How you feel about two things will basically determine whether you enjoy The Devil Bat or not. They are (1) Bela Lugosi, and (2) big stupid bat puppets. I happen to be a big fan of both, so found The Devil Bat quite enjoyable.
Lugoisi stars as Dr. Carruthers, a scientist developing chemicals for a cosmetics company (perfumes, lotions, and the like). Unbeknownst to his employers, he performs "weird, terrifying experiments in his hidden laboratory." The experiments are mostly bat-based. Through glandular manipulation via electric shock, he can make a bat as large as a giant bird! Not only that, but he's trained the giant bat to kill whatever is wearing a particular scent he has created. You see, Dr. Carruthers is very bitter that the owners of the company (the Heath family) have made millions off of his hard work - he was offered a percentage of the company early on, but took a cash payout instead. So he gets his revenge by getting members of the Heath family to try out his new "shaving lotion" - which happens to contain the deadly scent that drives the giant bat into a murderous frenzy.
After the first death, a reporter named Johnny Layton (Dave O'Brien) is sent to cover the crimes, along with his comedic sidekick, photographer "One-shot" McGuire (Donald Kerr). People are skeptical about eyewitness reports of a giant animal killing people, but then Layton sees the bat with his own eyes! Can Layton and One-shot figure out what's going on before more innocent people die?
The Devil Bat is one of those charming old horror flicks. Just check out Dr. Carruthers laboratory, complete with a giant bat on a hanger:
I loved all of the crazy equipment, and the fact that there is very little effort to cover up the fact that the bat is a stuffed... something. Carruthers just carries it around on a hanger, and it just hangs there totally motionless. Periodically, he'll talk to it, and they'll cut to some stock footage of a live bat that looks *nothing* like the stuffed bat. It's definitely cheesy, but if you're in a forgiving mood for that sort of thing, it works well. I was smiling throughout all of Carruthers' science scenes. Plus, the bat actually looks pretty badass in flight (like a giant hairy hang-glider) and screams like a maniac just before it attacks. It's pretty cool!
As you would expect, Lugosi is a highlight. He has some great facial expressions during his bat experiments, and ends a couple of scenes ominously - just after he's had an unsuspecting victim put on the lotion, the victim will say something along the lines of "have a good night, Dr. Carruthers." Then Lugosi will just get an evil smirk and say "Goodbye, Mr. Heath" - knowing that he's doomed... it's pretty great. Lugosi is pretty much in "fun villain" mode here - he doesn't resort to joking around or anything like that, but since he's so detached from the murders he doesn't seem too nefarious. He's just a treat to watch.
The other actors are pretty solid too. After seeing a few old films recently with some obnoxious/jokey leading men, I was glad that O'Brien plays the reporter Layton pretty much like a normal guy. He's definitely active as a character, but he's never grating. I actually sort of wanted him to succeed, which is a rarity for me when someone is going up against Lugosi. Of course, Layton is destined to be in a romance with the film's sole (non-maid) female character, Mary Heath (Suzanne Kaaren). She doesn't get much to do besides be in danger from the bat, but she's pretty good in her limited time.
The horror/scares certainly aren't there by today's standards, and I have to wonder if they even were by 1940s standards. I mean, a lot of the effects in The Devil Bat are really fake, and there doesn't seem to be much of a sense of tension anywhere in the film. You always know when and where the bat is going to attack, and once he does, you don't see it. It's just a scream, and then the bat is gone. It's not like the bat is inherently evil or anything, and he can be dispatched of rather easily. And as you would expect, there isn't any blood or any onscreen violence.
I was pretty impressed with the presentation of The Devil Bat on the 50 Tales of Terror budget set. It looked and sounded good (relatively speaking). It's one of the better transfers I've seen so far, especially considering the age of the film.
Overall, The Devil Bat was a really fun horror flick. It'll help if you're a Lugosi or Big stupid bat puppet fan (but why not both!), or at least have an affinity for cheesy flicks. But I think you'd have to be a real stick-in-the-mud to not find something to enjoy.
I would recommend this film.
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