I have to give credit here, the film makers of this movie did an excellent job of what they had back in the 40's. But then again, The Devil Bat was kind of cheesy and fake. I mean I enjoyed it hence the 7 rating I give it, but really, the bat looked to fake.The story is about an upset doctor, a company he works for is stealing his ideas and not paying him enough for them. So he feels cheated, and in an act of revenge he goes all mad scientists and creates a huge bat that is angered by a certain cologne. Using this cologne, the doctor targets the owners of the company and certain people that put on the cologne, his Frankenstein like bat then attacks the target, and kills them. I felt the story was alright, but it's one of those movies where the story seems to mashed together, to quickly written, it's as if the producers of the film wanted to just get it over with. I have to say the bat looked silly as it flew around attacking people, it didn't even look like a bat, just a flying puppet thing? Like I said the story was alright and it was enjoyable, I don't know any of the cast that was in it, but they did a good job. And in the end the Doctor I should say, get's a taste of his own medicine. An alright Horror movie, but could have been better. 7/10 for "The Devil Bat"

Entertaining Poverty Row cheapie starring Dracula himself, Bela Lugosi, as a scientist who uses mutated bats to get revenge on the people who have made fortunes off of his inventions. One of the all-time great "so bad it's good" movies. Laughable fake bats complete with cheesy stock footage close-ups that don't fool anybody. Bela hamming it up in that special way only he could. The sound effect used for the bat noise sounds like a woman screaming. A reporter and his sidekick are given carte blanche by the police to do anything they want, including pull guns on suspects. A significant part of the plot involves aftershave, which is just hilarious to me for some reason. Despite its poor production values, it's really a fun B movie. One of the best Bela did for the Poverty Row studios like PRC. I think whether one views it as a straightforward low budget horror movie from the time or as an unintended comedy, you should be able to get some kicks out of it. Only stuffy 'Sam the Eagle' types will not find something about The Devil Bat to enjoy.

PRC made this modest, often funny horror movie about a village doctor's revenge: Carruthers is a disgruntled scientist (as guessed by the policeman), turned insane, who feels robbed of his discoveries' benefits, through his own business mistake; the people he works for aren't spared, neither by himself, nor by the script. It results in an enjoyable movie. To the complainers: such movies were made to be humorous. In this one, there's no mystery, but the wish to see how many does Dr. Carruthers manage to kill, before he's caught. Moreover, the fact that the reporter understands the trick from the start is meant as funny, and as boosting the suspense.To a fan of cheap horror movies like this, Carruthers' laboratory looked well; he's a village doctor and also a chemist, working for a cosmetics company, the owners of which made a fortune on his behalf, while one of them pretends to even envy him for the joys he has working in his laboratory. 'The Devil Bat' is atmospheric, with a nice sense of the sets: Carruthers' laboratory (two rooms, one with glasses for chemicals and a drawer, the other with electric equipment; plus the attic), and the Heath estate's garden.We understand that Dr. Carruthers was indeed a bright scientist, who works almost unpaid in a village, for greedy employers who throw him tips once in a while, while the cretin professor gives radio lectures. And Lugosi does a good job in showing his character's anger.Lugosi conveyed well sadness, disillusionment, disappointment; we can understand why a man is upset, depressed, not only angered, when patronized by enriched jerks, while cretins are nationally-known professors. You can see why one is angered and upset by these things; if it's true the initial business mistake was his own, the insults he receives, the patronizing behaviors, the offending generosity of his bosses are real.There are several funny one-liners, more often Lugosi's, when he utters sardonic quips about his future victims, while offering them the deadly lotion.I liked the movie's sense of humor, with Carruthers' lines about Tibet, or with the clueless professor giving radio lectures, or the editor's reply about his reporter's many lies; then there's also the hoax with the bat made by the taxidermist, at the reporters' request. An early postmodernist self-awareness gives the episode of the bat made by the taxidermist, which is a wholesome joke about special effects, while the professor's sharpness in observing the label means the absurdity of the curmudgeons; the neat script derides the imbeciles' eagerness to detect the hoaxes, etc..'The Devil Bat' gives its lead the chance to play an insane scientist and have his own laboratory, and there's joy in filming that. Lugosi has some exquisite moments (as when he drives, followed by Guy Usher; or, at the beginning, when, in the loneliness of his home, he thinks about his bosses, the employers whom he enriched). The scene of Guy Usher's condescension's was good, making believable Carruthers' urge to murder him.The quirk was neat, and the deduction could of dragged; even Lugosi makes fun of the lucky guess of the reporter who associated the killings with the lotion. The script teases the audience with the detectives' sharpness: they guess quickly and easily that the lotion has to do with the murders, that the wrongdoer has to be a disgruntled person working for Heath (but the same policeman who guessed that refuses to believe Carruthers could be the disgruntled man …); so that, instead of playing off the silliness and obtuseness of its characters, the script takes the opposite, more surprising path: the reporter, even the professor, the 4th victim take the cues, and so does Dr. Carruthers himself, when he leaves his hat and returns to pick it from the desk, after he made an imprudence while angry.The body count is reasonably high, and one more sympathetic to Dr. Carruthers may feel relieved that the chemist got at least part of his revenge.Suzanne Kaaren, as the Heath daughter, makes a good impression, though not necessarily by her acting.

The Devil Bat (1940) *** (out of 4)Bela Lugosi plays a scientist who decides to get even against those he feels doubled crossed him. He creates a special cologne like substance that he gives to those he wants to target and then he unleashes a large bat that then attacks them. A newspaper man comes to cover the story and tries to find out who is behind the mysterious killings.Even after delivering a terrific performance in SON OF FRANKENSTEIN, the following year Lugosi was back at the budget companies where he made this film for PRC. THE DEVIL BAT certainly isn't a masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination but if you're a fan of Lugosi or B movies then there's certainly enough here to keep you entertained.I've always enjoyed watching these B movies from Lugosi because you could never tell from his performance that he was appearing in cheap material. In other words, no matter if he was at Universal or someplace like PRC, the actor still gave it his all and delivered a fun performance. He certainly goes over-the-top with his high energy but this just brings life to the picture and I really loved his approach here. I especially loved the way he would say goodbye to all of the victims. Outside of Lugosi's performance, the supporting cast is also good. Dave O'Brien and Guy Usher are entertaining as the reporter and his photographer. More fun comes from the bat attacks themselves. While it's obvious how they were done, the effects are still good enough to see why this film became a pretty good hit back when it was released. At just 68 minutes the movie certainly flies by and it contains a nice mix of horror and comic relief. THE DEVIL BAT isn't Oscar material but it's a fun little film.