The vampire bat is one of the best examples of what those studios could do when jumping on a bandwagon without a budget. Rent the vampire bat 1933 starring fay wray and melvyn douglas on dvd and bluray. Theres a problem in the small town of kleinschloss. One of the best early 20th century horror films, the vampire bat is pure frightful fun. Lionel atwill, fay wray, melvyn douglas, dwight frye. I have been watching alot of horror movies from the 30s and i really didnt enjoy this one.
Discovering what sort of evil ghoul is at work is half the fun in watching this atmospheric little thriller. Movies like the vampire bat 1933 tainted 1998 full movie the return of dracula 1958 grave of the vampire 1972 full movie nosferatu the vampyre 1979 the door with seven locks 1940 bloodsuckers from outer space 1984 gigantis the fire monster 1959 lost boys. An interesting precode 1933 resurrection starring melvyn douglas and fay wray. I found it very creepy and the plot and characters reminded me of a 30s weird tales pulp magazine story, illustrated by virgil finlay.
There are many analogies in the stories, like the living growing tissue or the innocence of herman or the raged crowd. These varied in intensity but remained a frequent distraction. The vampire bat passed 1h 5min drama, horror, mystery 21 january 1933 usa when corpses drained of blood begin to show up in a european village, vampirism is suspected to be responsible. The main story is that people are dying in the town of klineschloss and it looks like a vampire is doing the killing. But i doubt there was ever a 71 minute cut of the film.
The vampire bat is an entertaining lowbudget horror movie from the 30s that is visibly inspired in the success of universal dracula and frankenstein in 1931. Because of this, he was able to borrow actors and sets. The vampire bat 1933 page 8 classic horror film board. Apr 25, 2005 the vampire bat 1933 the vampire bat 1933 paleoguy. It is not the only film to have a seemingly supernatural explanation vampires, but turns out to be a very mundance one. Lionel atwill, fay wray, melvyn douglas, dwight frye when the villagers of klineschloss start dying of blood loss, the town fathers suspect a resurgence of vampirism. This is a vampire movie, but not the kind you think. You see, a serial killer is on the loose, draining people of their blood, and superstitious townsfolk think a vampire is on the loose. With lionel atwill, fay wray, melvyn douglas, maude eburne. Mong, harrison greene, paul weigel, exposition in the vampire bat, 1933, also. Rent the vampire bat 1933 on dvd and bluray dvd netflix.
Vampire bat, the 1933 movie clip drained of their life. Paramount pictures, for example, indulged in some elaborate monster makeupsand precode scenes of torture in. Featurette on gregory hesselberg, son of melvyn douglas, audio. The vampire bat 1933 is an american horror movie starring lionel atwill, fay wray, melvyn douglas and dwight frye. I have been watching alot of horror movies from the.
When corpses drained of blood begin to show up in a european village, vampirism is suspected to be responsible. Then yank the rug out, revealing the film to be not only. The vampire bat 1933 posters the movie database tmdb. The vampire bat 1933 is a bmovie from majestic pictures that looks like an amovie.
The producer, phil goldstone, was an independently wealthy real estate tycoon with financial ties to the major studios. Vampire bats, species of the subfamily desmodontinae, are leafnosed bats found in the americas. The most interesting part is the character called herman. The vampire bat is a fun trip, getting by on looking okay and playing with enough conventions to still seem sprightly, even with wooden direction and some lame comic relief. The vampire bat 1933 fay wray drama, horror, mystery, full movie. It serves as a fascinating mix of every genre trope that had emerged in both the silent era and the early sound years. In doing so, the film shows some innovation of its own, resulting in an entertaining, if occasionally slipshod film. Often cited as the cream of the crop among independently produced chillers of the 1930s, the vampire bat does indeed pack a wallop. For the 2005 television film, see vampire bats film. The movie plays like a second rate universal horror movie and melvyn douglas plays his character like water down thin man. Perhaps no longer able to frighten a modern, socalled more sophisticated audience, frank strayers compact little horror treatise is nevertheless so well cast and produced with such elan as to consistently entertain.
Even for a movie from 1933, this image seemed problematic. The vampire bat 1933 tt0024727 when the villagers of klineschloss start dying of blood loss, the town fathers suspect a resurgence of vampirism. The vampire bat 1933 is a b movie from majestic pictures that looks like an a movie. Nevertheless the vampire bat is a horror quickie that honestly. The vampire bat ruse worked well for majestic, which was able to rush the quickie film into theaters less than a month before warners release of mystery of the wax museum. Melvyn douglas is the debonair flatfoot assigned to solve a series of vampire killings. While police inspector karl remains skeptical, scientist dr. I found the way the cast said jewgular vein kind of funny, and the intentional comedy, specially the scenes with fay old aunt, all worked for me. Cry of the werewolf 1944 film full movie classic horror duration. If we have listed it incorrectly then please let us know.
When the villagers of klineschloss start dying of blood loss, the town fathers suspect a resurgence of vampirism. The vampire bat 1933 fay wray drama, horror, mystery. Vampire bat, one of the best early chillers movie lover. Throughout the movie, i saw specks, scratches, blotches and other issues. With lionel atwill, fay wray, melvyn douglas, dwight frye. Buy the vampire bat movie posters from movie poster shop. When the villagers of kleinschloss start dying of blood loss, the town fathers suspect a resurgence of vampirism, but police inspector karl breettschneider remains skeptical. The vampire bat blood sucker forced to sin 1933 rotten.
The vampire bat is not scary at all by any sense of the word, it is actually pretty boring. Oct 27, 2016 toy with the crowd for awhile the same way 1933s the vampire bat did, keep tossing in the vampiric hints and ramping up the paranoia. A minor distraction is the overuse of comic relief supplied by maude eburne. Small, independent distributor majestic pictures known for their westerns and melodrama throughout the 1930s attempted to capitalize on the majorstudio horror boom of the early 1930s by creating this unusual hybrid film comprised of sets, props and actors borrowed from universal studios and warner bros. I merged this new thread about the vampire bat with an older one. A bloodthirsty mob hounds gleib to his death, but the. Nevertheless the vampire bat is a horror quickie that honestly earns its four stars. The vampire bat 1933 universal studios was the undisputed trendsetter in the horror movie cycle of the1930s, though most other studios tried their hand at the genre in the wake of thesuccess of such films as dracula 1931 and frankenstein1931. The vampire bat special edition the film detective. Poverty row studio majestic pictures hired fay wray and lionel atwill, and leased sets from universals frankenstein, for the vampire bat 1933, about the mysterious deaths of townspeople in. The vampire bat appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1. Were your movie poster source for new releases and vintage movie posters. The vampire bat is a 1933 scifi horror film starting fay wray the village of kleinschloss has run into a small problem.
The bandwagon in this particular case was the runaway success of universals horror movies dracula 1931 and frankenstein 1931 but not the mummy 1932, which was released a month after production on the vampire bat had. Movies like the vampire bat 1933 tainted 1998 full movie the return of dracula 1958 grave of the vampire 1972 full movie nosferatu the vampyre 1979 the door with seven locks 1940 bloodsuckers from outer space 1984 gigantis the. The producer, phil goldstone, was an independently wealthy real estate. Excellently acted and spookily atmospheric, the vampire bat is so especially superior for a poverty row film that a viewer would swear it was made by a major studio of the early 1930s anyone who has researched the movies history knows it was indeed filmed on. Laura demilio from pittsburgh, pa us january, 31, 2006. The vampire movies that arent really about bloodsuckers. Strayer and starring lionel atwill, fay wray, melvyn douglas, and dwight frye. The vampire bat movie posters from movie poster shop.
Its 60some minutes is probably what audiences saw in 1933. Toy with the crowd for awhile the same way 1933s the vampire bat did, keep tossing in the vampiric hints and ramping up the paranoia. According to the film daily january 10, 1933, the films running time was 63. Ok, guys, ive just watched the vampire bat, and i must say that i enjoyed it very much.
The first proper scene, policeman karl melvyn douglas, who doesnt believe in vampires at all, conferring with the burgomeister lionel belmore and crew william v. This movie is listed on as being public domain under the creative commons license. One major concern resulted from print flaws, as those abounded. The vampire bat 1933 is a bmovie from majestic pictures that looks like an a movie. The vampire bat is one hour and eleven minutes and was released in theaters on january 10, 1933. Directed by 1 writing credits 1 cast 17 produced by 2 cinematography by 1 film editing by 1 art direction by 1. Discovering what kind of evil ghoul is at work is half the fun in watching this atmospheric little thriller. According to the film daily january 10, 1933, the films running time was 63 minutes, like most extant prints. Take the case of the vampire bat, which borrows two of the stars of doctor x and mystery of the wax museum, but more importantly, it carries forward some of the themes and genre trappings of universals 1931 horror hits, dracula and frankenstein. Excellently acted and spookily atmospheric, the vampire bat is so especially superior for a poverty row film that a viewer would swear it was made by a major studio of the early 1930s anyone who has researched the movie s history knows it was indeed filmed on the universal lot. Policeman karl brettschneider melvyn douglas doubts the existence of vampires, but dr. With an atmosphere worthy of universals contemporaneous horror films, this slick little thriller finds mad doctor lionel atwill at work in a village where bodies are turning up mysteriously drained of blood. Their food source is blood, a dietary trait called hematophagy. All three films were immediate inspiration for the vampire bat 1933.
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