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Film: The Bat
Year: 1926
Director: Roland West
Writers: Julien Josephson and George Marion Jr.
Starring: George Beranger, Charles Herzinger and Emily Fitzroy
Review:
This was a film that I discovered when compiling my list for films released in 1926. While I was watching this, I realized that I had seen another version of this movie. It was released a few years later and called The Bat Whispers. It made me familiar with certain things, but I also couldn’t necessarily remember who was behind the crimes, as enough years had passed between the watches. This is a Centennial Club and Scouring through the Sixes watch as well.
Synopsis: a masked criminal who dresses like a giant bat terrorizes the guests at an old house rented by a mystery writer.
We start this in the apartment for Gideon Bell (George Beranger). The title card informs us that he loves jewels and he’s in possession of the Favre emeralds. Gideon is on edge because he received a letter from the thief known as the Bat. He is brazen and the letter states that even though the police have been alerted, they won’t stop him. The Bat strikes, killing this man and stealing the jewels. He’s chased but his headstart is enough to escape.
It then shifts to a bank that is outside of the city. It is the Oakdale Bank and we see the Bat on its roof. We learn that the president of this location is Courtleigh Fleming. He’s away in Colorado. In a coincidence, he passes away. He has a large mansion in the area that he rented out to a mystery writer, Cornelia Van Gorder (Emily Fitzroy). She’s staying in it with her maid, Lizzie Allen (Louise Fazenda). She has a nervous disposition. It doesn’t help that she believes she saw the Bat inside the house.
With the news of what happened to Courtleigh gets to his nephew, Richard (Arthur Housman). He has gambling debts so turning out Cornelia is one of his first things to do. Also joining them is Courtleigh’s doctor, Wells (Robert McKim). Cornelia’s niece, Miss Dale Odgen (Jewel Carmen) arrives at the house and she’s covering for Brooks Bailey (Jack Pickford). She has him interview to be the gardener. The truth is that he worked at the bank and he’s the prime suspect to have been behind the robbery. He believes that the Bat robbed it and hid the money in the manor.
Detective Moletti (Tullio Carminati) is called in to solve the case when the jewels were stolen. Cornelia also reached out to an agency who sent over Detective Anderson (Eddie Gribbon). Everyone converges on this mansion. It leads to murder and trying to unmask the Bat before it is too late.
That is where I’ll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I want to start is that I do love the concept of this criminal who dresses up as a bat to rob people. It is interesting that not too long after this, Bob Kane would create Batman, taking inspiration from the concept. That gives it an important place in cinema history for me. I’ll end this opening by saying that I’m not shocked to learn that it was based on a play. With how it is staged, that’s what it seems like, taking place in this old dark house.
Since this film is now 100 years old, it has ambition for what it does. The costume for the Bat looks cool. It has these large ears that are furry. I like that it sets the tone where I believe he kills Gideon in order to steal the emeralds. It creates these stakes that we know this villain means business. I believe there is at least one more murder as well, which makes sense with how many characters that we have. Seeing the lengths this criminal will go is a positive.
Something else that adds an element here are the characters. I surprisingly didn’t necessarily know everyone’s name, but I could recognize them which is a perk. I like Cornelia as this judgy woman who just wants to do her knitting. Lizzie is good as this jumpy maid who just wants to move back to the city. Richard is a jerk. He has his gambling debts that he is looking for anyway to pay off. Dr. Wells, Brooks, Dale, the detectives and Billy (Sôjin Kamiyama) who is the butler all work.
Then just other themes to bring up would include the duality of identity. I’ll say again that not everyone is who they seem to be. One of my favorite troupes from early cinema is the ‘Old Dark House’. I do like the illusion of security that comes with it. There are hidden passages and when you isolate people, nothing can protect you. There is paranoia that comes with that isolation. A big theme as well would be greed and the moral decay that comes with it. Finally, we also have logic vs. the supernatural. The latter needs to be disproved to solve the mystery.
That should be enough for the story so let’s then look at the acting. Beranger and his interactions with the Bat set the stage well. Then I’d say that Fitzroy, Fazenda, Housman, McKim, Pickford, Carmen, Kamiyama, Gribbon and Carminati all interact well. I love the distrust that everyone shares as they try to figure out who is our villain. Other than that, Herzinger and Lee Shumway round this out for what is needed. Something to include is that since this is a silent film, there is a tendency to overact. This is a bit more subdued than other films of the era, which I appreciate.
All that is left then will be the filmmaking aspects. I do think that the cinematography and framing were good for the era. Due to the technology, they are limited in what they can do. I do like the staging. It does make it feel like a stage play, but that adds charm. The ‘Old Dark House’ element is something that I love and it adds to the overall atmosphere. There isn’t much in the way of effects, but the look of the Bat was good. We did get early action shots, those worked. Last would be the music. I can’t confirm if this was the intended soundtrack, but it fit what they needed.
In conclusion, this stands as a fascinating and important piece of cinematic history, offering an early template for the "Old Dark House" mystery and the masked criminal archetype. Its ambition, particularly in the villain's striking costume and the escalating stakes, is evident even a century later. While clearly rooted in its stage play origins, this silent film utilizes its setting and cast dynamics effectively to build paranoia and distrust. The strong themes—from the duality of identity to the moral decay of greed—elevate it beyond a simple thriller. For fans of early cinema, mystery, or the historical roots of comic book culture, The Bat is a compelling watch that holds up surprisingly well, maintaining a subdued yet effective intensity throughout its runtime.
My Rating: 7 out of 10