Movies about psychology and psychiatrists were very big in the 1940s during and right after World War II. GASLIGHT (1944) and 2 Alfred Hitchcock movies SUSPICION (1941) and SPELLBOUND (1945) were big box office hits so PRC decided to make a cut-rate version of their own which was DEVIL BAT’S DAUGHTER (1946). To ensure DBD’s chances at the boxoffice, they tied it into Bela Lugosi’s earlier success, THE DEVIL BAT (1940).
Not only is Lugosi not in DBD, his character of Dr Paul Carruthers has been completely transformed from a mad scientist to a misunderstood genius. This movie concerns itself with his daughter who becomes mentally disturbed whenever her father is mentioned. A New York City psychiatrist tries to help her while involving her in a secret scheme of his own. His stepson who loves her smells a rat and tries to do something about it.
There are the seeds of a potentially interesting psychological drama here but since this is PRC, it was shot in 6 days. The biggest problem is the script which starts off OK but then quickly goes off the rails as the writers (3 of them) try to incorporate elements from THE DEVIL BAT into this one. It’s obvious that none of them saw the Lugosi movie as there are just too many things here that make no sense if you have seen TDB.
Another big problem concerns some of the performances . To say that the two leading men, Michael Hale and John James, are dull and wooden is an understatement. Rosemary La Planche, who plays the titular character and was so good in her previous PRC outing, STRANGLER OF THE SWAMP (1946). is almost as bad but in a different way. She’s too over the top in her performance but I’m sure she did as she was told.
Director Frank Wisbar, who did STRANGLER with La Planche, tries to elevate the movie with some Noir style lighting and the occasional above average camera shot but it’s not nearly enough. The fact that the only available print seems to be taken from 16mm and has been copied many times doesn’t help matters. It would be interesting to see DBD without the splices, contrast issues, and an improved soundtrack.
The one bright spot is the performance of Monica Mars who never made another movie and is something of a mystery woman. As in most 1940s B movies, the supporting players in DBD give solid performances. I was going to give the movie 6 stars on IMDb but then I’m a hardened film buff who loves 1940s B pictures. My wife said give it a 5 and she’s right so I did. I may have enjoyed DBD but that doesn’t mean that you will.
The Capsule Critic 