Devil Bat’s Daughter ** (1946, Rosemary La Planche, John James, Michael Hale, Nolan Leary) – Classic Movie Review 3,736

Rosemary La Planche, the 1941 Miss America, stars in Devil Bat’s Daughter (1946) as Nina, the daughter of Bela Lugosi’s character in 1940’s The Devil Bat.

Rosemary La Planche, the 1941 Miss America, stars in the 1946 American horror film Devil Bat’s Daughter as Nina, the daughter of Bela Lugosi’s now deceased vengeful inventor character Dr Paul Carruthers from 1940’s The Devil Bat.

And this time a psychiatrist called Doctor Elliott (played by Nolan Leary) is supposed to be treating the beautiful young Nina as his patient. But actually he trying to drive her crazy to persuade her that she is a vampire bat so that she will think that she suffers from a compulsion to kill and eventually think that she murdered his wife. He drugs Nina, murders his wife and leaves evidence that points to Nina.

Along comes Ted Masters (played by John James) to help Nina out of her pickle and also in the process to clear Lugosi’s Dr Carruthers’s name too.

Director Frank Wisbar’s 1946 poverty row horror film sequel Devil Bat’s Daughter provides more ridiculous but amusing low-budget chills and LaPlanche is better than expected, though, alas, PRC’s cheap production always lets the film down.

Griffin Jay’s screenplay is based on Wisbar and Ernst Jaeger and Leo J McCarthy’s story. It is unusual and quite inventive in its own weird little way.

Also in the cast are Molly Lamont, Michael Hale, Eddie Kane, Ed Cassidy, Monica Mars, Frank Pharr and Frank Marlowe.

Despite being a sequel to PRC’s The Devil Bat, there are no returning cast members.

Release date: April 15, 1946.

Rosemary La Planche

Rosemary La Planche (1923–1979) enjoyed a busy 12-year, 30-film movie career from 1937 to 1949 after signing with RKO. As a beauty queen, she won Miss California three years in a row (1939–1941) before being crowned Miss America in 1941. But Devil Bat’s Daughter is her crowning glory.

It is the film debut of Michael Hale, a former ad man for the Los Angeles Times, who was married to one of Hedda Hopper’s assistants. He made only one other film, The Killers (1946), though was busy on TV in the Fifties.

The cast

The cast are Rosemary La Planche as Nina, Molly Lamont as Ellen, John James as Ted, Michael Hale as Morris, Nolan Leary as Dr Eliot, Eddie Kane, Ed Cassidy, Monica Mars, Frank Pharr and Frank Marlowe.

Devil Bat’s Daughter is directed by Frank Wisbar, runs 66 minutes, is made and released by PRC [Producers Releasing Corporation], is written by Griffin Jay, based on a story by Frank Wisbar, Ernst Jaeger and Leo J McCarthy, is shot in black and white by James S Brown Jr, is produced by Frank Wisbar, is scored by Alexander Steinert, and is designed by Edward C Jewell.

© Derek Winnert 2016 Classic Movie Review 3,736

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