ALL SCI-FI

[Bud Brewster]

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[Also released as: "The Killer Bat"]

Mad scientist Bela Lugosi devises a diabolically clever way to murder people.

First he creates a monstrous bat-creature which can home in on the scent of a special chemical. Then he mixes the chemical with a seemingly harmless cologne -- which he offers as gifts to his intended victims.

This low-budget PRC studios production is a poor Universal horror copy, but if the viewer is prepared for the film's short-comings, it's enjoyable. The cast includes Dave O'Brien and Suzanne Kaaren. Directed by Jean Yarborough. And don't miss the sequel, which takes some outrageous liberties with the plot of the original.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Bud Brewster]

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Boy, have I got a deal for you guys!

Here's the full movie, preceded by a group of madcap late show hosts and hostesses, as well as a Max Fleischer Superman cartoon before the movie!

And no, they do not talk during the movie and make fun of it. Cool, eh?

I hope we'll be watching this package deal in All Sci-Fi's Friday Live Chat sometime soon!

_____MadNight Movies Presents THE DEVIL BAT


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Bud Brewster]

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IMDB has several interesting trivia items for this production.
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~ This low-budget thriller, boosted by Bela Lugosi, was one of the biggest successes for the poverty row Producers Releasing Corporation (PRC). After the war, the studio tried to recapture this success by producing an in-name-only sequel, Devil Bat's Daughter (1946), and a virtual shot-by-shot remake, The Flying Serpent (1946).

Note from me: Gee, it's bad enough that they promoted this bogus "sequel" with a misleading title, but then they didn't even bother to come up a new story?

~ Because it was produced by the "poverty row" studio PRC, which failed to renew its copyright, the film is now a public domain title. This explains why it is frequently run on late-night TV, and is available on home video from multiple distributors, often of very poor quality.

Note from me: In today's digital age, I guess the kind of picture quality degradation which occurred in the past won't occur as often — like poor 16mm copies being made of movies, and video copies-of-copies which grew steadily worse.

~ The phrase Devil Bat is said 29 times in the movie.

Note from me: The guy who sat around counting that phrase while watching this movie definitely needs to get out more . . .

~ This was the first, and most successful, horror film from Producers Releasing Corporation (PRC) after it was formed from the failed Producers Distrubuting Corporation (PDC).

Note from me: I wonder if the apparent lack of imagination demonstrated by naming their studio the "Producers Releasing Corporation" was partly responsible for it's eventual demise. Just a thought, guys . . .

~ Due to its box-office success, the film was given both a 1945 re-release (double-billed with Man Made Monster (1941)) and an in-name-only sequel (Devil Bat's Daughter (1946)).

Note from me: Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems like the time to make a sequel to a successful movie is soon after the original is released — not six year later and with a recycled plot!

~ Note the use of electrical apparatus manufactured by Hollywood legend, Kenneth Strickfaden, in THE DEVIL BAT (1940), but first seen in FRANKENSTEIN (1931) .

Note from me: Boy, that stuff showed up in so many movies it should have had its own theatrical agent. He'd look like a robot resembling the ones in the old serials. A robot promoter.

A promobot!
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Pow]

Trivia: Jean Yarbrough would direct a number of episodes for The Abbott & Costello Show TV series.

In addition, JY directed the Abbot & Costello movies Lost In Alaska (1952), Jack and the Beanstalk (1952), The Naughty Nineties (1945), Here Come the Coeds (1945), and In Society (1944).

[WadeVC]