Movie review – “The Bat” (1926) ***

Enormously fun adaptation of an incredibly popular play. The plot is about a murderous thief called the Bat, who wears a rather odd bat disguise and kills people who get in the way of him pinching things. He goes to a mansion in the country where some guests are looking for some missing loot. In common with most old dark house mysteries there's lots of running around from room to room, shocks and deaths when people are cut off, plus a few twists (eg he's not a cop he's the killer, a person they think dead isn't) and a comic maid.

This is beautifully designed by William Cameron Menzies - massive, expressionistic sets with very high roofs and large staircases. It's also brisk directed and the acting is pretty good. And there's a bit where there's a bat signal - a light on the wall which has the reflection of the bat - an inspiration for Batman.