A series of strange murders plagues the small European (who knows where exactly it lies) town of Kleinschloss. Since all victims are found bloodless with two small puncture marks on their necks, the superstitious townsfolk soon decide the murderer must be a vampire! Only the more urbane policeman Karl Brettschneider doubts the theory. Nevertheless he soon suspects mentally ill Herman Gleib of the deeds, the same man the villagers choose as their scapegoat. But to nobody's surprise the killings don't end with Gleib's death. Could the real killer be...a gorilla-less mad scientist?
The Vampire Bat is surprisingly classy. Sure, its script won't win prizes for originality, but it's well enough executed and expertly paced and the plot seems as logical as plots containing mad scientists get. Even the scientist's motives and plans make some kind of sense.
The mostly more than competent cast helps a lot, too. Dwight Frye and Lionel Atwill were of course already old hands with the kind of parts they play; Melvyn Douglas and (really charming) Fay Wray make one of the more likable "young hero & heroine" pairs of the Thirties and Forties.
If Frank R. Strayer's direction only would be a little more creative, we'd be looking at a real forgotten classic. Since he later directed snoozers like Condemned To Live I am not going to complain about him showing competence here, though.
Monday, May 12, 2008
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