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The Bat Whispers

Play trailer Poster for The Bat Whispers 1930 1h 22m Mystery & Thriller Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
67% Tomatometer 12 Reviews 55% Popcornmeter 100+ Ratings
Infamous burglar "The Bat" commits a daring jewelry theft despite heavy police presence. Soon after, a bank theft occurs, which may be the work of the criminal as well. Meanwhile, Cornelia Van Gorder (Grayce Hampton) has various people arrive at her old mansion, including her niece, Dale (Una Merkel), a bank employee, and police detective Anderson (Chester Morris). When guests start turning up dead, Cornelia begins to suspect that The Bat may be lurking around the estate.

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The Bat Whispers

Critics Reviews

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TIME Magazine 10/19/2016
Size is the only new thing about The Bat Whispers. Go to Full Review Variety Staff Variety 07/07/2010
A good picture in the class division, for shivers and smiles. Go to Full Review Fred Camper Chicago Reader 04/05/2010
Culturally it may be most noteworthy for its title arch-criminal, who influenced the creation of Batman. Go to Full Review Matt Brunson Film Frenzy 08/20/2024
2.5/4
Where to begin when discussing The Bat Whispers, a motion picture whose relative obscurity today belies the fact that it had once been largely influential on a handful of fronts? Go to Full Review Alan Jones Radio Times 10/19/2016
3/5
[It] is by far the best movie adaptation of the stock spoof horror play set in a creepy mansion where masked menace lurks. It's also a superior mystery chiller in its own right. Go to Full Review TV Guide 10/19/2016
3/5
The sets are top-notch, presenting the proper eerie atmosphere. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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nick s @Nick_S Feb 17 Really good effort put into the opening sequences but then the movie started to fade. Some of the actors were good, some hard to watch. The movie ended up resembling a stage play with one dominating set. Cool to see the inspiration for batman, particularly the bat silhouette on the building walls. See more Steve D 02/26/2024 Historical but not remotely good. See more Lorenz L 08/16/2023 Probably the grandaddy of the Old Dark House genre, and it holds up amazingly well. The main attractions are the technical aspects: the long tracking shots (in 1930!), the use of the sets, camera angles, and most surprising of all: the aspect ratio. West made two versions of the film at the same time (same cast, same sets, different cinematographers). One is shot in Academy Aspect (1.33:1) in 35mm, but the second version was shot in 65mm with an aspect ratio of 2:1, making it the equivalent of today's widescreen aspect ratios. The use of the exaggerated horizontal screen makes for some thrilling camerawork and staging. Yeah, some of the performances are going to garner laughs as the film approaches its 100th birthday, but it is well worth watching for the introduction of so many innovations – many of which were not further explored or developed for decades – and a few good chuckles, and some real thrills, too! See more andy f 10/13/2019 A forgotten gem, The Bat Whispers is an innovative early talkie. With some breath taking camera work and a dazling script - this movie has scares, mystery, humour and adventure. Terrific stuff. See more 08/18/2015 In my opinion better than its predecessor and its 1950's remake starring Vincent price. Pretty fun movie. Just watch it, you'll have a good time. See more 03/30/2015 descent B movie suspenser and pre-code early talkie See more Read all reviews
The Bat Whispers

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Cast & Crew

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Roland West

Director

Chester Morris

Detective Anderson

Una Merkel

Dale Van Gorder

Maude Eburne

Lizzie Allen

Chance Ward

Police lieutenant

Richard Tucker

Mr. Bell

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The Bat Whispers

The Bat Whispers (1930) The Bat Whispers (1930) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Infamous burglar "The Bat" commits a daring jewelry theft despite heavy police presence. Soon after, a bank theft occurs, which may be the work of the criminal as well. Meanwhile, Cornelia Van Gorder (Grayce Hampton) has various people arrive at her old mansion, including her niece, Dale (Una Merkel), a bank employee, and police detective Anderson (Chester Morris). When guests start turning up dead, Cornelia begins to suspect that The Bat may be lurking around the estate.
Director
Roland West
Producer
Joseph M. Schenck
Screenwriter
Avery Hopwood, Mary Roberts Rinehart, Roland West
Distributor
Grapevine Video, United Artists
Production Co
United Artists
Genre
Mystery & Thriller, Comedy
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Nov 13, 1930, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
May 24, 2018
Runtime
1h 22m
Sound Mix
Mono
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