ReelBob: My Monster Mashes: ‘The Vampire Bat’

By Bob Bloom

After the success of Universal Pictures’ “Dracula” and “Frankenstein,” other major Hollywood studios realized they also could make money scaring people.

So, as is always the case, studios began playing follow the leader.
In early 1932, Paramount Pictures released “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” for which Fredric March won a best actor Academy Award.

MGM followed in November of that year with “The Mask of Fu Manchu,” borrowing Boris Karloff from Universal to play the title character.

Warner Bros. the most urban-centric of studios offered Lionel Atwill and Fay Wray in both “Doctor X” and “The Mystery of the Wax Museum” in 1932 and 1933, respectively.

Not only the major studios, but the small independent ones — the Poverty Row studios, which sold their movies on a states-rights basis, also began making horror-related titles.

Studios with names such as Invincible-Chesterfield, Monogram, Majestic, Tiffany and Reliable began churning out cheapie products with titles scarier than the movies.

But, some gems did rise above the rest.

In 1932, Halperin Productions produced “White Zombie” starring Bela Lugosi. And in order to capitalize on Lugosi’s Dracula persona, the movie utilized many close-ups of the actor’s eyes — just to remind people of his signature role.
“White Zombie” is available in a very nice Blu-ray restoration from VCI Entertainment.

The diamond among these releases, though, is “The Vampire Bat.” Releases in January 1933 by Majestic Pictures Corp., the movie reunites the Fred and Ginger of horror films — Lionel Atwill and Fay Wray.

The movie takes place in the Central European village of Kleinschloss, where a series of murders has the villagers frightened and the authorities baffled.

Atwill plays Dr. Otto von Neimann, the village doctor who also is a scientist conducting some strange experiments.

Among the townspeople is Herman Glieb, the village idiot, played with perfection by the legendary Dwight Frye. Herman, it seems loves bats, which makes him the prime suspect — and, as most viewers can readily observe — a big red herring.

The cast also includes Melvyn Douglas as Karl Brettschneider, the local police inspector, and Robert Frazer as Emil Borst, von Neimann’s assistant.

The movie, written by Edward T. Lowe and directed by Frank R. Strayer, moves along at a brisk 63 minutes.

A few comedy sequences — par for the course in such movies — tries to alleviate some the suspense, but serves more as a distraction.

With sets borrowed from Universal, the movie creates an aura of dread and mystery that keeps you on edge.

This is a Poverty Row feature that knows how to utilize its miniscule budget to the upmost.

Atwill’s performance is first-rate. Playing mad doctors and crazed killers was his specialty, doing so in such features as “Doctor X,” “Mystery of the Wax Museum,” “Ghost of Frankenstein,” “The Mad Doctor of Market Street,” “The Strange Case of Dr. Rx” and “Man Made Monster.”

Wray, of course, was the original scream queen — abusing her vocal cords most famously in “King Kong,” but also in her trio of early 1930s features with Atwill.

Because we are looking back 85 years at the film, it is obvious who is behind the killings. But it is most enjoyable to hear the culprit’s explanation for his misdeeds.

That, though, should not deter you from this atmospheric chiller.

“The Vampire Bat” is a movie you can cuddle up to view on Halloween without fear of being shocked — shivered, maybe, but not scared out of your wits.

The “Vampire Bat” is available on Blu-ray from The Film Detective and features a superb restoration by UCLA’s Film & Television Archive.

I am a member of the Indiana Film Journalists Association. My reviews appear at ReelBob (reelbob.com) and Rottentomatoes (www.rottentomatoes.com). I also review Blu-rays and DVDs. I can be reached by email at bobbloomjc@gmail.com or on Twitter @ReelBobBloom. Links to my reviews can be found on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn.