Silent thriller (with comedic undertones) concerning a brazen thief (nicknamed "The Bat") who robs a bank then stalks the occupants of the vast mansion belonging to bank's deceased owner. A motley group of characters join forces in an attempt to solve the mysterious identity of "The Bat" and survive the night as suspicion and double-cross emerge to thicken the plot.
It's a fair dinkum mystery that held tight for me until the last frame, which is just what you want from such a motion picture. The acting is typical of the era, so too sets, make-up, cinematography and music, but all very appropriate. The supposedly "haunted" house is an elaborate group of sets, and the only element that I found a little tiresome was the repetitive site gags and stereotypical "dumb" characters ("Bloodhound" the boof-head private detective who's afraid of his own shadow, and "Lizzie" the jittery house-keeper constantly behaving like a circus clown, became irritating after more of the same).
Might seem a little laboured, but then the elements of the mystery seem to be necessary to tie together the intricate plot, so when the surprise ending does eventuate, it's very satisfying and all is forgiven. Don't miss the dialogue cards for some pearls like "that Jap butler gives me the willies". So wrong, and so right.
It's a fair dinkum mystery that held tight for me until the last frame, which is just what you want from such a motion picture. The acting is typical of the era, so too sets, make-up, cinematography and music, but all very appropriate. The supposedly "haunted" house is an elaborate group of sets, and the only element that I found a little tiresome was the repetitive site gags and stereotypical "dumb" characters ("Bloodhound" the boof-head private detective who's afraid of his own shadow, and "Lizzie" the jittery house-keeper constantly behaving like a circus clown, became irritating after more of the same).
Might seem a little laboured, but then the elements of the mystery seem to be necessary to tie together the intricate plot, so when the surprise ending does eventuate, it's very satisfying and all is forgiven. Don't miss the dialogue cards for some pearls like "that Jap butler gives me the willies". So wrong, and so right.