The Bat

4.319371h 43mComedy

The Bat (1937) is a comedy film directed by Paul Verhoeven, Hans H. Zerlett rated 4.3/10.

The delightful Johann Strauss comic opera Die Fledermaus was mercilessly lampooned in this truly bizarre production. For starters, a framing device has been added: After appearing in 300 consecutive appearances of Fledermaus (which translates as The Bat) the lead tenor (Georg Alexander) imagines that he's seeing bats everywhere. Driven a bit over the edge by all this, he falls asleep and has a nightmare about the opera, with a group of non-singers cast in the leading roles. The original libretto about romantic assignations, political imprisonments and mistaken identity is burlesqued to the hilt: at one point, the hero finds out that his prison cell is surrounded by rubber tubes!

Released: 1937-10-30

Duration: 1h 43m

Genre: Comedy

Country: Germany

Director: Paul Verhoeven, Hans H. Zerlett

Writer: Richard Genée, Carl Haffner, Lotte Neumann

Cast: Lída Baarová, Hans Söhnker, Friedl Czepa, Jola Jobst, Georg Alexander, Robert Dorsay

Production: Imagoton, Tobis Filmkunst