This was one of those mysteries that did too much to be mysterious. It was a mystery for all the wrong reasons--there were too many characters, it was too dark, and the criminal actors were moving too fast.
The mcguffin of the movie was a bag of money stolen from Oakdale Bank which was run by a Mr. Fleming. Every person of interest was gathered at Fleming's home where the money was hidden. With $500,000 on the property many thieves were sure to descend upon the Fleming home, amongst them was "The Bat," a famous thief.
No one knew who The Bat was. Was he Brook (William Bakewell), the bank clerk, Det. Anderson (Chester Morris), Dr. Veneers (Gustav von Seyfferitz), The Caretaker (Spencer Charters), Richard Fleming (Hugh Huntly), nephew to Mr. Fleming, or someone else? It was almost impossible to know and equally impossible to make sense of the different moves being made by the different characters who may have been The Bat. It seems heist/theft movies have always been full of too many twists and turns.
Free on YouTube.
The mcguffin of the movie was a bag of money stolen from Oakdale Bank which was run by a Mr. Fleming. Every person of interest was gathered at Fleming's home where the money was hidden. With $500,000 on the property many thieves were sure to descend upon the Fleming home, amongst them was "The Bat," a famous thief.
No one knew who The Bat was. Was he Brook (William Bakewell), the bank clerk, Det. Anderson (Chester Morris), Dr. Veneers (Gustav von Seyfferitz), The Caretaker (Spencer Charters), Richard Fleming (Hugh Huntly), nephew to Mr. Fleming, or someone else? It was almost impossible to know and equally impossible to make sense of the different moves being made by the different characters who may have been The Bat. It seems heist/theft movies have always been full of too many twists and turns.
Free on YouTube.