This film was thought to be lost for decades until it was re-discovered in the 70's. Which is a very good thing, seeing as this movie is a clear influence on the later character of Batman. What with the look of the central character and the fact that we even see a precursor to the famous Bat-Signal. There is also a highly stylised look to the buildings which looks not dis-similar to Gotham City. For these reasons alone, The Bat is worthy of a footnote in history at least. As a film in its own right, it works pretty well with some definite cinematic style in evidence at times. There is some inventive cinematography and lighting used to add atmosphere, while the character of The Bat is a great one and looks splendidly sinister throughout, not unlike the scary rabbit in Donnie Darko, which came out 75 years later.
While it is a mystery-thriller whodunnit, it is possibly even more an example of one of those sub-genres so popular back in its era, the old dark house movie. As such, we have a motley crew of character types assemble at a large mansion in the dead of night, where a series of dastardly goings-on occur. I can't say I really predicted the solution to the mystery either which was a bit of a bonus as well. Similar to many films of this genre and era, there are stock characters here, such as the comedy-relief scaredy cat, who in this instance was a middle-aged maid; there was also a bit of of-its-time racism in the form of the way the Japanese butler was presented. I would say that overall that this is one of the better old dark house movies I have seen. It is a lot better than most of the poverty row efforts which popped up in the early talkie years, as it has considerably more style and actual suspense as well. Definitely a lesser known item from the silent era that is well worth tracking down.
While it is a mystery-thriller whodunnit, it is possibly even more an example of one of those sub-genres so popular back in its era, the old dark house movie. As such, we have a motley crew of character types assemble at a large mansion in the dead of night, where a series of dastardly goings-on occur. I can't say I really predicted the solution to the mystery either which was a bit of a bonus as well. Similar to many films of this genre and era, there are stock characters here, such as the comedy-relief scaredy cat, who in this instance was a middle-aged maid; there was also a bit of of-its-time racism in the form of the way the Japanese butler was presented. I would say that overall that this is one of the better old dark house movies I have seen. It is a lot better than most of the poverty row efforts which popped up in the early talkie years, as it has considerably more style and actual suspense as well. Definitely a lesser known item from the silent era that is well worth tracking down.