Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows FanStore News Showtimes

The Bat

Play trailer Poster for The Bat Released Aug 9, 1959 1h 20m Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
17% Tomatometer 6 Reviews 47% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
A killer called the Bat has claimed many lives in the small town inhabited by novelist Cornelia van Gorder (Agnes Moorehead) and her maid, Lizzie (Lenita Lane). As Cornelia implores Dr. Malcolm Wells (Vincent Price) to help her ailing maid, $1 million in the town's bank goes missing. With greed and fear reaching new heights, police Lt. Andy Anderson (Gavin Gordon) goes to Cornelia's house to investigate additional murders committed by the Bat.

Where to Watch

The Bat

Critics Reviews

View All (6) Critics Reviews
Jeffrey M. Anderson Combustible Celluloid The movie is extremely talky and stagy, and it has a flat, scrubbed look, evenly-lit and little use of shadows or contrast. Even though it's a murder story, it's pretty dull. Rated: 2/4 Nov 15, 2022 Full Review Matt Brunson Film Frenzy What it lacks in smart scripting it makes up for in smart casting. Rated: 2.5/4 Oct 30, 2022 Full Review Nicholas Bell IONCINEMA.com The Bat is generally a pleasurably mystery cheapie, though with a narrative that seems to cut corners and conveniently withhold information for its pat resolution. Rated: 2.5/5 Oct 14, 2020 Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews The stars chew the scenery and the supporting cast give limited performances. Rated: C+ Jan 22, 2006 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Rated: 3/5 Aug 14, 2005 Full Review Ken Hanke Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) Botched version of the famous play. Stick with 1926 and 1930 versions. Rated: 1/5 Aug 13, 2003 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (148) audience reviews
Blu B Pretty decent mystery with some good moments of moody and atmosphere. Agnes Moorehead isn't and probably the best thing in this. The villian isn't bad either. The acting is just alright though overall and the characters are what hold this back from being good. Most of the other actors save for Price are wooden and very forgettable. All the women end up blending in together and are extremely forgettable. Whenever it cuts to any scene with them it ends up just being very boring. The mysery itself is a interesting clever Scooby Doo/ Murder She Wrote type of setup. The setting is memorable and the direction an't bad but it can be very basic and doesn't really have much mood and it's not as sharp as a Hitchcock style one. Moorehead's character as a murder mystery writer also just feels very inconsequential besides an occasional plot convience here and there. If the characters were better and maybe some more consistent direction, this would be good. But unless your a hardcore Moorehead or Price fan, most could skip this. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 10/23/24 Full Review Audience Member Daring! Came out before I was born. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 06/11/24 Full Review Joel H I expected a bit more ghoulishness from The Bat. I enjoy Vincent Price movies as well as a good whodunnit, but this murder mystery falls flat. It is based on a stage play and it feels like a stage play. I think this plot may have played better in the theatre, though. The Bat's disguise would be a fun Halloween costume, but it didn't really strike fear into my heart. The dialogue is bland and mostly just filler. And while Agnes Moorehead is trying her best to seem authoritative and interesting, her leading lady performance is lacking. It's a shame, really. I was looking forward to watching this one. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 11/05/23 Full Review Monsol E A fun whodunnit. A faceless killer with a clawed hand and trained bats has caught wind of a stolen fortune hidden in a house, currently being rented by a mystery author...he decides to claim it for himself...but he's not the only one! Some of the cast was a bit stiff, but Price was delightful as always. I did guess The Bat's identity before the reveal, but it took a while. A good watch for classic mystery fans. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 10/13/23 Full Review deke p hokey goofy schlock. almost unwatchable. An old maids mystery. No 'horror' except guy called the Bat wearing clawed gloves. Saw it again, hopefully for the last time 2.11.22 Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member A thriller/mystery/suspense classic! Agnes Moorehead (Endora from Bewitched) gives one of her greatest performances in this film. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Bat

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW
North by Northwest 97% 94% North by Northwest Watchlist TRAILER for North by Northwest Tiger Bay 78% 83% Tiger Bay Watchlist The Night of the Hunter 93% 90% The Night of the Hunter Watchlist The Killer Is Loose 67% 40% The Killer Is Loose Watchlist Beyond a Reasonable Doubt 70% 57% Beyond a Reasonable Doubt Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis A killer called the Bat has claimed many lives in the small town inhabited by novelist Cornelia van Gorder (Agnes Moorehead) and her maid, Lizzie (Lenita Lane). As Cornelia implores Dr. Malcolm Wells (Vincent Price) to help her ailing maid, $1 million in the town's bank goes missing. With greed and fear reaching new heights, police Lt. Andy Anderson (Gavin Gordon) goes to Cornelia's house to investigate additional murders committed by the Bat.
Director
Crane Wilbur
Producer
C.J. Tevlin
Distributor
Allied Artists Pictures
Production Co
Liberty Pictures
Genre
Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Aug 9, 1959, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Feb 1, 2016
Runtime
1h 20m
Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.85:1)
Most Popular at Home Now