The Bat (1959)

 

A crazed killer known as "The Bat" is on the loose in a mansion full of people. 

OK mystery drama obviously based on a stage play is neither very exciting nor scary, but well-made in an old-fashioned way.

Halliwell (no star): "Poor remake of a standard twenties stage thriller; everyone chews the scenery."

Maltin**1/2: "Faithful filming of the...play..." 

 

Without Honor (1949)

 

Jane Bandle has recently married, but Bill, her husband's brother, tries to wreck her marriage because Jane rejected his sexual advances before her marriage.

Well-cast and suspenseful film is staged as a one-room drama, so it relies very much on dialogue rather than action.

Maltin**: "Good cast talk endlessly..."

 

Journey Into Fear (1943)

An American ballistics expert in Turkey finds himself targeted by Nazi agents. Safe passage home by ship is arranged for him, but he soon discovers that his pursuers are also on board.

Entertaining spy drama with a suspenseful plot full of twists shows some of Orson Welles style, but is obviously not fully his intended product.

Halliwell***: "Highly enjoyable impressionist melodrama supervised by Orson Welles and full of his touches and excesses."

Maltin***: "Often baffling WW2 spy drama...still exciting."

Frankenstein: The True Story (1973)

When the brilliant but unorthodox scientist Dr. Victor Frankenstein rejects the artificial man that he has created, the Creature escapes and later swears revenge.

From memory:  The title is a misnomer, but this TV movie presents a more complex and sympathetic version of the creation, production value is extraordinary and delivers some shocks, the star cast is excellent.

The Magnificent Ambersons (1942)

Agnes Moorehead

Bio:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnes_Moorehead

The Opposite Sex (1956)

Shortly after their tenth wedding anniversary a theater producer Steven Hilliard and his wife are getting a Reno divorce after she finds out about a marital indiscretion he had a gold digging chorus girl in one of his shows.

The Lost Moment (1947)

A publisher insinuates himself into the mouldering mansion of the centenarian lover of a renowned but long-dead poet in order to find his lost love letters.

Wonderfully atmospheric Goth mystery that manages to compel despite some very loose ends, especially the dubious intentions of the male lead.

Halliwell*: "Slightly absurd but memorable period drama with a guilty secret eventually coming to light, all put across with apparently deliberate artificiality."

Dark Passage (1947)

On the set: Delmer Daves, Humphrey Bogart and Agnes Moorehead

The Bat (1959)

A crazed killer known as "The Bat" is on the loose in a mansion full of people.