The Vampire Bat
Directed by Frank R. Strayer
Written by Edward T. Lowe Jr.
1933/US
Majestic Pictures
IMDb page
Repeat viewing/Amazon Prime (free to members)
Karl Brettschneider: I don’t mind admitting that I’m up a tree. Stumped!
Despite it’s humble origins this B horror film works pretty well, if you are not looking for actual scares.
Several people have turned up dead – with puncture wounds in their throats and drained of their blood – in a Bavarian village. This has coincided with an infestation of bats and the villagers are convinced the murders ar the work of a vampire. The local detective (Melvyn Douglas) is not so sure. With Dwight Frye channeling Renfield as the village idiot; Fay Wray as the detective’s girl and Lionel Atwill as the local doctor who enjoys experimenting in his lab on the side.
Although this is a cheapo Majestic Pictures production, it has good production values due to its fine cast and the fact that the company rented the Frankenstein (1931) village set and The Old Dark House (1932) interior from Universal. Strangely enough Fay Wray does not scream once! Unfortunately, that is left to Maude Eburn, the comic relief hypochondriac aunt. I thought it was a pretty good way of spending an hour.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoLIt1y2SJA
