The Devil Bat

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The Devil Bat

1940

1h 9m

Horror

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

60%

Tomatometer

10 Reviews

33%

Popcornmeter

1,000+ Ratings

Dr. Paul Carruthers (Bela Lugosi) is frustrated because he thinks his employers, Mary Heath (Suzanne Kaaren) and Henry Morton (Guy Usher), have cheated him out of the company's profits. He decides to get revenge by altering bats to grow twice their normal size and training them to attack when they smell a perfume of his own making. He mixes the perfume into a lotion, which he offers as a gift to Mary and Henry. When they turn up dead, a newspaper reporter (Dave O'Brien) decides to investigate.

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

02/12/2023

2/4

If nothing else, the film does offer the enviable opportunity to hear Lugosi bellow to one of his inferiors, "Imbecile! Bombastic ignoramus!"

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Rosalie Kicks

MovieJawn

10/22/2018

3/4

With the assistance of his trusty bats Beyyyla sets out to take revenge on his megalomaniac corporate employer. Need I say more?

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John Beifuss

Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)

10/24/2013

3/4

In many of his movies, Bela Lugosi has bats in his belfry. But only in 'The Devil Bat' does he *really* have bats in his belfry, or at least in the secret chamber behind his hidden laboratory.

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Steve Crum

Video-Reviewmaster.com

03/08/2008

2/5

Horror fluff noted for Lugosi starring role.

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Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

09/29/2005

3/5

Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

10/11/2004

B

Rubbed me the right way.

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DanTheMan 2

@DanTheMan2150AD Aug 21

A charmingly camp and delightfully outlandish slice of Poverty Row horror, The Devil Bat can barely disguise how unintentionally comical it really is; there's just something likably antiquated about the whole affair, with everyone aside from Bela Lugosi talking in that sort of sing-songy transatlantic 40s speak; everyone is wearing a business suit while Lugosi seems just to be having a good time with his role of a mad scientist who is completely justified in his revenge! He elevates the material considerably, balancing quiet intelligence with simmering resentment; the rest of the cast of goofballs, including the fruitiest newspaper man of all time, don't compare to Lugosi's commanding screen presence. The Devil Bat is very watchable, never overstaying its welcome, delivering exactly what you'd expect from a vintage creature feature like this, be it eccentric science, memorable murders or an iconic horror star chewing the scenery.

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Tung S.

@tungtungtungisbest Jun 22

First I had low expectation for this movie because it had such a low budget but it was great the plot was great the acting was great the only nad thing about it was the bat was unrealistic will recommend.

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Rick G

@RT71174365 11/22/2024

Lugosi at his best in this low budget movie

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Liam D

@Mediawatcher2003 07/30/2024

Very dated by today standards but for an 1940s B horror film it’s fine and you could do a lot worst

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Prospero E

@RT91103852 11/01/2022

Is it campy? Yes. Are the effects dated? Yes. Do either of these factors detract from my enjoyment of this movie? Absolutely not! In fact, they just add to its charm. Bela Lugosi is incredible here as always.

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04/12/2015

not a bat Lugosi film.

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Jean Yarbrough

Director

Bela Lugosi

Dr. Paul Carruthers

Suzanne Kaaren

Mary Heath

Dave O'Brien

Johnny Layton

Guy Usher

Henry Morton

Yolande Donlan

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Synopsis

Dr. Paul Carruthers (Bela Lugosi) is frustrated because he thinks his employers, Mary Heath (Suzanne Kaaren) and Henry Morton (Guy Usher), have cheated him out of the company's profits. He decides to get revenge by altering bats to grow twice their normal size and training them to attack when they smell a perfume of his own making. He mixes the perfume into a lotion, which he offers as a gift to Mary and Henry. When they turn up dead, a newspaper reporter (Dave O'Brien) decides to investigate.

Director: Jean Yarbrough
Producer: Jack Gallagher
Screenwriter: John T. Neville
Distributor: Producers Releasing Corporation
Production Co: Producers Releasing Corp
Genre: Horror
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 13, 1940, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 28, 2011
Runtime: 1h 9m

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