The Bat Whispers (1930)

אויף נאוועמבער 13, 1930, ראָלאַנד V. West released The Bat Whispers (1930) (affiliate link), the talkie version of his silent classic, די באַט (1926). The film follows faithfully the script of the original. אָבער, West is able to experiment with film techniques like tracking shots, still a novelty in early sound cinema. Editing still dominated as the continuity and story moving technique.

אין דעם פילם, the master criminal “די באַט” has evaded the police’s attempt to arrest him. In his latest crime, “די באַט” murders and steals jewelry from an industrialist, while police officer sit in the next room.

מרס. Cornelia van Gorder, played by Grayce Hampton, has rented an isolated country manor, where the loot from a bank robbery may be hidden. The lure of stolen money brings “די באַט” to the country estate with the hope of finding it in the cavernous house.

מרס. van Gorder is joined by her niece, maid, caretaker and a group of other visitors. One of the visitors is Detective Anderson, played by Chester Morris, who intends to trap “די באַט”.

ראָלאַנד V. West, who directed this film, cast his close friend Chester Morris in most of his later films. Classic film fans probably remember Morris as “Boston Blackie” from the popular 1940s “ב” פילם סעריע. אָבער, Morris made several classic feature films with West including Alibi (1929) און Corsairs (1931). Both West and Morris (Best Actor) were nominated for Academy Awards at the 2nd Academy Awards in 1930 for their work on Alibi.

The Bat Whispers לויפט וועגן 85 מינוט. The end of the film contains a plea from Morris not to give away the ending of the film to film goers, who have not seen the film yet.

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