Are Vampire Bats Killing People?

Majestic Pictures produceerde de film, die werd geregisseerd door Frank R. Strayer. Strayer gebruikt voornamelijk mis-en-scène om de sfeer voor de film. De film begint met een stad wachter loopt door de lamp verlichte straten. The watchman looks up in a tree, die wordt bewoond door vleermuizen. A scream is heard from a nearby street causing the bats to scatter.

Still uit The Vampire Bat (1933)

Strayer snijdt vervolgens naar het kantoor van Burgermeister Gustave Schoen, where town leaders are discussing the recent murders. Schoen, gespeeld door Lionel Belmore, reads from a 1643 town record about the hanging of a man convicted of vampirism. The record also states all bats were caught and killed. The Chief of Police dismisses the record and tells them strongly they are looking for a human being not a vampire or bat.

Still uit de Vampier (1933)

Het hoofd van de politie Karl Brettschnieder, played by Melvyn Douglas, wordt geholpen in zijn onderzoek door Dr. Otto Von Nieman, gespeeld door Lionel Atwill. Von Nieman does not know what to think about the murders but believes people can transform into strange apparitions due to evil or illness. Von Nieman assistent, Ruth, played by Fay Wray, is Karl's love interest. She would be King Kong’s love interest in the movie King Kong (1933) released in the same year as The Vampire Bat.

De stedelingen verdachte Herman Glieb, gespeeld door Dwight Frye. Glieb keeps the bats as pets but Brettschnieder doubts Herman could hurt anyone. Glieb reinforces this impression, when he runs away screaming after the latest victim is found.

Despite it’s status as a “B” film, Strayer’s use of mise-en-scene to recreate the atmosphere of Dracula (1931) en Frankenstein (1931) makes this film a classic 1930s horror film. The acting of Lionel Atwill also helped. De film loopt over 65 notulen.

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