shaving lotion he developed especially for people wishing to have their jugulars bisected by giant chiroptera.

Bela is exonerated by the police, but two newspaper reporters look into matters more carefully resulting in a match between Bela and his creation to resolve the movie. Please note the voice of the newspaper editor, Joe McGinty, played by Arthur Q. Bryan. If you think you recognize the voice but can't quite place it you're probably right. He is most widely known as the voice of Elmer Fudd.

The bats themselves are typical of special effects from the era, i.e. big silly contraptions on strings. Although they look better than a lot of later films like "The Giant Claw," flying creatures are hard to get right with models and this is no exception, so some suspension of disbelief will be required. Overall, though, this is a very enjoyable old fashioned horror movie, and fans of the genre and particularly Lugosi will love it; to those people I highly recommend the film.

"15 Frightful Horror Films ... Bela Lugosi ... Passport Video".......2006-10-15

Passport Video presents "The Bela Lugosi Box - 15 Frightful Films" (1942) --- (Dolby digitally remastered) --- Béla Lugosi was the stage name of actor Béla Ferenc Dezs Blaskó (October 20, 1882 - August 16, 1956) --- Lugosi was born in Lugos, Hungary, at the time part of Austria-Hungary (now Lugoj, Romania), the youngest of four children of a baker --- best known for his portrayal of "Dracula" in the American Broadway stage production, and subsequent film, of Bram Stoker's classic vampire story.

Late in his life, he again received star billing in movies when filmmaker Edward D. Wood, Jr., a fan of Lugosi, found him living in obscurity and near-poverty and offered him roles in his films, such as "GLEN OR GLENDA?" (1953) (in which his role made no more sense than the rest of the movie) and as a Dr. Frankenstein-like mad scientist in "BRIDE OF THE MONSTER" (1955), during post-production of the latter, Lugosi entered treatment for his addiction, and the premier of the film was ostensibly intended to help pay for his treatment expenses. The extras on an early DVD release of "PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE" (1959) include an impromptu interview with Lugosi upon his exit from the treatment center, which provide some rare personal insights into the man --- this was one of Lugosi's most infamous roles was released after he was dead. Ed Wood (Director) features footage of Lugosi interspersed with a double --- Wood had taken a few minutes of silent footage of Lugosi, in his Dracula cape, for a planned vampire picture but was unable to find financing for the project --- Wood later conceived of Plan 9, Wood wrote the script to incorporate the Lugosi footage and hired his wife's chiropractor to double for Lugosi in additional shots --- notice however the "double" is thinner than Lugosi, and covers the lower half of his face with his cape in every shot --- Leonard Maltin (Famous Film Critic) was quoted - "Lugosi died during production, and it shows."

Lugosi died of a heart attack on August 16, 1956 while lying in bed in his Los Angeles home. He was 73 --- Bela Lugosi was buried wearing one of the many capes from the Dracula stageplay, as per the request of his son and fifth wife, in the Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California --- Contrary to popular belief, Lugosi never requested to be buried in his famous cloak; Bela Lugosi, Jr. has confirmed on numerous occasions that he and his mother, Lillian, arrived at their decision independently.

BIOS:
1. Bela Lugosi (aka: Béla Ferenc Dezsõ Blaskó)
Date of birth: 20 October 1882 - Lugos, Austria-Hungary. [now Lugoj, Romania]
Date of death: 16 August 1956 - Los Angeles, California
2. Edward D. Wood Jr. (Director, Writer and Producer)
Date of birth: 10 October 1924 - Poughkeepsie, New York
Date of death: 10 December 1978 - North Hollywood, California

This collection of "The Bela Lugosi Box - 15 Frightful Films" (1942) --- still has the magic that we remember from those bygone years --- but as long as we have the labels and networks who play and show these wonderful films of yesteryear, they will never be forgotten ... Plus the half-hour tribute "100 Years of Horror: Bela Lugosi", hosted by Christopher Lee --- and a great job by Passport Video for this release --- looking forward to more of the same from the '20s and '50s vintage...order your copy now from Amazon or Passport Video, stay tuned once again for more remarkable films from the vaults of classic television and Hollywood during the Golden Era of Entertaiment.

Total Time: 1034 mins on DVD ~ Passport Video #5260 ~ (9/05/2006)

A DVD From The Lugosi Estate.......2006-10-09

This is a DVD put out by the estate of Bela Lugosi.I love it.I loved the audio commentary from Bela Lugosi Jr.While a lot of Lugosi fans tend to bash Bela Jr., I personally was enchanted by his commentary.It is basically a public domain film,repackaged.However, it conatains a rare radio program audio track within it that is worth the price of the DVD. I think Bela Jr. has done a fine job in producing this DVD.Kudos to Mr. Lugosi from an avid fan of your fathers!

"Your brain is too feeble to conceive what I've accomplished in the realm of science.".......2006-04-13

Now the way I understand it after his successful turn in the film Dracula (1931), Bela Lugosi was offered the part as The Frankenstein Monster in the film Frankenstein (1931), but turned it down due to the fact the part featured no dialog, allowing for Boris Karloff to assume the role, which may have been for the best as when Lugosi did eventually portray the character in the film Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943), it really didn't come of all that well, at least not when compared to Karloff's performance...anyway, after a falling out with Universal, Lugosi ended up making a slew of films for some lesser known, low budget Poverty Row outfits like Monogram and PRC (which stood for Producers Releasing Corporation, but many within the industry dubbed it `Pretty Rotten Crap') with The Devil Bat (1940) probably being one of the most popular and successful releases (I always thought his 1942 feature Bowery at Midnight to also be a most worthy feature). Directed by Jean Yarbrough (She-Wolf of London, The Brute Man), the film stars, as I've mentioned, Bela Lugosi, along with Dave O'Brien (Spooks Run Wild) and Suzanne Kaaren (Phantom Ranger).

Lugosi plays Dr. Paul Carruthers, a scientist who works for a cosmetics company in a small town. Along with developing new fragrances and such, he's also involved in strange and secretive experiments including the embiggening of bats, but why? Well, I'll tell you...revenge...you see, a while back, Carruthers had sold his interest in the cosmetics firm for seemingly tidy sum, only to see the company rake in the dough afterwards due to the fruits of his labors, subsequently making his bosses incredibly rich. Now infused with a `sour grapes' attitude, he intends on using his giant flying rodent to get back at those who've benefited most from all his hard work, particularly the two families that run the company. Along with creating a giant, winged monstrosity, he's also developed a formula, in the guise of an experimental aftershave, one that he passes out to those he wishes to inflict grave, bodily harm upon, its scent intended to attract the bat to its victims...and it works! As Carruthers begins offing his targets, the town is gripped in terror (local authorities are baffled), drawing the attention of the press, particularly that of ace reporter Johnny Layton (O'Brien) and his comic sidekick photographer named 'One-Shot' McGuire, a misnomer, in my opinion, as I found his skills dubious at best (at least his skill with a camera...he did excel at flapping his gums and making time with a French maid, though)...anyway, as the bodies begin to pile up, Layton believes the aftershave to be the key, and presses on with his investigation (along with making time with Mary Heath, daughter of one of the cosmetic company owners, played by Kaaren), eventually becoming himself a target of the devil bat...

This feature's got everything, everything except a budget, that is...there's mystery (sort of), intrigue, silliness, giant bats, a secret laboratory, a mad scientist, a handsome and personable hero type, a comic sidekick (who I didn't want to throttle due to his incompetence and/or stupidity), and more...some of my favorite scenes included Lugosi's goggled character zapping the bat, embigging it to that of about a mid-sized dog, his inner monologue sequence where his motives are revealed, the scenes where he gets his intended victims to apply the `aftershave' under the guise of testing out a new product (love this line..."Now rub it on the tender part of your neck..."). Another great sequence occurs in the latter half of the film as Lugosi's character is meeting with one of the company executives and the guy goes on and on, unwittingly rubbing it in, about how Carruthers really missed the boat in terms of selling off his shares of the cosmetics firm just before the moola started rolling in, all while Carruthers sits seething in his chair. Other bits to watch for are when Lugosi's character serves up the aftershave to various individuals, always issuing a subtly ominous response as the person heads out into the night, towards their doom. Along with Lugosi, who seemed relatively unrestricted in terms of his performance, I thought Dave O'Brien did very well with his role, even threatening at times to upstage the old man. He presented a very sharp witted, on the ball type character with an intuitive sense that was able to roll with whatever situation arose along with sticking to the action. I also enjoyed the comic relief offered up by the photographer, played by character actor Donald Kerr, as it served well to keep the film buoyant but not so much as to be an annoyance. As far as the rest, they were pretty much just capable support for the film. The devil bat looked hokey (close up stock footage of a real bat head was used to prop up the fake bat), but the actors were able to compensate for this a little in their suitable reactions. One really odd aspect about the story to me was how little the remaining family members seemed to suffer after the continual losses as Carruthers and his winged fury picked off their victims, all of whom were members of the respective families. There seemed very little sense of mourning as the losses mounted, but perhaps their generally jovial attitudes were some sort of mechanism to deal with the pain...or else those killed had really large insurance policies...anyway, the film moves along well, eventually resulting in an exciting and satisfying conclusion.

It seems this feature may have fallen into the public domain as there's any number of DVD releases floating around, but the one I own is one authorized by the estate of Bela Lugosi and released by a company called Rph Productions, and I have to say, the quality is most excellent. The picture, presented in full screen aspect ratio, is very clean, exhibiting only very minor flaws due to aging, and the Dolby Digital mono audio comes through sharp. Extras include a feature length commentary with film historian Ted Newsom and Bela Lugosi Jr., a Devil Bat image archive gallery, a 5X7 movie poster reproduction insert, a radio drama presentation of `The Dr. Prescribed Death', featuring Bela Lugosi, and trailers for other Lugosi films including The Human Monster (1940) aka The Dark Eyes of London and Scared to Death (1947). All in all this is a thoughtful and well put together package, one definitely worth seeking out for fans.

Cookieman108

By the way, this film's worth getting if only to hear Bela Lugosi condemn another as a "bombastic ignoramus!". This film was followed up by a forgettable sequel called Devil Bat's Daughter (1946), one that did not include Lugosi.

One Of Bela Lugosi's Most Fondly Remembered Horror Efforts.......2006-04-10

Monogram Studio's "The Devil Bat", is definately one of those minor horror efforts which over the years develops a strong cult following. In the case of this minor little horror effort from 1940 it has the added bonus of having the King of "B" horror in the lead in none other than Bela Lugosi who on countless occasions managed to breath life into a story which otherwise would never have retained its appeal over 60 years later. Here Bela Lugosi plays one of his sinister mad doctors to perfection and despite the films limited budget manages to work wonders with the little he has to work with.

Average customer rating:

"Ah My Friend, Our Theory Of Glandular Stimulation Was Correct!"
"15 Frightful Horror Films ... Bela Lugosi ... Passport Video"
A DVD From The Lugosi Estate
"Your brain is too feeble to conceive what I've accomplished in the realm of science."
One Of Bela Lugosi's Most Fondly Remembered Horror Efforts

Devil Bat
Starring: Bela Lugosi , Suzanne Kaaren , Dave O'Brien , Guy Usher , and Yolande Donlan
Director: Jean Yarbrough
Manufacturer: Alpha Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Similar Items:

Bowery at Midnight
The Human Monster/Mystery Liner:Horror Classics, Vol. 7
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Hollywood's Legends of Horror Collection (Doctor X / The Return of Doctor X / Mad Love / The Devil Doll / Mark of the Vampire / The Mask of Fu Manchu)

ASIN: B00006AUGI
Release Date: 2004-01-01

Customer Reviews:

"Ah My Friend, Our Theory Of Glandular Stimulation Was Correct!".......2007-02-19

"15 Frightful Horror Films ... Bela Lugosi ... Passport Video".......2006-10-15

A DVD From The Lugosi Estate.......2006-10-09

"Your brain is too feeble to conceive what I've accomplished in the realm of science.".......2006-04-13

One Of Bela Lugosi's Most Fondly Remembered Horror Efforts.......2006-04-10

Great Bloodsucking Vampire Movies (The Satanic Rights Of Dracula / The Devil Bat / The Last Man On Earth)

Average customer rating:

One outta three
Good experience.
A great value for horror fans on a budget
Mediocre disc with one shining standout!

Great Bloodsucking Vampire Movies (The Satanic Rights Of Dracula / The Devil Bat / The Last Man On Earth)
Starring: Great Bloodsucking Vampire Movies
Manufacturer: Bfs Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Horror | Genres | DVD | Video

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DVDs Under $7.49 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

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Classic Creature Movies I - (Roger Corman): Creature From The Haunted Sea / Beast From Haunted Cave / The Wasp Woman

ASIN: B00005QW53
Release Date: 2002-02-19

Description

3 Great Movies on 1 DVD. Star Power, Exciting Genre with Extras on each DVD.

Customer Reviews:

One outta three.......2006-02-24

I purchased this DVD for the original widescreen version of "The Last Man On Earth".
The other two movies are whatever. For $5.00 I won't complain. The Satanic rights of dracula is not for children. It was watchable with popcorn but I doubt I would ever view it again. If you have been looking for the Vincent Price movie in it's original format this is the version at the right price.

Good experience........2005-10-10

The packaging was great, the time of arrival was excellent but the quality of the film was not a digitally remastered copy, its a film made in 1973 which is very old.The film was a gift for partner so it needed to be in good condition. Very good experience. I have bought films a number of times after first experience. Thankyou.

A great value for horror fans on a budget.......2003-01-10

If you aren't overly concerned with the quality of the presentation, this DVD affords you a great chance to see three pretty good horror movies for one low price. "Great Bloodsucking Vampire Movies" is a bit of a misnomer, though. There's really not very much bloodsucking to be found here, and one of the movies technically has nothing to do with vampires at all. The Satanic Rites of Dracula is a Hammer film from the early 1970s featuring Christopher Lee's final portrayal of Count Dracula and a movie-saving performance by Peter Cushing as Dr. Van Helsing. Even though there doesn't seem to be quite enough of it, this is the only one of the movies featuring any real blood; you don't get to see any real bloodsucking, but it is strongly implied that blood was sucked at some point. I think The Devil Bat is one of Bela Lugosi's finer horror films. He plays a scientist whose buddies got rich off of his formula, making him want nothing more than to seek revenge on them. He does this by using some kind of electroshock treatment to greatly increase the size of a bat, then releasing the aptly named Devil Bat on his victims after getting them to try his new, strongly-hated-by-bats aftershave concoction. Thus, there are no vampires here, but Lugosi portrays the well-liked yet secretly twisted mad scientist role to perfection. The definite highlight of this DVD, though, is Vincent Price's sterling performance in The Last Man on Earth, a movie based on Richard Matheson's incredible novel I Am Legend. A plague of sorts has spread throughout the world, killing everyone except for the seemingly immune scientist Robert Morgan. The dead don't stay dead, though, because the virus is a vampiric one. These vampires are more like zombies, though; all they do is gang up around Morgan's house every night trying to get past his barricaded doors and windows. Price gives an amazing performance, and the film can be quite touching in the moments when Morgan thinks he has found another survivor and won't have to be so completely alone anymore. Presented in a widescreen format, this old black and white masterpiece looks and plays much more impressively than the other two movies. This DVD is more than worth the price for The Last Man on Earth all by itself, so consider the other two movies as very special bonuses.

Mediocre disc with one shining standout!.......2002-03-08

This low-rent disc of public domain titles contains three movies. The Satanic Rites of Dracula is first, with Peter Cushing, Freddie Jones, Joanna Lumley and Christopher Lee as Dracula. Not a highly regarded Hammer Dracula film, and not a good presentation. Although it's widescreen (about 1.85:1), the colors bleed and strobe badly. If you want this one, seek out ASIN 6305183406. The Devil Bat, one of the most common public domain titles (I previously had two copies on DVD already), stars Bela Lugosi and... isn't awful, just fair. Presentation is what you'd expect from such an old film in the public domain. Better DVD editions exist. The third feature is the first film version of Richard Matheson's classic story "I Am Legend" - called The Last Man On Earth, starring Vincent Price (later made as Omega Man with Charlton Heston). This is an excellent movie with a wide cult following. It's been on DVD before (full-frame), paired with The House on Haunted Hill. But this all leads me to why this disc is a must-buy:

THE LAST MAN ON EARTH is presented in WIDESCREEN at last!

It might have been mastered from the rare widescreen laserdisc release (rare because it was released in the waning days of the format) and although the picture's a bit fuzzy, it's vastly satisfying to see the full frame at last (about 2.35:1). It's infinitely better than any previously existing VHS version, and the print is clean with decent contrast so it looks better than the other DVD release, too.

Product Description

VAMPIRE BAT STARRING FAY WRAY. In the fog-shrouded European hamlet of Klineschloss residents are being murdered and drained of blood. Dr. Otto Von Niemann hints that a vampire may be in their midst and panic ensues through the terrified towns people.... Widely considered the cream of the crop among the 1930's thriller chillers! DEVIL BAT STARRING BELA LUGOSI. Dr. Paul Carruthers, a chemist at Health Cosmetics feels betrayed when his employers get rich thanjs to the perfumes and aftershaves he created. The mad scientist hatches a plan to reek revenge at his secret labratory where he enlarges a bat to gigantic proportions... then the bodies begin to pile up. A fantastic Lugosi classic!

Average customer rating:

A Sequel Only PRC Could Make
At least the cover art is nice...
Is this a movie?
Great PRC Cheapie.
Devil Bat's Daughter, fly away!

Devil Bat's Daughter
Starring: Rosemary La Planche , John James , Michael Hale , Molly Lamont , and Nolan Leary
Director: Frank Wisbar
Manufacturer: Image Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Horror | Genres | DVD | Video

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Strangler of the Swamp

ASIN: B00000JWWF
Release Date: 1999-09-21

Amazon.com

For a working definition of Hollywood obscurity, you couldn't do much better than the career of Frank Wisbar, a gifted German filmmaker who found himself, like his fellow émigré Edgar G. Ulmer, under contract at Producers Releasing Corporation, the most desperately poor of the Poverty Row studios of the 1940s. Typical of his hopeless assignments, Devil Bat's Daughter, released in 1946, was the totally unnecessary sequel to one of PRC's few successes, the 1940 Devil Bat with Bela Lugosi; this time, it's Rosemary La Planche--Miss America of 1941!--who falls under suspicion in a series of mysterious killings... has she inherited her father's homicidal instincts? Made during Hollywood's first flirtation with Freudian psychology, the picture is replete with soft-focus dream sequences (with some unconvincing bat effects lifted from the first film) and vague--extremely vague--implications of incest. It's virtually thrill-free, but Wisbar doesn't shrink from his duty, doing his damnedest to come up with creative camera angles and some way of imparting emotion to his waxworks cast. Like many of the Ulmer films of the period, Devil Bat's Daughter bears a strangely touching testimony to the strength of the human spirit--in spite of everything, Wisbar carries on. --Dave Kehr

Description

A woman is horrified by the realization that her father may have been a vampire and that she may have inherited his thirst for blood in this sequel to "The Devil Bat." The distraught woman (former Miss America Rosemary LaPlanche) consults a psychiatrist (Michael Hale) for relief from her nightmares, but her torment only grows worse as she becomes caught in a deadly web of deceit. Is she truly one of the living dead--capable of murder--or is she being framed?

Customer Reviews:

A Sequel Only PRC Could Make.......2005-05-03

When we watch a sequel, we expect it to follow the original, not only in time, but also in the continuity of the story. For instance, in Universal's "Frankenstein" series, there was a common thread linking each film with its predecessor. The "Rocky" series is the same, each movie builds on the other. Now, imagine a sequel where the original is barely mentioned, and the plot of the original blatantly contradicted. Thus you have "The Devil Bat's Daughter."

The plot goes like this: a young woman is found unconscious alongside a road in Westchester County, New York. Seems she had taken a cab from the train station to the abandoned house of Dr. Paul Carruthers (of original Devil Bat fame). The sheriff takes her to the local practitioner, who, in turn takes her to wealthy shrink Dr. Clifton Morris. Both doctors learn she is actually the daughter of Dr. Carruthers. Meanwhile, our heroine, Nina (Rosemary LaPlanche) is haunted by visions of bats (must run in the family). These hallucinations inspire Dr. Morris to use Nina as a pawn to bump off his wealthy wife, Ellen, in order that he should inherit and marry his girlfriend. These plans are complicated when Ellen's son, Ted, returns home from the army and falls in love with Nina. This takes him all of ten minutes, it seems; and when Ellen is murdered, seemingly by Nina, Ted refuses to believe it and seeks to clear the love of his life. Part of this vindication rests on Ted finding the papers and notes of the late Dr. Carruthers (shades of the diary of Dr. Frankenstein), which detail his experiments in electrically charged growth. Ted eventually finds the papers in the possession of the evil Dr. Morris, who is killed in a gunfight with the sheriff and Ted.

Now, here's the cheat: it turns out Dr. Carruthers was actually a good man whose experiments got a little out of hand. He wasn't a murderer after all! Obviously, anyone who saw the original, "The Devil Bat," surely knew he wasn't letting those giant bats out for air. Also, the locale has changed. The original was set near Chicago, while the sequel finds us in upstate New York. It seems the director, Frank Wisbar (who also produced), was given a title by the company and took only a cursory look at the original, preferring instead to concoct a psychological thriller, which were all the rage, especially after the success of Hitchcock's "Spellbound." We know our heroine is having one of her episodes when the film becomes unfocused and wavy.

I could forgive Wisbar everything if only he hadn't made such a dull film. PRC films depend on action; they hardly have time for character development, which a psychological thriller demands. In addition, one needs good actors to make us believe. That's far from the case her. LaPlanche's histrionics can only be deemed "passable" at best, and that is if one is being generous. Remember, this was not her first film. Michael Hale, as the evil Dr. Morris is so monotone, that the only thing we are sure he can cure is insomnia.

All in all, this is a film only for those die-hard psychotronic collectors. It's a shame the Mystery Science Theater crew didn't discover this one - our enjoyment would have been that much more.

At least the cover art is nice..........2004-03-30

Directed by Frank Wisbar, who also did the much better Strangler of the Swamp (1946), The Devil Bat's Daughter (1946) is supposed to be a sequel to the Bela Lugosi/PRC poverty row cheapie, Devil Bat (1940). And no, Lugosi does not make an appearance in this film...Rosemary La Planche (Miss America 1941) plays Nina MacCarron, daughter to Dr. Paul Carruthers, the character Lugosi played in the original movie. She's come to the small town where all the nasty business with her father occurred a few years ago, and is plagued with nightmares and fainting spells with regards to her father and his work with giant bats (go see the original for a full rundown on that story). After a fainting spell that results in a comatose state, Nina is taken to the police office, where a local doctor decides her malady is out of his league and calls on a new resident to the town, Dr. Clifton Morris (Michael Hale), a big city psychiatrist, to see if he can help. Nina is moved to a local hospital, and Dr. Morris is able to bring her out of her stupor, but visions of bats plague continue to plague her, causing her to flee the hospital to Dr. Morris' home. Despite Dr. Morris' objections, Mrs. Morris (Molly Lamont) talks him into letting Nina stay with them. I probably would have objected a bit more strenuously, as the thought of having some unknown nutcase staying in my house would really put me at unease, but Nina is a really hot babe, so I might be conflicted...anyway, Mrs. Morris' son, Ted Masters (John James) comes home after ending his military service, and shortly becomes smitten with his mother and stepfather's looney new houseguest. Gee, I didn't see that coming...Dr. Morris continues to try and help Nina deal with her reoccurring nightmares, but it soon becomes apparent that Dr. Morris has ulterior motives. Oh, I don't mean he has taken a romantic interest in her or anything like that, but he does turn out to be a fairly scheming cad, and his plans include discovering the location of her fathers lost research papers, containing advanced ideas that may have great commercial value.

The film evolves into a mystery as a couple of murders occur, and Nina becomes suspect, with the thinking that she may have inherited her father's homicidal instincts (you see, due to the nature of his work with bats and murders involved, some thought he was a vampire). There is no real mystery as to who the killer is, especially not with the limited number of characters available. As far as being a sequel to the previous PRC release, Devil Bat, The Devil Bat's Daughter has the only the most tenuous threads to connect it to its' predecessor. Nina's blurry dream sequences do show scenes from that film, but I am unsure how she could dream these things, as she wasn't in the original film to witness the events. Oh well...as the movie winds down, the predictability factor comes on strong, and no great surprises are had. Anyone expecting anything that made the Devil Bat worth watching to bleed into this movie will be sadly disappointed. I will say there is a story here, and it does follow through, even though it takes a number of liberties with the facts presented in the original movie.

The picture quality on this release is pretty rough at points, but watchable. The audio is very poor, with the music suffering noise distortion a number of times throughout. No special features here, but at least there are chapter stops. There seems to be some effort put into the movie, but the source material was just too lame to begin with, and, as I read on another review, this seems to have been more a vehicle for PRC to showcase the very attractive Rosemary La Planche than anything else, and I would tend to agree with that. Probably not worth the time, unless you've got a freaky completist compulsion like me. The most interesting thing of this release is the artwork on the box, which, is pretty nice.

Cookieman108

Is this a movie?.......2003-10-10

You watch something like "Devil Bat's Daughter' and you expect maybe a handheld bat puppet or some creature on visible wires--but in this bottom-of-the-barrel effort from PRC, there's nothing. No bat, no special effects, no nothing. You wonder what audiences back in the early 40s made of this zero horror film filler that definitely played the bottom of a double bill? The camera goes fuzzy when you're supposed to be terrified. It looks like the cast and crew had one small room in which to film. Nothing happens. I think the story line revolves around the heroine terrified that she might be a vampire. But--she never even suggests why she would think this since all she does is faint a lot. Rosemary LaPlanche as the bedeviled daughter is much better than expected and she conveys the sense that if given a chance, she coulda been a contendah! The only pluses you can give this penny-budgeted effort is for the title and for the art work on the box. Since I brought the DVD for $4.50 at BestBuy, I don't feel like I really lost anything--except 54 minutes to watch this grade-z cheapie.

Great PRC Cheapie........2002-10-25

A great PRC release from 1946. Fun to watch. The audio quality however is really bad, even for PRC movies.

Devil Bat's Daughter, fly away!.......2000-12-24

This atrocious Poverty Row "thriller" fails in so many departments, it is difficult to grant it even a single star, even for fans of Povert Row flicks like myself. Lets start with the rather dull direction of Frank Wisbar. His conventional direction and lack of pacing makes this film seem much longer than its short hour. The camera work, even on a modest budget, is uninspired. As for the script, one might ask "What script?". There is not a single moment in the picture where any semblance of a coherent story is noticed. The screenwriter obvious assumed not many folks would remember the "classic" DEVIL BAT well enough to culp the silly and maddening ending of this "sequel". Are we to suddenly believe the Bela Lugosi character commited NO crimes which we saw with our own eyes in DEVIL BAT?? Utter nonsense from start to finish. As for the technical aspects of this DVD, we are treated to a really poor source material. The opening credits looked and sounded so bad, I had hoped the rest of the film would have more to offer (or keep my attention). The soundtracks at times sounds so abrasive and worn, I was forced to turn down the noise. What does this DVD have going for it? Well, its hard for me to resist the charms of the late Rosemary LaPlanche (who unfortunately died in 1979 at an early age). LaPlanche was not a particularly gifted actress (that doesn't matter with THIS tripe), but her visual appeal was something to be reckoned with, even outside of the confines of Poverty Row filmmaking. I therefore give the abyssmal DEVIL BAT'S DAUGHTER one star for its true star Rosemary LaPlanche.

Horror Classics 07: Corpse Vanishes/The Devil Bat

Average customer rating:

"15 Frightful Horror Films ... Bela Lugosi ... Passport Video"
Two vintage Bela Lugosi classics
Corpse and a Bat
Lugosi's best Poverty Row films on one disc!
Bela never looked better!

Horror Classics 07: Corpse Vanishes/The Devil Bat
Starring: Bela Lugosi , Luana Walters , Tristram Coffin , Elizabeth Russell , and Minerva Urecal
Director: Wallace Fox , and Jean Yarbrough
Manufacturer: ROAN
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Similar Items:

The Human Monster/Mystery Liner:Horror Classics, Vol. 7
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Horror Classics 04: Ape/British Intelligence
Invisible Ghost
Horror Classics Vol. 2: Indestructible Man/The Amazing Transparent Man

ASIN: 6305636419
Release Date: 1999-10-26

Description

The Corpse Vanishes--Lorenz (Bela Lugosi) kills innocent women to keep his wife young by pumping their blood into her body. Perhaps the most horrific of Bela Lugosi's Monogram series, it is also the silliest in many ways, especially when the audience finds Bela sleeping in a coffin for no discernable reason. 1942 - USA - 64 min

The Devil Bat--Features Bela Lugosi as a chemist who plots an elaborate revenge scheme on his business partners, whom he feels have cheated him out of his share. To this end he creates giant mutant bats to kill rip them into shreds. 1941 - USA - 67 min - B&W

Customer Reviews:

"15 Frightful Horror Films ... Bela Lugosi ... Passport Video".......2006-10-15

Two vintage Bela Lugosi classics.......2005-05-22

The only thing worse than being left standing at the altar is having your bride fall over dead in the middle of the service. As The Corpse Vanishes opens, that is exactly what is happening; even worse, the bride's corpses keep getting stolen. The cops are baffled, but hard-nosed female reporter Pat Hunter is determined to solve the mystery and make a name for herself in journalism. She follows her leads to the home of Dr. Lorenz (Lugosi) and winds up having the most terrifying night of her life. Lorenz has a peculiar staff - a rather annoying older servant and her two sons, one a midget and the other a seemingly mute and obviously dim-witted stooped-over fellow. Strangest of all, though, is Lorenz's ill-tempered wife. Of course, the Countess has reason to complain because she is constantly fighting old age and death. Lorenz has come up with a way to maintain his wife's youth and beauty; the only catch is that it requires the regular extraction of a certain amount of the essence of life from young girls. Why blushing brides are the specimens of choice is never really made clear. In any event, Pat struggles to find a way to trap the good doctor and convince her boss that she is telling the truth about the things she has discovered.

Interestingly, there are some definite similarities between this 1942 film and 1931's Dracula: Lugosi plays an evil man who must steal the life essence from beautiful young women in order to hold mortality at bay; Lorenz secretly enters the rooms of his guests during the night and stares down at them with the look Lugosi is famous for; Lorenz and his wife sleep in coffins; and the dim-witted, eternally slump-backed assistant (called Angel of all things) can be compared with Dracula's Renfield. The plot is rather weak in spots, but I love the nostalgic campiness of it (and, apparently, the Mystery Science Theater 3000 gang did too). I would rank this movie among the better horror movies of that golden era of cinematic fright. Lugosi fans will surely want to have The Corpse Vanishes in their video libraries as it features one of his best performances.

The plot of Devil Bat doesn't sound that impressive, but Bela Lugosi's performance earns the movie five stars from this reviewer. Lugosi plays Dr. Carruthers, a doctor and scientist beloved by everyone in the village of Heathville; he is the last person anyone suspects when a series of strange murders take place. The first three victims are all sons of the rich and powerful Heath and Morgan families. These two families made their fortunes, it turns out, on one of Dr. Carruthers' formulas, and all the doctor got out of the deal was a measly ten thousand dollars compared to their millions. Ah, yes, we have a motive. Of course, these are no ordinary murders; they seem to have been made by some type of unknown wild animal. It couldn't be a bat, of course, because the killer was definitely a pretty large specimen. Carruthers' plan is hokey but brilliant. He still works for the cosmetics firm, and he has just come up with an experimental new aftershave formula. Naturally, he wants the Heaths and Morgans to try the product out themselves before marketing it - just a few drops spread across the neck, where the skin is always tender. He doesn't bother to tell his victims that bats really, really hate the smell of the formula's secret ingredient, nor does he mention the fact that he has figured out a way to use electrical stimulation to turn a normal bat into a Devil Bat. Everything is going according to plan until a nosy reporter shows up and starts snooping around.

Lugosi is great in this movie. By 1940, he had the whole mad scientist act down to a science, and his secret scowls are enhanced by just the right touch of madness in his eyes. Best of all is the way he tells his victims "Goodbye" in a sinister voice once he has them in the soon-to-be clutches of his Devil Bat. One thing that bothers me about great old horror movies like this is the fact the moviemakers always felt compelled to provide some comic relief in the form of a goofy character - this time around, we have the newspaper photographer "One Shot" McGuire who is more interested in shooting pictures of the Heath's French maid than any silly old bat. The Devil Bat itself isn't very impressive; without the grainy, far from perfect black and white print, I am sure it would look quite ridiculous. It never even moves when Carruthers is handling it, it looks more like a hawk or eagle to me when it is flying, and its swoop attacks on unsuspecting victims make me think of the scene in Naked Gun where Frank Drebbin struggles against a towel thrown in his face. None of that matters, though, because Lugosi is just so much fun to watch.

Corpse and a Bat.......2002-05-26

In the Devil Bat, Dr. Carruthers (played by Bela Lugosi) raises oversize bats that are enlarged by a special electrical machine. When the company he works for becomes rich because of the perfumes and colognes he has developed, he seeks revenge with these large bats that he has trained to "hate" a particular shaving cologne. His revenge is against his employer and family but a reporter puts together the bats and cologne and douses it on Carruthers. One of the last scenes is a giant bat going after Carruthers.

In The Corpse Vanishes, Dr. Lorenz (played by Bela Lugosi) keeps his wife young by kidnapping young females brides and extracting glandular fluid from them and then uses the fluid for his wife. He does this by kidnapping young brides, using a special orchid that puts them in suspended animation. He keeps the brides in an underground vault until their "fluids" run out.

The Devil Bat and The Corpse Vanishes are not Bela's best work but I think most Bela Lugosi fans will enjoy these two.

The quality of the pictures on the DVD are not crisp - but there are times where some of the old movies need a little less quality to give them their flair.

Lugosi's best Poverty Row films on one disc!.......2002-04-07

First of all, you know whether or not these are "your" type of movies. They're cheap, short and have Bela Lugosi just as his star was beginning to fade. THE CORPSE VANISHES is a typical Mongram 40's programmer, but Bela's really pretty good in it. The real attraction here is THE DEVIL BAT. An unexpected dose of humor is sprinkled throughout the macabre events. Lugosi is perfect as Dr. Carruthers, fiendlishly plotting deaths with his giant mutated bats. And surely no other film in history has used shaving lotion for such a sinister purpose! Naturally, one wishes for more supplemental materials. But the picture quality (and for the most part, the sound) is up to the usual Roan standard of excellence. There are several other povery row Lugosi films available from Roan (The Invisible Ghost, Bowery at Midnight, etc.) but if you only buy ONE, this is the one to get.

Bela never looked better!.......2000-08-17

I must admit, I was sweating bullets when I brought this DVD home, I was convinced that there would be something wrong with it, either bad audio, bad video or both. I have both of these films on the digitally remastered versions of the "Bela Lugosi Collection" VHS tapes whose manufacturers name escapes me at the moment. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the picture and sound. And after seeing this DVD, I think it looks even better than the tapes, as well it should! No extras though, I was never big into the "extras" anyway, besides you can't expect many with films like these, but I still love 'em! My hat is off to the Roan Group...I know they've released quite a number of these films on DVD that the bigger studios won't touch, and I've passed them up a number of times, until now. So take my word for it, If you've held off on this DVD waiting for some sucker to "jump in" and write a crappy review, I hate to disappoint you. This is a pleasant surprise. So come on in, Bela fans, the water's fine!

Average customer rating:

House on Haunted Hill/The Devil Bat
Starring: Price , and Lugosi
Manufacturer: Platinum Disc
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00008XEP0
Release Date: 2002-05-28

Average customer rating:

"15 Frightful Horror Films ... Bela Lugosi ... Passport Video"

White Zombie/The Devil Bat

Manufacturer: Diamond Ent. Corp.
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Customer Reviews:

"15 Frightful Horror Films ... Bela Lugosi ... Passport Video".......2006-10-16

Average customer rating:

"15 Frightful Horror Films ... Bela Lugosi ... Passport Video"

The Devil Bat

Manufacturer: Digiview Productions
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Horror | Genres | DVD | Video

Product Description

When Dr. Paul Carruthers develops a brilliant new fragrance for an aftershave maker, he is cheated out of his share of the profits. Now he is out to seek revenge. Using his science skills fo the ultimate evil, Dr. Carruthers plans to mutate bats into a giant killing army that attacks those wearing his specially concocted aftershave. Watch as those who wronged the Dr. are torn to shreds by the devil bats.

Customer Reviews:

"15 Frightful Horror Films ... Bela Lugosi ... Passport Video".......2006-10-15

Average customer rating:

The Devil Bat
Director: Jean Yarbrough
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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