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HOME                       More Public Domain Horror Films                       ___ Vampire Bat (1933)  11" x 14" Masterprint Poster - Style A

The Vampire Bat (1933) Directed by Frank R. Streyer   The Vampire Bat is not your usual run-of-the-mill vampire film. There are, for instance, no howling wolves - the children of the night seem to have lost their singing voices. Nor is there a dusty old castle or any sign of coffins. There is a laboratory though, and when I watched the film it put me in mind - a little anyway - of Frankenstein's lab. I'm not going to give the game away by saying too much about the plot here. That would spoil it for you if you decide to download it and watch it yourself. In essence, though, the plot goes something like this: In the opening sequence an old guy hobbling along is hobbling along the dusky streets of Kleinschloss. He is carrying a lantern with him and leaning heavily on his stick. In a nearby tree some large bats are hanging from the branches and when the man looks up at them he sees something much larger than a bat crossing the rooftops. The old guy hobbles off as fast as he can and the camera zooms in on a lighted upper window just as a woman's scream rips through the night. Meanwhile the town fathers are engaged in a meeting and are discussing what they believe to be a resurgence of vampirism. There are 5 men sitting at the table and of those 5 only one man, the police inspector, Karl Brettschneider, seems sceptical of this idea. In fact, he seems to find the whole thought of vampires ridiculous. Whether Karl believes in vampires or not, though, people are dying in Kleinschloss, all of them drained of their blood. The worst thing about all of this that none of the villager's preventative measures seem to work. They lock their doors, close their windows and clasp crosses to their chests while they sleep, but, come the morning, they are still drained. While the police inspector searches for a rational explanation for the deaths, Scientist, Dr Otto von Niemann, examines the victims and soon-to-be-victims and seems to take the less than scientific view that a vampire might be responsible. Dr von Nieman's assistant is the more than lovely Ruth Bertin, played by Fay Wray, who fans of classic cinema might remember from the original King Kong movie. As well as being the Dr's assistant Ruth also spends a lot of time in the arms of Karl  and together they make rather and attractive on-screen couple. Of course, with so many unexplained deaths, the villagers need someone to point the finger at and it is the slightly dim-witted Herman Gleib that seems to be on the receiving end of the finger, partly perhaps because of his unnatural obsession with bats, which he keeps as pets. As is so often the case on the silver screen, things are not always quite as they might seem. Scroll down the page to watch or download the movie.      Cast  Lionel Atwill ...  Dr. Otto von Niemann  Fay Wray ...  Ruth Bertin   Melvyn Douglas ...  Karl Brettschneider  Maude Eburne ...  Aunt Gussie Schnappmann   George E. Stone ...  Kringen  Dwight Frye ...  Herman Gleib   Robert Frazer ...  Emil Borst  Rita Carlyle ...  Martha Mueller   Lionel Belmore ...  Burgermeister Gustave Schoen  William V. Mong ...  Sauer   Stella Adams ...  Georgiana  Harrison Greene ...  Weingarten   This text will be replaced ______________________________ Download .mp4 Download .avi ______________________________ Also available to buy from Amazon       HOME