The Bat Whispers is an Old Dark House mystery from 1930, based on a novel from the turn of the century and a play from 10 years early and a couple of silent films. It's in the public domain as of Jan 1 2026.

It was shot on 65mm, and in wide screen. I haven't encountered an earlier example of either. I don't know if one exists. It is visually stunning.

The dialog is snappy and quick and the writing is funny and the restoration that's circulating is genuinely wonderful, one of the best I've seen for any film of this era.

It's full of Scooby Doo moments, but it whips from silly to serious on a dime. The serious bits transform into silly bits. People perform bad vaudeville routines over corpses. Masked villains fight masked villains while dueling detectives all fail to solve any crimes.

Anderson chews the scenery with the best of them, and his character is perhaps the best part of the film.