The film has kicked around the public domain for the last decade or so, with the result that VHS prints of it were either excellent or hardly watchable. DVD versions in general have been clear, but this version beats the others and comes close to being a definitive version of the picture, if one is possible.

Released by the Lugosi estate, "The Devil Bat" is the first in a proposed series of definitve versions of Lugosi films. (The unjustly overlooked "Bowery at Midnight" is the second movie in this series.)Extras on this DVD include stills from the movie, a poster card (very well done), and a commentary track featuring Bela Junior and film historian Ted Newsom. The commentary track is a laugh in itself as the two quickly run out of things to say about the movie (in fact, one wonders if Bela Jr. even saw it before this)and switch topics to Bela Junior's memories of life with father. As he provides some unusual insight into the life of his father, the commentary track is a must for all Lugosi fans, and, combined with the price, makes for one of the biggest bargains for film fans.


You will do it! Or Dr.Shooveocker I will put a evil course upon you....   September 22, 2008
CLINT BRONSON (las vegas,NV.)
9 out of 9 found this review helpful

The Devil Bat is a great Bela outing. Of course its no DRACULA or MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE but its hard not to get a kick out of this grade Z P.R.C opus about a MAD DOCTOR who develops a breed of giant bat he attracts to his enemies with a special after-shave he advises users to rub"on the tender part of your neck." Loads of cheap fun,with cardboard sets and pathetic special effects;Bela seems to be having a ball and so should you! For those of you who love remakes and sequels(???)see The Flying Serpent and Devil Bat's Daughter


Brilliant Actor - Dull Movie   March 2, 2002
Psychedelic Cowboy (Burbank, CA United States)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful

All too often in his career Bela Lugosi was expected to carry a film all by himself with little or no help from other actors, the director, the script or special effects. The Devil Bat (1941) is such a movie. The sets are cheap, the script is hokey and the "devil bat" is laughably lame. And yet as he always does, Bela makes the movie entertaining. He plays one of his
many mad scientists -- this one a (believe it or not) perfume maker who was monetarily wronged by his partners, now millionaires. These ungrateful boobs rub this in a little too much and so Lugosi creates a giant bat (as perfume makers are so good at doing) that will strike at anyone wearing a certain scent. Predictably the mad doctor ends up wearing his own scent and is killed by the devil bat -- but not before he gets his revenge on several of these boring unknown actors who deserve to die. As expected, Lugosi makes the character sympathetic and yet also fearsome as he tells each of his victims, "goodbye" after they try on his new fragrance. This movie has some of the most hackneyed character acting you have ever seen -- and yet Bela never stops giving it all he's got to make this movie a success -- which is more than the movie deserves!

Still for the Bela Lugosi fan, this movie is pleasurable as you watch what one great and talented actor can do in one bad movie. One is left wondering how a Tom Cruise or Will Smith would fare in such a weak vehicle. But Bela -- ever the artist -- rises above it and gives a performance that can be enjoyed in spite of its trappings.

That's acting!


"Ah My Friend, Our Theory Of Glandular Stimulation Was Correct!"   February 18, 2007
Robert I. Hedges
6 out of 7 found this review helpful

"The Devil Bat" is a 1940 classic starring Bela Lugosi as (surprise!) a mad scientist up to no good. Lugosi, as Dr. Paul Carruthers, seems like a model citizen, but evil lurks. Lugosi is a cosmetics researcher (who obviously participates in animal testing) out for vengeance, as he feels betrayed by his employers over money issues. He contrives a nefarious plot to enlarge bats with electricity in conformance with his "theory of glandular stimulation" and simultaneously teaches the bats to target a new shaving lotion he developed especially for people wishing to have their jugulars bisected by giant chiroptera.

Bela is exonerated by the police, but two newspaper reporters look into matters more carefully resulting in a match between Bela and his creation to resolve the movie. Please note the voice of the newspaper editor, Joe McGinty, played by Arthur Q. Bryan. If you think you recognize the voice but can't quite place it you're probably right. He is most widely known as the voice of Elmer Fudd.

The bats themselves are typical of special effects from the era, i.e. big silly contraptions on strings. Although they look better than a lot of later films like "The Giant Claw," flying creatures are hard to get right with models and this is no exception, so some suspension of disbelief will be required. Overall, though, this is a very enjoyable old fashioned horror movie, and fans of the genre and particularly Lugosi will love it; to those people I highly recommend the film.


"Your brain is too feeble to conceive what I've accomplished in the realm of science."   April 13, 2006
cookieman108 (Inside the jar...)
5 out of 6 found this review helpful

Now the way I understand it after his successful turn in the film Dracula (1931), Bela Lugosi was offered the part as The Frankenstein Monster in the film Frankenstein (1931), but turned it down due to the fact the part featured no dialog, allowing for Boris Karloff to assume the role, which may have been for the best as when Lugosi did eventually portray the character in the film Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943), it really didn't come of all that well, at least not when compared to Karloff's performance...anyway, after a falling out with Universal, Lugosi ended up making a slew of films for some lesser known, low budget Poverty Row outfits like Monogram and PRC (which stood for Producers Releasing Corporation, but many within the industry dubbed it `Pretty Rotten Crap') with The Devil Bat (1940) probably being one of the most popular and successful releases (I always thought his 1942 feature Bowery at Midnight to also be a most worthy feature). Directed by Jean Yarbrough (She-Wolf of London, The Brute Man), the film stars, as I've mentioned, Bela Lugosi, along with Dave O'Brien (Spooks Run Wild) and Suzanne Kaaren (Phantom Ranger).

Lugosi plays Dr. Paul Carruthers, a scientist who works for a cosmetics company in a small town. Along with developing new fragrances and such, he's also involved in strange and secretive experiments including the embiggening of bats, but why? Well, I'll tell you...revenge...you see, a while back, Carruthers had sold his interest in the cosmetics firm for seemingly tidy sum, only to see the company rake in the dough afterwards due to the fruits of his labors, subsequently making his bosses incredibly rich. Now infused with a `sour grapes' attitude, he intends on using his giant flying rodent to get back at those who've benefited most from all his hard work, particularly the two families that run the company. Along with creating a giant, winged monstrosity, he's also developed a formula, in the guise of an experimental aftershave, one that he passes out to those he wishes to inflict grave, bodily harm upon, its scent intended to attract the bat to its victims...and it works! As Carruthers begins offing his targets, the town is gripped in terror (local authorities are baffled), drawing the attention of the press, particularly that of ace reporter Johnny Layton (O'Brien) and his comic sidekick photographer named 'One-Shot' McGuire, a misnomer, in my opinion, as I found his skills dubious at best (at least his skill with a camera...he did excel at flapping his gums and making time with a French maid, though)...anyway, as the bodies begin to pile up, Layton believes the aftershave to be the key, and presses on with his investigation (along with making time with Mary Heath, daughter of one of the cosmetic company owners, played by Kaaren), eventually becoming himself a target of the devil bat...

This feature's got everything, everything except a budget, that is...there's mystery (sort of), intrigue, silliness, giant bats, a secret laboratory, a mad scientist, a handsome and personable hero type, a comic sidekick (who I didn't want to throttle due to his incompetence and/or stupidity), and more...some of my favorite scenes included Lugosi's goggled character zapping the bat, embigging it to that of about a mid-sized dog, his inner monologue sequence where his motives are revealed, the scenes where he gets his intended victims to apply the `aftershave' under the guise of testing out a new product (love this line..."Now rub it on the tender part of your neck..."). Another great sequence occurs in the latter half of the film as Lugosi's character is meeting with one of the company executives and the guy goes on and on, unwittingly rubbing it in, about how Carruthers really missed the boat in terms of selling off his shares of the cosmetics firm just before the moola started rolling in, all while Carruthers sits seething in his chair. Other bits to watch for are when Lugosi's character serves up the aftershave to various individuals, always issuing a subtly ominous response as the person heads out into the night, towards their doom. Along with Lugosi, who seemed relatively unrestricted in terms of his performance, I thought Dave O'Brien did very well with his role, even threatening at times to upstage the old man. He presented a very sharp witted, on the ball type character with an intuitive sense that was able to roll with whatever situation arose along with sticking to the action. I also enjoyed the comic relief offered up by the photographer, played by character actor Donald Kerr, as it served well to keep the film buoyant but not so much as to be an annoyance. As far as the rest, they were pretty much just capable support for the film. The devil bat looked hokey (close up stock footage of a real bat head was used to prop up the fake bat), but the actors were able to compensate for this a little in their suitable reactions. One really odd aspect about the story to me was how little the remaining family members seemed to suffer after the continual losses as Carruthers and his winged fury picked off their victims, all of whom were members of the respective families. There seemed very little sense of mourning as the losses mounted, but perhaps their generally jovial attitudes were some sort of mechanism to deal with the pain...or else those killed had really large insurance policies...anyway, the film moves along well, eventually resulting in an exciting and satisfying conclusion.

It seems this feature may have fallen into the public domain as there's any number of DVD releases floating around, but the one I own is one authorized by the estate of Bela Lugosi and released by a company called Rph Productions, and I have to say, the quality is most excellent. The picture, presented in full screen aspect ratio, is very clean, exhibiting only very minor flaws due to aging, and the Dolby Digital mono audio comes through sharp. Extras include a feature length commentary with film historian Ted Newsom and Bela Lugosi Jr., a Devil Bat image archive gallery, a 5X7 movie poster reproduction insert, a radio drama presentation of `The Dr. Prescribed Death', featuring Bela Lugosi, and trailers for other Lugosi films including The Human Monster (1940) aka The Dark Eyes of London and Scared to Death (1947). All in all this is a thoughtful and well put together package, one definitely worth seeking out for fans.

Cookieman108

By the way, this film's worth getting if only to hear Bela Lugosi condemn another as a "bombastic ignoramus!". This film was followed up by a forgettable sequel called Devil Bat's Daughter (1946), one that did not include Lugosi.