Product: The Devil Bat (1941)
Rating: 3.0
Poor Bela...But in Color
For relatively obvious reasons, "poor" and "Bela" are often paired. By the 1940s, Lugosi's career had slipped terribly, with very few exceptions. (SON OF FRANKENSTEIN, GHOST OF FRANKENSTEIN, ABBOTT & COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN are just a few highlights from the very late 30s through the end of the 40s.) DEVIL BAT was not a good movie. The premise is silly, the budget is minimal, the acting is worse. But as always, Bela threw himself into his roles, regardless of the surroundings. To take those mediocre movies and splash on some color (that looks an awful lot like old black and white photos that have been tinted) is a neat way of selling them anew. I know: I've bought several. Some work (like Laurel & Hardy's MARCH OF THE WOODEN SOLDIERS), some don't. This one, I would say, doesn't. But it's a chance to see Lugosi in action, and the print HAS been somewhat restored from some of those tired cheap-o reissues. So for that I give it three stars. Is it a good movie? Of course not. Does color help it? No. But is it still fun? Oh, yes!