MovieChat Forums > The Bat (1959) Discussion > Anyone else has thoughts on this movie.....

Anyone else has thoughts on this movie...?


I saw this movie about five, six years ago, and I loved it...I love Vincent Price's acting skills...

I liked the scenes where "The Bat" was in the mansion, and the people were trying to either hide or discover exactly where he was...it was interesting, and had a lot of action for an old movie...

Anyone else has thoughts on this movie? What do you think could've been improved?

"I can't watch my own movies. I fall asleep during my own movies."--Robert DeNiro

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Hi! I bought this and Devil Bat today for a $1. I'll watch it later on this week or next and comment on it. I think I saw it a few yrs back for Halloween.

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Yeah, I need to watch it again to comment on it better...

Tell me how the movie went...and if u don't like it, don't fret--it was only A DOLLAR! hehe...

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It was ok. Love Vincent Price. I actually watched this 2 yrs ago when the local tv would do a Mystery Science type show :O The ending was just cheesy. I give it a 6 out of 10

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I really like this movie because im a huge price fan. He is the man, the tingler holy crap, awsome film. house of wax. jeez, he is good in anything.

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I also have House on Haunted Hill. LOVE IT1

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Actually the 1926 version of The Bat was the inspiration for Batman.

I gotta tell you guys I love this movie, I've seen it since I was 2 years old, and I looooove it. They showed it on Turner Classic Movies last night and I was surprised even though I knew weeks ahead because as far back as I and my mother can remember, they have never shown The Bat on TV around here. They used to show House on Haunted Hill with Vincent Price on HBO and Sci-fi a few times, but I have never seen the Bat get advertisement on TV, that was a real shocker for me, it's like all of a sudden, all the great, ignored, underrated movies are finally getting the attention they deserve. Personally, I think that's great, it beats today's movies.

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I really enjoy this movie, but, to answer the original poster's question, the one thing they could have done to make it better would be to leave the freakin' mansion! Yeah, if a dude broke into my house two nights in a row, I might think he was comin' back. It was just a bit unbelieveable to me that they kept staying. But, like I said, I really like this movie. Just, some of the character's actions were unbelieveable.

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Haha, yes that would've made a lot of sense!! And I actually never thought of that myself!

But then again, running wouldn't have necessarily solved the problem because The Bat might've followed them, right?

"The unexamined life is not worth living," Socrates

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I love "The Bat." I think it's a brilliant film. I first watched this film on The Horror Channel. And I bought it on DVD. It was in a "Classic Horror" DVD Boxset.As usual Vincent Price is brilliant

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I'll add this. I didn't know who the Bat was until he was unmasked. The movie threw in a lot of red herrings and kept me guessing.

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The first time I saw the movie, I wasn't old enough to really be paying all that much attention to it, but my 76 year old neighbor got the guess right the first time she saw the movie last January. The thing I can't get is, when he's talking to the women "Let's face it ladies and get it over with, others have seen my face before they've died, but I'll have to deny you that pleasure", my mother says they should recognize his voice, but he doesn't really sound like he normally did. Anyone agree?

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"...my mother says they should recognize his voice, but he doesn't really sound like he normally did. Anyone agree?" -- novastar_6

I certainly didn't place the voice when I heard it. Like I said, the movie kept me guessing until the end.

I recently bought this on DVD and have only watched it once. I'll have to watch it again sometime to see if the killer's identity is more obvious knowing what I now know.

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I'm watching it right now, and as of yet, I LOVE IT! I dont know why, but i appeal to these type of movies.

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Always nice to know I'm not alone here. I really can't believe that more people don't know about this movie...more seem to know about House on Haunted Hill...I love that movie with Vincent Price too, but that one never scared me, THIS movie scared me when I was younger, House on Haunted Hill is a horror masterpiece by some standards and I DO love it, but it never scared me.

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Oddly,The Bat never scared me as kid but House on Haunted Hill did. I love both movies though! They always make my Halloween viewing list each year.

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Vincent Price was just excellent. In House of Haunted Hill as well. Glorious b&w.

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Totally agree, I think those two movies were his BEST.

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This is the perfect little movie to watch on a dark and stormy afternoon or night. I watched it again last night. It wasn't storming; it was warm so I had windows open, and just a tiny light on. Just my cats and me in the house...... when the tape ended and I started closing the windows, I did it really fast because it was pitch black outside and I couldn't see a thing. I was actually creeped out from watching the movie!

Agnes Moorhead and Vincent Price are so good in this, and I always enjoy the scenes between "Corny" and Lizzie.

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Thanks for all of your wonderful comments!! : )

Does anyone else want to comment on what they enjoyed about the movie, and/or what could've been improved?

"The unexamined life is not worth living," Socrates

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I thought this film was pretty tense and very entertaining. The Bat made for a real creepy and nifty villain. Vincent Price and Agnes Moorehead were both terrific in the leads. Lenita Lane was a real hoot as the excitable Lizzie Allen. I also loved Joseph Biroc's sharp black and white cinematography with its artful use of dissolves and vertical wipes. Moreover, the Bat's true identity was a genuine surprise.

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I have to say, having seen all three Bat movies, my favorite is Lenita Lane's Lizzie Allen because she was the brave one who wouldn't be scared out of the house. As a kid I always admired her character, more so I think than I did Cornelia's.

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Wow, thanks for your comment.

And you're right, it WAS a surprise!! That's what I love about the film!

Anyone else want to comment?

"It's gonna happen. All the people who change the world die in violence" 2Pac

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It was certainly a surprise to me the first time I saw it, granted I was 2 years old at the time...and at that age I didn't try to figure out who among the character was The Bat.

But a while back, my mother and I were watching it again and right before the Bat is shot, my mother said they should've recognzied his voice...but to me, it doesn't really sound like his regular voice.

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cool..to be honest, I don't remember the movie as well as I'd like. I haven't seen it in years! But I can agree that most people wouldn't have recognized his voice (I doubt I did)...

"It's gonna happen. All the people who change the world die in violence" 2Pac

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The first time I saw that movie I didn't even recognize Anderson when they unmasked him. I mean maybe it's me but I thought his face looked fatter at the end than it did before, but then again he stood for the whole movie but he was laying down when he was dead, so I guess that would have something to do with it.

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I don't remember that well to agree with you, but thanks for your input! I really appreciate it : )

"It's gonna happen. All the people who change the world die in violence" 2Pac

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Check your brain at the door and just have fun. I love this movie, plot flaws and all. This movie is like a dessert, no nutritional value, but a real treat....

Push the button, Max!

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Ha ha, I think I'll second that motion...it IS a treat, it's been my favorite movie since I was 3 years old and still I never get tired of it.

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I like your analogy!

"It's gonna happen. All the people who change the world die in violence" 2Pac

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"The Bat" was on Wolfman Mac's Chiller Drive in (shows B movies). EVen though I have the dvd, I had to stay up and watch it. It is more fun televised, knowing other people are watching it too...

Push the button, Max!

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Yes, I definitely enjoyed this movie while watching it for the first time on tv years ago. It was definitely comforting to know that others were watching it too. My younger brothers and I enjoyed watching it at that time, and they were only in elementary school! I just love classic movies!

Does anyone else want to comment on what you enjoyed about the movie, and/or what could've been improved???

"To hardly know someone is to know them well," Cary Grant, "The Philadelphia Story" 1940

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You took the words out of my mouth practically. I love this movie because yes, people die, but in the traditional 50's tradition they were not excessively bloody, though it always annoyed me we never really got to see Judy after her death, they really seemed to take a great length to avoid showing what he did to her throat and that always kind of bugged me even as a kid, because I wasn't sure if we were seeing anything or not.

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I knew I had seen the actor who played Lt. Anderson somewhere before, but it was a real surprise to find that he played Lord Byron in the prelude to BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN.

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I totally enjoyed this movie, this is the second time I seen it and intend on watching it many more times , Vincent Price is just a joy to watch, the movie is funny, and very interesting.
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