When it comes to Halloween TV movie fests, nothing screams the season more than the films of horror great Vincent Price. Now one of the actor’s creepy late-night chestnuts is coming to special-edition Blu-ray and DVD, courtesy of Cinedigm and The Film Detective, the classic film restoration and streaming company. Watch for The Bat on October 25, the 1959 release beautifully restored from original 35mm archival elements and boasting a plethora of bonus features.
Written and directed by Crane Wilbur (He Walked by Night, Crime Wave), The Bat comes from the “old dark house” subgenre and follows a killer with steel claws who tears his victims to shreds. Price co-stars with Agnes Moorehead (Bewitched, Hush … Hush, Sweet Charlotte), Gavin Gordon (Murder by Invitation) and Darla Hood (of the Our Gang shorts), any of whom could be the nefarious murderer.
The Bat is presented at 1.85:1 and includes the kind of bonus features that Film Detective collectors love (didn’t you dig their recent 4K special edition transfer of 1957’s Monster from the Green Hell?). Among the highlights: nine archival radio re-broadcasts (presented in partnership with Retro Entertainment) featuring Price in everything from the popular radio drama Suspense to a comedic turn for CBS Radio Workshop in Speaking of Cinderella. The other extra features include a full-color booklet with essay, “The Case of the Forgotten Author,” by professor and film scholar Jason A. Ney; full-length commentary track by Ney; and an all-new Ballyhoo Motion Pictures production The Case for Crane Wilbur. The Bat will be available on Blu-ray ($29.95) and DVD ($19.95) on October 25, and fans can secure a copy now by pre-ordering at https://www.thefilmdetective.com/thebat.
