The Devil Bat (1940)
Directed by Jean Yarbrough

Film Review

The Devil Bat marked the start of Bela Lugosi's decline as the actor failed to evade the curse of typecasting and became a sad parody of his former self.  Within a year of his appearance in the prestigious Lubitsch comedy Ninotchka (1939), the film that should have led to bigger and better things, Lugosi was working for a poverty row studio (Producers Releasing Corporation) on this low budget B-movie, one that would set the pattern for much of his remaining career.  The Devil Bat is by no means Lugosi's worst film, but it is a significant drop from the giddy heights of his former horror triumphs, which of course included Universal Pictures' iconic Dracula.  Once you start falling, it is hard to pick yourself up again, and few actors of Lugosi's standing would fall as low as this great icon of horror.

Without Lugosi's mesmeric presence, The Devil Bat would have little to commend it.  The script, direction and acting may all be above poverty row standard but none of these is good enough to make the film a classic by itself.  It is the ever-charismatic Lugosi who makes the film so weirdly memorable, looking creepier than ever in a pair of demonic goggles.  The horror content is next to none (the special effects are predictably risible) but, as the mad scientist masquerading as a saintly doctor (of just about every science under the sun), Lugosi is as spine-chilling as ever, and loving every minute of it.

With nothing remotely sympathetic in the supporting cast, it is Lugosi we side with right from the start - it helps that his character as a genuine grievance, although having his employers bitten to death by a giant bat he has knocked up in the firm's time does seem a tad unjust.  The plot may be bonkers, but Lugosi handles it with the utmost seriousness, a manic fervour creeping into his performance as he slips into mad scientist mode.  The Devil Bat is certainly not the most distinguished entry on Lugosi's CV but the actor acquits himself marvellously with another spellbinding portrayal, unaware that his glory days were fast slipping away from him.

Film Synopsis

For years Dr Paul Carruthers has been the most diligent of research scientists for a leading cosmetics company.  His creations have made his employers insanely wealthy, but he appears to be content with his modest stipend.  In truth, Carruthers nurtures an intense loathing for his employers and intends to exact the cruellest of revenges, with the help of a giant bat he has created in his laboratory.  An aftershave lotion he has devised will lure the bat to each of its intended victims, who will all die from a severed jugular.  At first, the plan works and Carruthers delights in the demise of three of his enemies.  But when a meddlesome journalist starts to put two and two together Carruthers finds another use for his hungry Devil Bat...