I'll tell you why so serious

Fantastic!

Admirable film.

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

The gong-ing sound played over the opening credits was exactly the same as the one produced by an old clock in the attic of my house when I was just a kid, going back almost sixty years now. I discovered it on one of my forays upstairs and nearly jumped out of my shorts when I accidentally got it to chime. The room had pretty much the same old dark house atmosphere of the mansion in this movie, and with very little lighting, the thing just scared the bejeezus out of me. But eventually I got over it and managed to play it over and over again as the weeks went by. I had to quit though when I found out a gorilla lived up there, that was about the same time I saw "King Kong" for the first time.So this picture must have had it's fans back in the very early days of talking movies, and for that one can give it some credit. It doesn't take too long to realize that there might have been some inspiration here for the character of Batman in the comic book world, who made his debut in Detective Comics #27 in May of 1939. So that was almost a full decade later. Not only the character, but there was also that cool smokescreen effect produced by the getaway car right after the 'Bat' pulled off the bank heist. Add to that the various pulleys and ropes the Bat used in the story and you had a lot of early material being tested out here for the Caped Crusader to put into his repertoire.Story wise though, unless you're a patient sort and willing to watch just about anything (which I am), the picture can be a chore. The best thing going for it in my estimation was the great atmospherics - the dark corridors, the revolving fireplace and that makeshift laundry chute that got used a couple of times. It appears the film makers were going for comedy along with the horror/mystery element, and I couldn't help thinking that it would have passed muster if Laurel and Hardy might have shown up. But gee, most of the players wound up screeching or going into exaggerated hysterics whenever something ominous was about to happen, and for me that was something of a turn-off.And Chester Morris - man, his facial expressions were just hilarious. I guess I should have seen it coming but I didn't - when he revealed himself to be The Bat I thought it was just the dumbest thing. Here he's proclaiming "I've got the greatest brain that ever existed" while his foot's caught in a bear trap and he's wrapped in a chain by the unwitting action of some other characters. It occurred to me that all of this could have been avoided if Detective Anderson (Morris) simply didn't show up. As the Bat he pulled off the jewel heist and bank robbery, so why was he even at the Van Gorder mansion to investigate a jewel heist and bank robbery? But the best had to be the time Dr. Venrees (Gustav von Seyferrtitz) began wildly shooting at the presumed villain escaping up the stairs. With his first four shots fired, there were already more than a dozen bullet holes in the wall! It's enough to drive you batty.

Well for heaven's sake, who would have thought that once upon a time Una Merkel would have been considered leading lady material. Not for very long though as the next year, 1931, she played Ricardo Cortez's sexy secretary, Effie, in the original "The Maltese Falcon". She was a discovery of D.W. Griffith who thought she had a Lillian Gish look about her and she did extra work in "Way Down East" and "The White Rose". So when she went to United Artists in 1930 Griffith thought she would be ideal as Ann Rutledge for his "Abraham Lincoln" but it was on a Fox loan out that her brilliant comedy vein was found. In Roland West's talkie remake of his 1926 success "The Bat" she starred alongside "Mr. Versatile" Chester Morris who was already being noted for his anti-hero parts.West certainly tried to experiment with camera shots and sound (much like with his "Alibi" of the previous year) - from the panning shot from the top of the clock tower to the street below, there is a cacophony of noise - sirens, police radios, newsboys jeering at the police's inability to catch the Bat who has just claimed another victim. Most people would be familiar with the plot that centres around the Fleming residence where Miss Van Gorder and her petrified maid (Maude Eburne) pass an eventful night. First visitor is Van Gorder's niece, Dale (Merkel) who brings her boyfriend (William Bakewell), who is disguised as Bailey, a jobbing gardener - in reality he is on the run having been falsely accused of embezzling funds from the bank at which he is a teller. They are both convinced that the missing money is hidden in the house - but in this crazy place no one is who they appear, even the owner, Fleming, is out to find the money for himself and there is also a strange doctor (Gustav Von Seyffertitz) who seems to have a morbid fascination with matches.Keeping the whole movie ticking along is Chester Morris as the mesmerizing, handsome detective Anderson - you just can't take your eyes off him, even though he doesn't make his appearance until 30 minutes after the movie has started. This movie is just terrific fun and trumps the silent one by having a powerful actor in the leading role (Jack Pickford was the star in the original - he played Bailey!!). Bob Kane did get the idea for Batman from the 1926 movie which did have a clearly defined bat's head as a silhouette and also flashed the bat insignia up in the sky - whenever the Bat was about to strike again. "The Bat Whispers" had plenty of atmosphere and frights and the bat costume, when illuminated by shadows, filled the screen - but it was easy to see it was only a costume after all. And the ending was great!! Chester Morris actually comes on to the stage and chats with the audience, asking them not to divulge the ending to their friends!! For a stage trained actor he was a complete natural in front of the camera and you have to scratch your head and wonder why he didn't become a major star. Maybe he was just too good!!!

Bat Whispers, The (1930) 35mm version *** (out of 4) 65mm version ** (out of 4)The master criminal known as The Bat steals a necklace even though he warned police that he was going to do it. They believe he's taken shelter inside an old house, which is full of shocks and surprised for the Detective (Chester Morris) on the case. This film has a pretty strange history behind it since Roland was remaking his earlier film from 1926 and was shooting two different versions. The 35mm version is the one being reviewed it and for the most part I was shocked at how well made it was. What really shocked me is that a lot of these early sound films are quite horrid and hard to understand but that's not the case here as everyone from the director to the cast seem perfectly normal working with the sound. The actors really take off and know how to work their dialogue, which again is something I wasn't use to seeing in such a early sound film. The visual look of this film mixed in with the sound makes the film appear to be something made later in the decade and not at the start. The cast all turn in impressive performances starting with Morris who has become a favorite of mine over the past couple years. It took me a little while to warm up to his type of delivery but once I did I really enjoyed watching him and his style of comedy. Una Merkel is also very good as is Chance Ward and Richard Tucker. The film offers up a lot of comedy and for the most part it works including a scene where the two older women are being questioned and are asked how old they are. One tells and lie and this is one of the highlights of the film. Even before we get to the two versions of the film it's also important to note that the film offers up one of the first "dolly" shots with a special camera that was created just for this film, which allowed it to move 18-feet in the matter of seconds. There's also a sweeping camera shot that is way ahead of its time even though the miniature used is easy to spot. Some might find the story or settings full of clichés must one must remember that this is the film that influenced everything that would follow, which is saying quite a bit for director West as his 1926 film influenced all the future silent old dark house films. After the film we also get a quick "warning" from The Bat telling people not to spoil the movie for those who haven't seen it.The 65mm version features the exact same story and cast but of course it's shown in an early widescreen format and features all new shots by a different cinematographer. It's really amazing at how different these two versions are and I'd say the 65mm is more of a curiosity than anything else. I think the best film is the 35mm version for various reasons. For one, the widescreen process being used here really takes you out of the action in several ways as the camera is far back from the actors and this here kills several of the comedy sequences. It's also worth noting that apparently shooting this way was very expensive so they couldn't do countless takes, which might explain a few instances where lines are messed up but the actors keep going. This might also explain why the performances here are a lot more lacking than in the other version. It almost appears that the cast members are worried about messing up and this too effects their work and once again the comedy is what appears hurt the most. It's always interesting seeing these early attempts at widescreen but I think in this case it really hurt the movie. There just seems to be way too much going on trying to get this trick to work that both the director and cast aren't up in their game.

A tour-de-force of chases, shootouts, and robbery, as "The Bat" terrorizes a city, and particularly the renters of a mansion where he makes his hideout. Nearly everybody is a suspect, but the key lighting pretty much gives it away. Nonetheless, West keeps the pace moving so fast that we don't really have time to stop and think about much of anything. Features West's trademark effects with miniatures and wires. Some remarkable photography (in 65mm, no less) in the disappearing silent gothic tradition makes this movie a link from the newly emerging horror scene to the old "haunted house with criminals" genre into which it more properly falls. "Goofy gothic" excellence.