Rating: 
Summary: a pretty rude devil bat
Review: The "Bad Props Co." was generous enough to donate all of its resources to this film...and that makes it great. In it, a giant bat terrorizes a small group of classy people. This bat is under the control of The Great Bela Lugosi. The Great and Generally Underused Bela Lugosi.
He makes the bat giant and sics it on people that carry handkerchiefs in their suit jackets. But it's not the handkerchiefs that the bat is after...that was just the time period having its effect. This bat is after a strong scent emitted by Bela's "new shaving lotion" he gives to people. This is a great film for all ages and all fans of props as main characters. I love it.
Rating:
Summary: Perhaps the Definitive Version of This Lugosi Classic
Review: Among horror fans, Lugosi fans, and fans of psychotronic films in general, "The Devil Bat" holds a special place. Made by poverty row studio PRC in 1940, the film is a wonderfully ridiculous chiller about a mad scientist (Lugosi, of course)who takes revenge on his double-crossers (no, not the producers of this movie) by enlarging a normal bat to gigantic proportions through electrical treatments and using a new shaving lotion he perfected as the bait to attract the bat to its victim. ...)...The film has kicked around the public domain for the last decade or so, with the result that VHS prints of it were either excellent or hardly watchable. DVD versions in general have been clear, but this version beats the others and comes close to being a definitive version of the picture, if one is possible. Released by the Lugosi estate, "The Devil Bat" is the first in a proposed series of definitve versions of Lugosi films. (The unjustly overlooked "Bowery at Midnight" is the second movie in this series.)Extras on this DVD include stills from the movie, a poster card (very well done), and a commentary track featuring Bela Junior and film historian Ted Newsom. The commentary track is a laugh in itself as the two quickly run out of things to say about the movie (in fact, one wonders if Bela Jr. even saw it before this)and switch topics to Bela Junior's memories of life with father. As he provides some unusual insight into the life of his father, the commentary track is a must for all Lugosi fans, and, combined with the price, makes for one of the biggest bargains for film fans.
Rating: 
Summary: A "Bat"tle to the death!
Review: Bitter scent-inventor Dr. Carruthers (Bela Lugosi) is betrayed by his employers when they became rich fat-cats thanks to perfumes and aftershaves he created. He extracts reeking revenge by growing giant bats in his lab and sending them out to kill his former employers. Ah, the sweet smell of success! (Some real-live fruit bats are shown in fuzzy close-ups, but mostly they are flying puppets that look sort of like kites.) This Golden Turkey classic was enough of a hit to spawn a sequel, The Devil Bat's Daughter (1946). The Devil Bat's Daughter is almost entirely unrelated to this film - in the flimsy follow-up, Rosemary La Planche plays Carruthers daughter, who is hypnotized into believing that she is possessed and being compelled to kill (no Lugosi or bats here).
Staci Layne Wilson
Author of Staci's Guide to Animal Movies
Rating:
Summary: Bela Goes Batty!
Review: Dr. Paul Carruthers (Bela Lugosi) is a scientist who invents new fragrances for a successful aftershave maker. His failure to invest in the company has left him without the millions he feels he deserves. Carruthers is a bitter man who has sworn revenge. How? Does he plan to sue for his fair share of the profits? Nah, the sinister doc creates a small army of giant, mutant, killer bats to exact his vengeance! These fuzzy monsters are attracted by a new aftershave lotion he's formulated in his secret laboratory. He gets his intended targets to splash some on their faces. One by one, the victims are attacked, their throats ripped out by soaring, shrieking, stuffed devil bats! Bela is priceless as always. This movie belongs in every horror collection...
Rating:
Summary: FANTASTIC NEW SERIES
Review: Finally a series of Lugosi films put out by the Bela Lugosi Estate. With commentary from Bela Jr and Ted Newsom, a crystal clear stills, lobby card and poster section from the Borst Archive. Perfectly designed and animated motion menus. Also added are some bonus trailers and a complete radio program. This is THE version to buy, quality is SUPERIOR!!!
Rating:
Summary: THE povery-row Lugosi film
Review: Here's a nice treat: Bela Lugosi Jr. has acquired to rights to some of his famous father's lesser films, and the first offering is the lovable, laughable PRC programmer THE DEVIL BAT. Bela is Dr. Carruthers, plotting the death of his enemies by training giant mutated bats to attack those who wear the doc's new experimental shaving lotion. Bela has some great, darkly-comic dialogue. When one intended victim comments on how smooth the new lotion is, Carruthers offers, "I don't think you'll ever wear anything else." THE DEVIL BAT has, of course, been previously available on DVD and VHS, in various conditions. The best previous DVD release is certainly the one offered by Roan. This new "official" version compares favorably to the Roan disc, though acute listeners might find the sound is a touch clearer on this new disc. Bela Lugosi Jr. partners with genre critic Ted Newsom for an interesting commentary track, which unfortunately shows how little Bela Jr. actually knows about the film. There are 2 other Lugosi theatrical trailers (but not one for Devil Bat?), some archival photos and a pretty neat audio-only feature: A radio play from the 1940's starring Bela. If you're a fan of these type of "poverty row" horrors, DEVIL BAT will certainly make your day. If you're a fan of his more popular Universal features, this is a good introduction to a very different career path that poor ol' Bela got stuck on around 1940.
Rating:
Summary: Break out the shaving lotion!
Review: Ok, it may not be the best classic but i still think that it's one of Bela Lugosi's better films. I like this one more than many of his films. This movie stands out as a good low budget film with Bela in great form. If you are a Bela fan, this one has to be in your collection! As for the so called sequel to The Devil Bat being "Devil Bats Daughter" it in my opinion is not very good but this movie The Devil Bat is one worth watching . If you haven't been exposed to Lugosi, then get it and just enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Just a few drops on the neck, where the skin is tender
Review: OK. The plot of Devil Bat doesn't sound that impressive, but Bela Lugosi's performance earns the movie five stars from this reviewer. Lugosi plays Dr. Carruthers, a doctor and scientist beloved by everyone in the village of Heathville; he is the last person anyone suspects when a series of strange murders take place. The first three victims are all sons of the rich and powerful Heath and Morgan families. These two families made their fortunes, it turns out, on one of Dr. Carruthers' formulas, and all the doctor got out of the deal was a measly ten thousand dollars compared to their millions. Ah, yes, we have a motive. Of course, these are no ordinary murders; they seem to have been made by some type of unknown wild animal. It couldn't be a bat, of course, because the killer was definitely a pretty large specimen. Carruthers' plan is hokey but brilliant. He still works for the cosmetics firm, and he has just come up with an experimental new aftershave formula. Naturally, he wants the Heaths and Morgans to try the product out themselves before marketing it-just a few drops spread across the neck, where the skin is always tender. He doesn't bother to tell his victims that bats really, really hate the smell of the formula's secret ingredient, nor does he mention the fact that he has figured out a way to use electrical stimulation to turn a normal bat into a Devil Bat. Everything is going according to plan until a nosy reporter shows up and starts snooping around. Lugosi is great in this movie. By 1940, he had the whole mad scientist act down to a science, and his secret scowls are enhanced by just the right touch of madness in his eyes. Best of all is the way he tells his victims "Goodbye" in a sinister voice once he has them in the soon-to-be clutches of his Devil Bat. One thing that bothers me about great old horror movies like this is the fact the moviemakers always felt compelled to provide some comic relief in the form of a goofy character-this time around, we have the newspaper photographer "One Shot" McGuire who is more interested in shooting pictures of the Heath's French maid than any silly old bat. The Devil Bat itself isn't very impressive; without the grainy, far from perfect black and white print, I am sure it would look quite ridiculous. It never even moves when Carruthers is handling it, it looks more like a hawk or eagle to me when it is flying, and its swoop attacks on unsuspecting victims make me think of the scene in Naked Gun where Frank Drebbin struggles against a towel thrown in his face. None of that matters, though, because Lugosi is just so much fun to watch.
Rating: 
Summary: Lugosi is pretty much the whole show
Review: The Devil Bat is clearly a Poverty Row movie with its minimal sets and fairly derisory visual effcts but it remains worth watching if only to see an icon like Lugosi struggling to transmute base metal into gold and to carry some less than adequate supporting players in the process
He plays a scientist working for a cosmetics company whose family members have grown rich on the perfumes and unguents he created .He is embittered and sets out to wreak revenge by breeding a giant bat and training it to attack when smelling his latest prototype aftershave lotion a concotion he is at pains to ensure is worn by the family members he seeks to kill.Ranged against him are an intrepid reporter and that worthy's cameraman -the latter seving as comic relief of the notably irritating type
Sympathy is undercut by the fact that the Lugosi figure is largely responsible for his own situation having settled for a flat fee rather than accept an offer of a partnership and is treated well by the family who donot deserve to be slaughters in this cavalier manner
An interesing curiosity and one for Lugosi completists ,this is enjoyable in its way but is by no stretch of the imagination a good movie
Rating:
Summary: It's good cheese!
Review: This is a bad movie, but it's good-bad, and a lot of fun. If you enjoy poverty-row horror flicks or are a big Lugosi fan, this is for you. The basic plot: Bela Lugosi plays a mad scientist (is there any other kind?) who, in addition to his day job in product development for a cosmetics company, breeds giant killer bats. He uses the bats to avenge himself for various wrongs. The usual dopey horror-flick characters are in there, too. The usual sort of murderous mayhem ensues. This is a Producers Releasing Corporation film -- the bottom of the barrel as far as poverty row goes. The film, however, is fun in a very cheesy sort of way. The director (Jean Yarbrough) went on to direct some "Addams Family" episodes. If you enjoyed "The Corpse Vanishes" (1942) or "Scared to Death" (1946), you will enjoy this one too. Those titles are available on DVD with "The Devil Bat" in double features, for those of you who like your cheesy horror flicks by the pound. I would also recommend this if you want to invite friends over to give a film the "Mystery Science Theater" treatment
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