The Devil Bat

In Brief: The Devil Bat (1940) marks the only time that Bela Lugosi worked for PRC Pictures. Whether once was enough (Lugosi had worked, and would work, at worse places) or whether his deal with Sam Katzman over at Monogram precluded further films is unknown. PRC was the lowest of the "real" studios, but it had kind-of-passable production values — though those values didn’t extend to a believable giant bat. Lugosi is Dr. Paul Carruthers (never mind that his accent hardly suggests that name), whose “formoola” for a cold cream is the source for the immense wealth of the Heath Cosmetics Company. The film makes it clear that it’s his own damn fault for having insisted on a lump sum rather than a piece of the company, but he’s worked himself into a vengeance-crazed tizzy over it anyway. So he does what any reasonable person would. He creates giant bats that are drawn to kill anyone wearing a special aftershave of his own devising. (“Now rub it on the tender part of your throat.”) Wouldn’t you? Yeah, it’s pretty funny. I mean we’re talking about a movie with a hero (Dave O’Brien) who says, “It’s not so funny when it’s your jugular vein, is it?” At the same time, you’ve got Lugosi giving it his all as if he believes he can hold this nonsense together by the sheer force of his will. And, in some ways, he nearly does. PRC liked it enough that they immediately reworked the story for George Zucco in 1942's The Mad Monster, and then remade it outright with Zucco again as The Flying Serpent in 1946.