Hey there, Vincent Price! Fancy finding another of your movies I can put on this list!
I’m kidding! I already know I’d do this movie a long while ago because it’s one of the few of his starring roles I’ve - GASP - NEVER SEEN! Then I got about a quarter of the way in and realized I have the book it’s based on. It just had a different title. Hollywood, you tricked me [shakes fist].
Of course, I can also understand why this movie is in the public domain after watching. It’s . . . low budget to say the least.
Mystery author Cornelia Van Gorder (Agnes Moorehead) is staying in a secluded country house with her gossipy maid Lizzie which was rented from a relative of the local bank president. The problem - a local killer of women is on the loose known as the Bat and this is scaring off the help. Van Gorder is a logical woman who does not fear rumors and has a wonderfully dry sense of human. This comes in handy as, besides a murderer, the bank discovers that their president John Fleming (Harvey Stephens) embezzled a million dollars in securities and threatens his doctor/friend Malcolm Wells (oh - there’s Vincent Price) to fake Fleming’s death.
SPOILER ALERT - (although this is in the first 15 minutes of film)!
Instead of faking it, Wells just flat out murders Fleming and decides to look for the hidden million dollars. And where else would he hide it than in his old family home full which Van Gorder is currently renting. You see where this is going, right?
Lizzie worries that the ghost of Fleming will haunt the house, but worries more about the inconvenience it creates as “ghosts are allergic” to her. Van Gorder takes all of Lizzie’s comments with fun, sarcastic comments (seriously, Agnes Moorehead is quite good in this). Lizzie reads about how the Bat slashes women to death with steel claws and Van Gorder responds, “Well, that’s a charming little caper. I’ll have to try it some time.” Lizzie looks horrified and the author adds, “In a book!” There is another moment where Vincent Price asks about her aim with a pistol. Van Gorder tells him that there is a gun in every book she’s ever written and she never writes about anything she’s not familiar with. As I always say, never check an author’s browser history or library checkout list. You won’t like what you find.
However, this leaves you wondering if you’re watching a comedy or thriller. The part where Lizzie is bitten by a bat (played by some fur and wire) is silly not scary. As opposed to a scene where Dr. Wells is experimenting with rabies cures and is trying to get some bat saliva on a microscope slide. There’s a real bat there and he’s so little and cute and I was more anxious for that little guy on set then I was for all of the characters in the film.
As another man from the bank is put on trial for the embezzlement and Van Gorder plans to use her author insight to help prove his innocence, especially since the man’s wife and her friend are fans of her books. In exchange for helping with the investigation, she hires the man’s wife as her secretary so she can write everything down as a story. Love the multitasking!
From there, the usual murder mystery fodder ensues. Despite the Lt. of the police protecting them, murders happen and the mysterious pasts of Van Gorder’s butler and new housekeeper are revealed. I won’t give away who done it, but I’m sure the author made a better tale of it. The end of the movie is told from her point of view as she finishes the book.
I am going to point out that if you look for this movie, it’s easy find streaming. However, it might not be easy to watch. It’s in the public domain so any copy you find is painfully difficult to look at, especially if you own a giant HD TV. If you’re lucky, you’ll find a transfer like I did that just makes the B-movie look like a long episode of the “Twilight Zone”. Although, the sound went out of sync for about 10 minutes. That did not make the movie easier to watch.
