1096783

THE BAT WHISPERS vintage film still / USA 1930 #1096783

Currency:USD Category:Art Start Price:50.00 USD Estimated At:0.00 USD
THE BAT WHISPERS vintage film still / USA 1930 #1096783
<table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="4">
<tr>
<td><em>
</em></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="100%">
Una Merkel in THE BAT WHISPERS
<p>
Vintage gelatin silver print

8 x 10 inches (20 x 25 cm.)

Verso: Various stamps
<p>
THE BAT WHISPERS [1930]

Roland West directed his second film version of The Bat, renamed The Bat Whispers. And in a stroke of genius worthy of his mad mastermind, West added yet another dimension: The Bat Whispers would be one of a handful of 1930 features shot in widescreen, with a compositional emphasis on forced perspective and inky shadow play.
<p>
The movie contains several stunning images accomplished by the use of a lightweight camera dolly created by technician Charles Cline. The dolly allows the camera to swoop down the sides of buildings as if it's moving with the Bat. In one of the movie's most effective camera shots, the camera moves across a lawn toward a mansion. It glides over the shrubs and driveway and toward a second story window. In between flashes of lightning, the screen darkens briefly, and during this time, the camera slips through a window and into a darkened corridor within the mansion. Stunning shots which in later decades would be termed Hitchcockian or Wellesian, are largely responsible for interest in The Bat Whispers today. While common knowledge says the bulky cameras of the early sound era made camera movement difficult, The Bat Whispers shatters this myth.
<p>
Also playing an important role in the movie's reputation, of course, is the presence of the Bat himself. He's a caped villain who occasionally steps from the shadows ...
<a href="http://www.goantiques.com/liveauction/complete_description.jsp?id=1536002" target=_new><b>View Complete Description</b></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Reference
#: 06_025_</td>
</tr>
<tr><td>Condition:Excellent</td></tr>
<tr><td>Year:1930</td></tr>
<tr><td>Country:USA</td></tr>

<tr><td>Height:8</td></tr>

<tr><td>Width:10</td></tr>

<tr><td>Title:THE BAT WHISPERS vintage film still / USA 1930</td></tr>



<tr><td>Location:New York</td></tr>
</table>