The Vampire Bat

Frank R. Strayer's 1933 film features a bewildering mixture of horror, mystery and low comedy. The setting is a small German village where a series of murders have taken place involving vampire-type punctures on the neck and the draining of victims' blood. The superstitious villagers suspect that a local half-wit with a fondness for bats is the culprit, but the real villain is not that difficult to unmask. After all, when you have Lionel Atwill playing a mad scientist, it quickly becomes obvious that his laboratory is not being used for therapeutic research. The low-budget Majestic Pictures studio tried to give this production an A-list pedigree, bringing in Melvyn Douglas to play a police inspector investigating the case and Fay Wray as Atwill's lab assistant, while also recycling the elaborate sets from James Whale's Frankenstein and The Old Dark House. Unfortunately, the acting is often too broad, especially the over-the-top antics of Maude Eburne as Wray's outrageously hypochondriac aunt and Dwight Frye as the creepy simpleton accused of being the killer. Still, the visual quality of this digitally remastered and restored version is greatly superior to the shabby public domain prints that have circulated for years, and this edition includes the rarely seen segment in which the villagers' torches are boldly hand-colored in fiery hues. Extras include audio commentary by film historian Sam Sherman, and a featurette with Douglas's eldest son, Gregory Hesselberg. A strong optional purchase. (P. Hall)