Customer Reviews

The Vampire Bat

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The Vampire Bat from Little known Majestic Pictures does a great job of capturing the look and feel of classic Universal Horrors of the 1930's. First it had a great cast featuring Lionel Atwill, Fay Wray, Melvyn Douglas, and Dwight Frye. Frye plays Herman, a simple-minded fellow who may even be crazier that the Renfield role he played in Dracula just two years earlier. Atwill, of course, was no stranger to Universal Horrors, having co-starred in The Son of Frankenstein, Ghost of Frankenstein, and Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, to name just a few. Also in the cast is Lionel Belmore as the Burgomeister. Belmore played the exact role in the Original 1931 Frankenstein. This may almost be the same village as in Frankenstein as well.

Several residents of Klineschloss have been killed. Drained of their blood with two puncture wounds in their necks. They immediately attribute the killings to a vampire. The police inspecter Karl Brettschneider (Douglas) doesn't believe in vampires though. And soon he sets his eyes on Herman Gleib as a suspect due to his affinity for bats. Frye gives one of his great performances in this film...creeping and skulking about, eyes wide in a maniacal grin. He really makes the movie for me.

Atwill is the town doctor, Dr. Otto von Niemann and he is assisted by Ruth Bertin (played by a dark haired Fay Wray) who is also in love with Karl. When Herman is killed, and the murders continue, karl now has to set his sights on a new suspect...a very surprising suspect.

In some ways the Vampire Bat is a bit of a combination of Dracula with Frye and the apparent attacks, and Frankenstein, as Von Niemann is seeking to create his own form of life. The fog shrouded, misty little German hamlet is straight out of Universal's horrors and the atmostphere is superb. The only thing that really didn't work for me was the sappy love plot between Wray and Douglas. Thankfully that was kept to a minimum.

All in all, Vampire Bat was a wonderful horror, well in the tradition of Universals classics.

In a small town in europe, people are dying. The blood is being drained from their bodies, and puncture wounds are found on the throat. The Burgermeister and his council are frantic. Is it the work of vampire bats flown in from south america? Or worse, could it be an actual vampire?? Lionel Atwill plays doctor Neiman, a seemingly benign scientist who just might have a dark side. Fay Wray (King Kong, Doctor X, The Most Dangerous Game) is his oblivious assistant. Dwight Frye (Frankenstein, Dracula) is Harold, the town crackpot and number one suspect. I love him in anything! THE VAMPIRE BAT is a lot of fun, and only about an hour long! Well worth owning...

The Vampire Bat (1933) is on one level a cheap way to pass the time. On another level, it's a classic in its own right, showcasing one of Dwight Frye's more intriguingly maniacal characters and a story that surpasses many for its time.

Set in a small village called Kleinschloss in Bavaria, the plot revolves around numerous murders that have been occurring. The unfortunate twist to these murders? Each victim is found blood-drained with the cliche bite marks on their neck. The superstitious town is petrified and insists that it is vampirism spreading this horror about. But investigator Karl Brettschneider (Melvyn Douglas) is skeptical. He would rather pursue the matter from a more scientific standpoint. Dr. Otto von Niemann (Lionel Atwill) is the town doctor, and is torn between the two sides, not sure what should be done. And then, of course, we have Herman Gleib (Dwight Frye). The unfortunate man who everyone's pointing their finger at. You see, the mentally handicapped Gleib has a fascination with bats. Couple that with his eccentric and at times creepy personality and the poor guy never had a chance. The townsfolk focus their fear on him -- eventually chasing down Herman, leading to his death. They drive a stake through his heart just to be sure. But wouldn't you know it, the killing continues. Faced with a mystery that threatens to go on and on if the true source of this depravity is not uncovered, the story then kicks into the next gear, ultimately winding down to its ending.

I bought The Vampire Bat DVD for really one reason: Dwight Frye. Most recognized for his portayal of Renfield in 1931's Dracula, he's been known by horror fans for his ability to bring insanity to the screen (even though in all actuality he was much more versatile in his acting ability). I was indeed impressed with his part in The Vampire Bat. Sure, his role could've been given a tiny bit more screen time, but for what it's worth, I'm left satisfied. Yet the real kicker was the surprise hit with the film in general. It's nowhere near a masterpiece, but it's definitely more than the average B flick to pop out of the 30s. I think anyone who enjoys that era of horror will certainly enjoy this.

The DVD, however, isn't anything to really write home about. The DVD edition I own (Studio: CiniVu, Production Company: Majestic Pictures Inc., DVD cover: orange movie title with Atwill's hypnotic face in gray) doesn't have very nice picture or sound, but one can only assume that because of the film's age just about every transfer will be this way. The menu is no more than the scene selection page and a "Play Feature" button. So I'd say when it comes to choosing which edition, just go for the cheapest. I've yet to hear of any DVD with extra features or a spectacular transfer. So, in other words, my four stars are for the film itself!

One of my favorite late-night fright flicks! There are already quite a few reviews here on the movie itself, which just about covers everything, so I just wanted to say a bit about DVD quality. There are quite a few out there & various discussions on which is the best. I am a 20-year movie collector and have gone through my share of the various different copies of DVDs of THE VAMPIRE BAT. The best overall copy out there in my opinion is the Alpha print. While many of Alpha's titles are hit-and-miss generally, as to videoo & audio quality, for THIS movie Alpha seems th be the way to go. Many versions are extremely scratchy & soft focus, or else actually missing bits of footage here & there. The Alpha print is the most complete out there and is of very good quality. The few other prints that may be of a slightly sharper picture (and I mean SLIGHLY), such as the recent copy included on the new, much-tauted TRAILERS FROM HELL DVD, have many of the "wipe" transitions between scenes omitted for some reason...scenes just jump from one into the next in abrupt jump cuts. There are also patches of extremely dirty footage (I don't mean pornographic!) that makes some scenes unwatchable for 20-30 seconds at a time. There are also several scenes where footage is missing (such as the scene near the beginning of Karl, Ruth, & Aunt Gussie in the lab leading to Lionel Atwill tending to Martha, the old apple woman).

The Alpha print is extremely clean, generally free of pops, dirt, & scratches, and has all footage intact. It is very slightly softer than the TRAILERS FROM HELL print & a few others, but all those seems to be either filled with scratchy areas and/or missing footage. So, in this collector's opinion, if you are looking for the best overall print of this film, go with the Alpha.

This is a good movie about a town who has experienced some suspicious deaths that make it look like the work of a vampire or is it something else? I liked this mystery movie and I really liked Dwight Frye as the mentally challanged Herman.

I first saw the movie The Vampire Bat on Turner Classic Movies and I think it's a good horror/mystery movie. The whole cast is good but I especially like Dwight Frye as the mentally challanged Harold, he is great and I highly recommend this movie!

This is a great old movie. It is black & white & made in 1933.

It starts out with people being killed in the small town & no one can figure out how they are dying.

I bought The Vampire Bat (1933) at Halloween City for 99 cents. I had heard of it before, but had never seen it. It's a B "horror" movie that's 64 minutes long and actually doesn't quite feel like a horror movie, but rather a mystery. It is loaded up with stars from that era, including Fay Wray (King Kong 1933, Mystery Of The Wax Museum 1933), Lionel Atwill (Mystery Of The Wax Museum 1933, Son Of Frankenstein 1939), Melvyn Douglas (Hud 1963, Being There 1979, The Changeling 1980), Dwight Frye, and Maude Eburne.

This movie starts out pretty spooky, but then gets extremely talky. Basically it's about a small town where the residents start dying of blood loss. Vampirism is suspected. A serial killer stalks. It's quite campy. That's how a lot of old films are.

Overall, it's an OK movie. It's not a must-have, but for fans of old movies maybe it is. It's black and white and standard full frame.

This movie begins much like other vampire movies from the 1930's. There are the stocks in trade of similar movies: much of the film takes place in a European village, Klineschloss, superstitious villagers run about muttering "vampire," much of the film takes place at night, a whacky character that looks like he could be Dracula's sidekick slinks about, and there are men of science preaching rationality. The only unusual feature is a more detailed than usual love story.

The most important attribute of any vampire movie is bodies without blood. You may check that item off on your list. We have bodies without blood; spooky! There must be a vampire running about, right? We see spooky bats in the trees. Oh my, there is a vampire somewhere!

Then there is Herman Gleib, played by Dwight Frye, whose version of Renfield in 1931's "Dracula" remains one of the best. Herman's character in this movie is much like Renfield, and is yet another indication of a vampire lurking about.

The most un-vampire-like part of this movie is the relationship between Karl Brettschneider (Melvyn Douglas, "The Old Dark House," which provided the interiors for this film, "Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House," "Hud" and "Hotel") and Ruth Bertin (Fay Wray, who also participated in another movie the same year that some movie fans may know about, "King Kong"). The relationship between these two gets the second most amount of screen time after the bodies and the vampire chasing. I found the romance a little distracting and wondered whether Ruth was going to be one of the vampire's victims; you will have to watch to learn whether she was or not.

I thought the vampire was going to be Dr. Otto von Niemann (Lionel Atwill, "Captain Blood," "The Gorilla," and "Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman"), or he was in league with the vampire. Dr. von Niemann has many of the mannerisms of a vampire, but once again, you will have to discover whether he is the vampire for yourself.

I am somewhat conflicted as to how to recommend this movie. This movie has lots of atmosphere, but little in the way of scare factor, and I thought the ending lacked teeth. If you are an ardent vampire movie fan, then you should probably have this movie for its intriguing take on vampire legends. If you are looking for a vampire movie in the tradition of "Dracula" or the Hammer films of the 50's and 60's, you should probably pass on this one. The bottom line: there are a few good reasons to have this movie in your collection, but almost as many reasons to not have this movie in your collection.

Good luck!

I got this to watch with my son, who is at the age when he is becoming enamoured of monsters and creepy stories, in addition to sci-fi. We both enjoyed it for the atmosphere - in a superstitious "Bavaria", yet with normal british dress clothes and accents. There are a seies of mysterious deaths, marked by two puncture wounds on the necks of victims. The villagers focus their fear and wrath on a retarded man (Dwight Frye), who seems to appear around the victims prior to their deaths and who openly loves bats as "warm like cats." Needless to say, the plot takes unexpected turns and is impossible to predict! The young Faye Wray is also a treat, just before she became a b-movie star in King Kong. There are pretty good characters, including her intrepid cop boyfriend, who erfuses to believe the vampire theory though begins to doubt his doubt. Then, there is the throbbing dirt-like thing - what happened to it?

Great viewing fun: this is the kind of film I watched as a kid late at night at sleepovers. Now I share it with my son, who avidly watches them with me. It doesn't get better than that!