The Vampire Bat

There have been a rash of killings in a German village. The victims have all been found drained of their blood. The villagers believe a local weirdo named Herman Gleib (Dwight Frye), who has an unnatural affinity for vampire bats, is responsible. However, as the story progresses, it looks like a scientist engaged in disturbing experiments might really be the culprit.

This is a good little vampire/mad scientist mash-up horror film from the early '30s. Helped by a cast of greats, including Frye, Lionel Atwill, Fay Wray, and Melvyn Douglas. Made by Poverty Row studio Majestic, it looks pretty good since they were able to use leftover Universal sets. Majestic rushed the film into production in order to release it before Mystery of the Wax Museum, Warner Bros' big hit starring Atwill & Wray.

I saw this for the first time recently. While this film hasnt aged well n it aint no classic but it shud be definitely viewed by fellas who love mystery films with elements of somnambulism, hypnotism, scientist, bats, vampires, etc.

The producers succeeded in making this film almost as good as any Universal Pictures horror film is because they leased the castoffs, the sets left over from Frankenstein and the The Old Dark House. They even succeeded in hiring actor Dwight Frye (Dwight Frye played Renfield in Dracula and as Fritz in Frankenstein and as a reporter in The Invisible Man). In this movie he gave the same act similar to Dracula, of that a lunatic.

Fellas from a small village start dying under mysterious circumstances n the local doc conclude that the deaths r all the same, blood loss, with two punctures in the neck caused by needle-sharp teeth. The villagers suspect of vampires, but the local cop remains skeptical. Fear of the vampire and suspicion of a local lunatic who is fond of bats quickly spread around the town and people start fearing him.

In the small village of Kleinshloss, the locals are scared with a serial killer that is draining the blood of his victims, and the Burgomaster Gustave Schoen (Lionel Belmore) is convinced that a vampire is responsible for the deaths. The skeptical police inspector Karl Brettschneider (Melvyn Douglas) is reluctant to accept the existence of vampires, but the local doctor Otto Von Newman (Lionel Atwill) shows literature about cases of vampirism inclusive in Amazon. When the apple street vendor Martha Mueller (Rita Carlisle) is murdered, the prime suspect becomes the slow Herman Gleib (Dwight Frye), a man with a mind of child that loves bats. The group of vigilantes chases Herman, while Dr. Von Newman's housemaid Georgiana (Stella Adams) is attacked by the killer.

"The Vampire Bat" is an entertaining low-budget horror movie from the 30's that is visibly inspired in the success of Universal "Dracula" and "Frankenstein" in 1931. There are many analogies in the stories, like the living growing tissue or the innocence of Herman or the raged crowd. The characters are not well developed, and I did not understand the relationship of Ruth Bertin and her annoying hypochondriac aunt Gussie Schnappmann with Dr. Otto Von Newman, or how the doctor hypnotizes or controls his assistant Emile. It is great to see Fay Wray acting in the same year of "Mystery of the Wax Museum" and "King Kong". My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "O Morcego Vampiro" ("The Vampire Bat")

"The Vampire Bat" starts out fabulously, with eerie images of large bats fluttering through the dark night and a very atmospheric portrayal of a petrified little town with its superstitious inhabitants under the spell of a serial killer who seemly drains all the blood out of his/her victims' bodies. The opening sequences of this film (the first 15 minutes or so) is pure vintage horror, with a suspenseful introduction to the story (extended speeches with a detailed description of the killer's modus operandi) and a great use of set pieces and interiors that already proved their effectiveness earlier (the same scenery was used in Universal classics, like "The Old Dark House" for example). Very regrettable, however, is that the story quickly becomes tedious and predictable and the only element left to admire near the end is the sublime acting by a multi-talented cast. In the remote town of Kleinschloss (very cool name, by the way), they keep on finding bodies with not a single drop of blood left in them. The scared and superstitious villagers are convinced that there's a vampire in their midst (it wouldn't be the first time, according to the history books) and the prime suspect is the village-idiot, Hermann, who shows a bizarre affection towards bats. The only straight-thinking authority figure is inspector Karl Brettschneider, but even he can't come up with a rational explanation for the murders. If you're somewhat familiar with the roles and careers of eminent horror actors in the 30's, you know who the real culprit is right away and – even if you're not – it's not hard to guess, since the clues are numberless. "The Vampire Bat" isn't a very efficient whodunit mystery, but it definitely remains a must for fans of classic horror films since it brings together names like Fay Wray (immortal for her role in "King Kong"), Lionel Atwill ("Mystery of the Wax Museum"), Melvyn Douglas (Polanski's "The Tenant") and Dwight Fry. This latter is my personal favorite cast member here, mainly because he's a very underrated actor who always stood in the shadows of more important horror veterans. His performance of Herman the nut is truly terrific.

I take issue with the other reviewer's comments for the simple reason that this is a MYSTERY FILM, not a supernatural one! It is not the only film to have a seemingly "supernatural" explanation ("vampires"), but turns out to be a very mundance one.

Other films that come to mind are Edgar Wallace's "Before Dawn" and the (more famous) "Mark of the Vampire".

The film does a WONDERFUL job in creating a very "spooky atmosphere", similar DRACULA, when Renfield meets the Count on the staircase of his castle, or in MARK OF THE VAMPIRE, when the two people look thru the windows of the castle ruins and see a "corpse" playing an organ, while Luna descends using wings! VERY surreal!

If one likes these (often silent) atmospheric touches, THIS film is a MUST!

Norm Vogel