When the future artist of DC Comics' Batman, 15-year-old Bob Kane, went to see November 1930's "The Bat Whispers," he had no idea this movie would play a big role in his life. The future artist of Batman later attributed three influences that inspired him to design his comic book character the way he did: Douglas Fairbanks' portrayal of Zorro, Leonardo da Vinci's drawing of a flying machine with large bat-like wings, and the movie he saw as a teenager, "The Bat Whispers."
The United Artists film was taken from the 1920 play 'The Bat,' which in turn was adapted from the Mary Roberts Rinehart 1906 novel 'The Circular Staircase.' Roland West, director of "The Bat Whispers," was in the chair for the first Hollywood take of the play, the 1926 silent film "The Bat." In all the early versions from the play, 'the bat' is a criminal who robs the rich. Here, he invades a mansion just outside New York City to steal jewelry from the gathering of well-heeled folks. But instead of giving the stolen luxury goods to the poor like Robin Hood, he hoards his treasure.
Nearly the same set of characters appears in this 1930 update as in the 1926 predessessor. West, despite a more clunky camera than he used in his silent, creates some highly unusual visuals, kicking off right at the opening scene with a point of view shot from the bat's perspective as he flies from the top of a miniature city skyscraper down to the street. Even though a good amount of the production has a stagey feel, cinematographer Ray June inserts these flying motion sequences to showcase the protagonist's unusual mobility and stealthy behavior while commiting his acts. "The Bat Whispers" is the first in cinema where one of its characters steps out at the end of the movie to inform his viewers not to reveal the Bat's identity. The "batman" as a robber theme returned to Hollywood again in 1959 when Agnes Moorehead and Vincent Price starred in 1959's "The Bat."
"The Bat Whispers" was one of a handful of movies filmed in both 35mm as well as the widescreen 65mm format, known as Magnafilm. The studio felt the large screen image enhanced the visual experience of the viewers sitting in the theaters' seats. Playing in 18 cities, the wide image failed to generate a groundswell of enthusiasm. On a percentage basis, the standard version filled as many seats as did the widescreen. The disappointing results reflected theater owners' reluctance to spend money on larger screens and on new projectors during the Depression after they had outlayed a considerable amount of money to wire their places for sound. The timing for Magnafilm proved to be disastrous. Not until the 1950s when Hollywood, witnessing television's impact on their bottom line, decided to haul the wide screen format out of the mothballs and try it out once again, this time to a more receptive public.
The United Artists film was taken from the 1920 play 'The Bat,' which in turn was adapted from the Mary Roberts Rinehart 1906 novel 'The Circular Staircase.' Roland West, director of "The Bat Whispers," was in the chair for the first Hollywood take of the play, the 1926 silent film "The Bat." In all the early versions from the play, 'the bat' is a criminal who robs the rich. Here, he invades a mansion just outside New York City to steal jewelry from the gathering of well-heeled folks. But instead of giving the stolen luxury goods to the poor like Robin Hood, he hoards his treasure.
Nearly the same set of characters appears in this 1930 update as in the 1926 predessessor. West, despite a more clunky camera than he used in his silent, creates some highly unusual visuals, kicking off right at the opening scene with a point of view shot from the bat's perspective as he flies from the top of a miniature city skyscraper down to the street. Even though a good amount of the production has a stagey feel, cinematographer Ray June inserts these flying motion sequences to showcase the protagonist's unusual mobility and stealthy behavior while commiting his acts. "The Bat Whispers" is the first in cinema where one of its characters steps out at the end of the movie to inform his viewers not to reveal the Bat's identity. The "batman" as a robber theme returned to Hollywood again in 1959 when Agnes Moorehead and Vincent Price starred in 1959's "The Bat."
"The Bat Whispers" was one of a handful of movies filmed in both 35mm as well as the widescreen 65mm format, known as Magnafilm. The studio felt the large screen image enhanced the visual experience of the viewers sitting in the theaters' seats. Playing in 18 cities, the wide image failed to generate a groundswell of enthusiasm. On a percentage basis, the standard version filled as many seats as did the widescreen. The disappointing results reflected theater owners' reluctance to spend money on larger screens and on new projectors during the Depression after they had outlayed a considerable amount of money to wire their places for sound. The timing for Magnafilm proved to be disastrous. Not until the 1950s when Hollywood, witnessing television's impact on their bottom line, decided to haul the wide screen format out of the mothballs and try it out once again, this time to a more receptive public.