The Bat (1959) - full transcript
Mystery writer Cornelia Van Gorder has rented a country house called "The Oaks", which not long ago had been the scene of some murders committed by a strange and violent criminal known as "The Bat". Meanwhile, the house's owner, bank president John Fleming, has recently embezzled one million dollars in securities, and has hidden the proceeds in the house, but he is killed before he can retrieve the money. Thus the lonely country house soon becomes the site of many mysterious and dangerous activities.
This is the Oaks, a house in the
country which I rented for the summer.
As an author, I write
tales of mystery and murder.
But the things that happened in this
house were far more fantastic...
than any story I've ever had published.
I brought a staff of
servants from my city apartment...
and my maid Lizzy Allen who
had been with me nearly 20 years.
Lizzy?
- Yes, Miss Cornelia?
- Is the car ready?
It's at the door.
Look. Miss Cornelia...
them servants you brought from the apartment
are talking about walking out on us.
Really?
Oh, I know they don't like it here
but I didn't think it was that bad.
Well, they've been hearing things about
the killer that the police call the Bat,
And the murders that he
committed here this past winter.
Now people are saying that he's back again.
Well, how can they be sure of that?
Has he committed another crime?
No, not yet, but that
ain't saying that he won't.
Here's something else.
You've heard about the bats they have
here, animal bats, the kind that fly.
- Yes, yes.
- Look what it says in this magazine.
This is a report from the
state Health Department...
and it says some of them bats is rabid.
- Well?
- And that ain't all.
And now there's a rumor going
around that it was the Bat himself...
the killer I mean, that released the
rabid bats in this neighborhood.
Oh, that's ridiculous.
Well, the housekeeper, the cook, the
butler and the upstairs maid don't think so.
Well, I can't help what they think.
If hysterical nonsense like that
can scare them out of their good jobs...
it's their loss not mine.
Come on Lizzy, I've got to get to the bank.
Drive directly to Zenith Bank Warner.
I'm afraid we'll have
to hurry, it's near closing time.
I'll get you there Miss Van Gorder.
Thanks again.
- Miss Van Gorder!
- How are you doing Mr. Bailey?
- How are you?
- I'm very well, thank you.
You remember Lizzy Allen?
- Of course, hello Miss Allen.
- How do you do?
- So you're spending the summer with us again?
- Yes, yes, I've leased the Oaks.,
The home of your bank president John Fleming.
I heard you had, I was surprised.
Why? Is there something the matter with it?
No, I was surprised because
Mr. Fleming said he would never rent it.
Oh?
Well I rented it from his nephew Mark
Fleming who has the real estate office here.
He said his uncle would
be gone the entire summer.
That's right.
Mr. Fleming is in the north woods
now with his physician Dr. Wells.
Oh, pard me, Dale.
I want you to meet my wife.
We were married at Christmas time.
- That must've been nice.
- Believe me, it was.
Oh, here she is, my wife,
Miss Van Gorder, Miss Allen.
- How do you do Miss Bailey?
- How do you do?
- Cornelia Van Gorder.
- Yes.
Oh, well I've read every murder
mystery you've ever written.
I just adored that weird one,
the private morgue of Dr. X.
- Even though it gave me the shivers.
- Only the shivers? Scared hell out of me.
Well, I, I, I really means that Miss
Corny killed them off in that one.
When you refer to my books,
please don't call me Miss Corny.
Pard me, Mr. Bailey,
Mr. Hynes is here to see you.
Oh yes, excuse me please.
- Don't be strangers now.
- No, no we won't.
Oh, so you're a bride?
- No, not quite.
- Not since Christmas.
You know, I'm sure I've seen you.
Well I, I used to be my
husband's secretary here in the bank.
Of course, I remember.
May I welcome our most
distinguished visitor back to Zenith?
Oh, that's very charming, but...
- Lieutenant Anderson.
- Lieutenant Anderson, of course.
Chief of detectives of the Zenith police
department, This is Miss Allen.
- Miss Allen.
- How do you do?
Lt. Anderson is one of our favorite citizens,
he's on the Bank's board of directors.
- Not bad for a policeman.
- You must've made a good thing of it.
Well, I saved my money,
if that's what you mean.
It's near closing time and I've got some
business in the safe deposit vault.
- Please come and see me Miss Bailey.
- Oh, I'd love to.
- And you Lieutenant.
- Thank you.
- Goodbye.
- Goodbye, nice to have met you.
My, what a charming woman, she
moved into the Oaks just the other day.
That house is a proper
sitting for a writer of mysteries.
Oh, it certainly is.
- Dick, what's the matter?
- Come in here, both of you.
Andy, we're in trouble. Wendell Hynes came
in to pick up $350,000 worth of bonds that...
we were holding as collateral for a loan.
They were kept in our special vault.
Mr. Fleming and I are the only officers
of the bank who have access to that vault.
- So?
- The Hynes bonds are gone.
That's not all, other
negotiable securities are missing.
From what I can gather
short of a careful check...
the bank is been looted of over
a million dollars worth of securities.
You'll have to notify Fleming.
I wish I could talk to him. Unfortunately,
he and Dr. Wells are deep in the woods.
They can't be reached by phone.
What is it?
I thought I heard someone
on the path coming from the lake.
- Had an idea it might be that guide of ours.
- Oh, Sam won't show up until morning.
It's a 20 mile canoe trip
from here to civilization.
Five will get you 10,
Sam has a message for me.
I thought you told them at
the bank not to bother you.
I did, but they'll bother me.
- Doctor?
- Yes, John.
What would you do for half a million?
Anything short of murder.
Why not murder?
Too messy.
Too great a risk?
For half a million? Yes.
I pinched a million from the bank.
I'm not kidding.
I embezzled it.
Not that I think you wouldn't do it
if you thought you could get away with it.
I got away with it.
I'm not talking about currency.
I took negotiable securities that
could be converted into cash.
I have the cash, in tens,
twenties, and hundreds.
And I'm your doctor,
not your lawyer, why tell me this?
You'll find out why.
Who's going to take the
blame for the robbery?
Bailey, the cashier,
they'll never suspect me.
- I like Bailey.
- Oh, so do I, I love the guy.
- I gave him his first chance.
- He has a lovely little wife.
Charming girl, was the best man.
Where's the million?
In my family's tomb in Zenith,
in the crypt with my father's casket.
- I don't buy that John.
- No?
No.
You forget that I had you in
charge when you were a very sick man.
When you raved in delirium.
And I heard you talk about a hidden room.
Now, where else could you put a hidden
room except in that mansion you built.
That white elephant you call the Oaks?
Look, everyone knows I have a bad heart.
Who would doubt it if you wired the
bank directors that my heart is failed.
That I'd fallen from a great height here in
the woods and that I was badly smashed up?
You could ship
the body back for burial and...
instruct them not to open the casket
due to the condition of its contents.
Well you realize, of course, that we
had to have a body to put in that casket.
Which means that we'd have to
deal with an undertaker at this end.
- Of course.
- But where do we get a body?
Couldn't we provide
one of our own? How about Sam?
Sam, our guide?
Sam weighs about as much
as I do, he's practically a hermit.
He wouldn't be missed for a long time.
The local undertaker would know him.
Not if we made him look as
if he'd been in a serious accident.
But if Bailey is going to take the
blame, why do you have to do this?
A jury might acquit him.
In that case, I'd be a logical suspect.
I could disappear of course,
but it's safer if they think I'm dead.
What if I don't go for this deal?
In that case, it would be two bad.
- You mean you'd kill me?
- What else could I do?
Now that I've told you about the million.
I'd say you were shot in a hunting accident.
Now look doctor...
if you can find another body
instead of Sam's, it's all right with me.
There's half a million in it for you.
I'll do my best.
- I smell smoke.
- So do I, what's that noise?
Look doctor, the woods are on fire.
It's coming this way,
we've got to get out of here.
Out the back way.
We will, as soon as I provide
that body we were talking about.
My goodness. Lizzie, is that you?
Yes Miss Cordelia, there's a storm
coming up and it's going to be a snorter.
The wind nearly blew the door off its hinges.
Well, that noise blew my game higher than
a kite, I think I've lost some of the cards.
Oh, I'll get them for you.
Oh, I see you found the paper.
To rat that paper boy.
Scooting by on his bicycle, just chucked it
into a couple bushes and let it go at that.
For land's sake, Mr. Vick
Bailey is been arrested.
- Oh?
- Right there.
Victor Bailey, vice president
and cashier of the Zenith bank,
was arraigned before United
States commissioner Alvin Fielding...
charged with the
embezzlement of over a million dollars.
I can't believe Vick Bailey had
anything to do with that robbery.
Oh well, I see our landlord is home again.
- Landlord?
- Mr. Fleming.
Dr. Malcolm Wells is back in
town with the body of John Fleming...
president of the Zenith bank,
who was killed in a forest fire.
Mr. Fleming will be laid to rest
in his family's tomb on Friday.
- And I hope he stays there.
- Why shouldn't he?
Well, this is his house. And ever since he
died, some funny things have happened here.
For instance?
The housekeeper, the cook and the butler
said that they heard strange noises at night.
And the upstairs maid swore that she met a
man without a face coming up the back stairs.
Oh, so that's why they quit and
left me to run this place without a staff.
They didn't tell you Miss Corny,
but the truth is, they were scared to stay.
But you're still here Lizzie.
Haven't you seen anything?
No, no, and even
if I had I ain't afraid of ghosts.
They're afraid of me.
Honest Miss Corny, a spiritualist told
me once that ghosts was allergic to me.
But, but this Bat feller they keep
talking about in the paper, I...
I guess he'd be different.
No, I don't think you'd
have the same effect on him.
Oh dear.
What are they trying to do? Drive
people away from this part of the country?
Why? What did it say about the Bat?
His specialty seems to be killing women,
my goodness, two of them in one night.
All his victims died the same way...
like their throats had been
ripped open with steel claws.
Well, that's a charming little caper.
I'll have to try it sometime.
In a book.
That ain't' nothing, just something
bumping against the house.
That's just the wind
banging a door, pay no attention to it.
Listen to this, one of his
victims who lived for a moment...
after she was found, described
the Bat as a man without a face.
Honest Miss Corny, I think
that woman must've been exaggerating.
That's just that heavy
tapestry at the top of the stairs.
I know, I know, I've
heard it before on a windy night.
But that sound a little
was someone on the stairs.
I know there isn't, least there shouldn't be.
There ain't, them is just the noises you
here in any old house on windy night.
It says here that the Bat
never leaves no fingerprints.
That's understandable, having no
face, he probably has no fingers either.
Lizzie.
And that, I suppose, is the
cat dropping its dentures?
No, no, I don't think so, but I think
it's something should be looked into.
Now, who chucked him down here?
The wind, I hope.
There must be a window open up there.
No Lizzie, let him lay. Let him sleep it off.
I hope the power lines don't
go down, put the lights out.
We'll check the windows in the living room...
and drawn the curtains
and then we'll go to bed.
Yes, ma'am.
I won't be a minute.
Miss Corny...
What was that?
Oh, when I went to get the
paper, I turned the latch off.
I forgot to turn it on again.
He's out there, he was coming in.
He might've got you.
Oh, but he didn't and
he's still out there, thanks to you.
Now, you hurry now go we'll call the police.
No, no, I won't leave you Miss Corny.
- Are you Ok?
- Yes ma'am, I'm, I'm ok.
Ok.
- Operator.
- Give me the police department please.
- Zenith police department.
- This is Cornelia Van Gorder.
- I'm living at the Oaks.
- We know about that Miss Van Gorder.
Just a moment ago, a man
tried to force his way into this house.
You're not alone there, are you?
What about your servants?
Well, I have none except my chauffeur and
he's away, won't be back until the morning.
Now, there's only two of us here tonight
and we're going to lock ourselves in my room.
Now, if, if any of your men see
anything, will you have them call me?
- I'll send officers over there right away.
- Well, thank you very much.
Come on Lizzie, we're
going to sleep in my room.
Well, nothing can get at us in
this room now, I don't think.
- This door seems good and solid.
- Like the door to a tomb.
I think that couch will be comfortable,
it's some extra bedding you know...
- in the closet.
- Yes, ma'am.
Let's see now.
No bolt, no that's not so good.
- Ma'am, what's that for?
- That my good woman, is a boobie trap.
If anybody tries to open this transom this'll
be knocked off, and we'll hear it fall..
Oh, fiddlesticks, I forgot my night things,
my robe, my gown and my sleepers.
- I'll go get them now.
- Now, wait a minute, Lizzie.
- I'll go with you...
- Now don't you bother Miss Cornelia.
- My room is just down the hall.
- Lizzie, I told you to wait!
It's all right, I'll only be a second.
Get in here!
Get in here!
- Yes?
- Miss Van Gorder?
- Yes?
- Zenith police department.
There's a police car just outside your house.
And the officers in
it have reported that there's...
no sign of a prowler anywhere on the grounds.
Oh, the man is inside now, he's
in the hall just outside my bedroom.
Have your men break through the kitchen door
and search this place from top to bottom.
- Ok, Miss Van Gorder, sit tight.
- I will.
I have a gun and I know how to use it.
Oh, relax, relax Lizzie, the police did a
good job, they couldn't find anybody in here.
- But we both saw him Miss Cornelia.
- All right, all right, so he got away.
But there are men on guard
outside, so just try and get some rest.
There's nothing can get at us here.
- Oh, Miss Cordelia, Miss Cordelia!
- What?
- What's the matter?
- A bat!
- Oh nonsense, you've had a nightmare.
- Maybe I did.
But there was a bat and it bit me.
- What?
- It flew in that closet.
Good gracious Lizzie, you're right!
Operator, operator, will you get me
Dr. Malcolm Wells' office please.
No, I don't know his number and I have no
phone book up here, but this is an emergency.
Will you connect me with his office please?
Oh dear, oh dear, I'm
going to get the rabies.
- Hello?
- Hello, Dr. Well's office?
This is a call service, Dr. Wells is out at
moment, but if you give me your name and...
- number, I'll try to locate him.
- Well, this is Miss Van Gorder of the Oaks.
My maid has just been bitten
by a bat that may be rabid...
and she must have
treatment as soon as possible.
And I was told that Dr. Wells
was the nearest physician.
I'll try to find him for you and if I
can't, I'll send you another doctor.
Well, thank you very much.
Oh, he's out on a case.
Oh, I hope it's not a delivery, a baby I
mean, they can be terribly complicated.
- It never bothered me none.
- Oh Lizzie, you never had a baby.
Of course I didn't, that's
why they never bothered me.
- Oh, does it hurt, eh?
- A little.
Dr. Wells? Are you there Dr. Wells?
Are you there
Dr. Wells? This is the operator.
Your call service is
on the wire, it's an emergency.
- This is Dr. Wells.
- This is your call service doctor.
Oh hello, I, I was just doing
an experiment, I left the receiver off.
That's what I thought, but I kept trying.
Miss Van Gorder at the Oaks called and
said that her maid had been bitten by a bat.
- And she's afraid it might be rabid.
- What?
Oh, all right, tell
her I'll be right over there.
- Who's there?
- Dr. Wells.
- Come in.
- Good evening.
Oh, I'm so glad they found you doctor.
Well, I reached my office shortly
after you called, how is your maid?
- Is she in any pain?
- No, no, she doesn't seem to be.
- Did the bat get away?
- No, I believe it's still in my bedroom.
Good, I'll want to examine it.
There you go
Miss Allen, now you'll feel better?
Doctor, have I got the rabies?
Well, I can tell you better after I've
examined the bat's brain under a microscope.
- That thing got a brain?
- Oh, you'd be surprised.
Where is it?
I think the little darling is in that closet.
You know, it's a pity you
leased this house Miss Van Gorder.
Why a pity?
Well, my dear lady, I don't
want to alarm you but...
Oh, after tonight nothing can alarm me.
Yes, I understand,
it must've been terrifying.
So many unexplainable
things had happened here.
It's something about the place.
Your servants must've sensed it
when they walked out on you...
an apprehension of disaster.
Well, let's see.
Yes, there he is.
All right now, take it easy, nobody is
going to hurt you, quiet now, quiet.
Looks quite normal,
doesn't seem to be sick at all.
Ain't that nice. I've been worried about him.
Well, you should be.
From his appearance, I'd say
that he doesn't have any infection.
In which case, you had a narrow escape.
Now, you take one of those tablets I left
for you and I'll guarantee you a good night.
And I'll drop in on here you tomorrow.
Oh, thanks for everything doctor.
- Now, don't worry, I can find my way out.
- I know you can, but do let me help you.
Oh, don't forget that once I'm gone
you'll have to climb those stairs alone.
Oh, I'm all right, I'm armed now.
Can you shoot one of those
things without shutting your eyes?
Oh doctor, there are guns
in every book I've ever written.
I don't write about
things I'm unfamiliar with.
Lock the door Lizzie.
- Good night.
- Yes ma'am, good night doctor.
- Accident?
- No, no, the wind blew him down.
- Oh?
- I think.
Did you know that young Mark Fleming leased
you this house without notifying his uncle?
No, no, I didn't.
Well, it doesn't matter now, John
Fleming is dead and Mark is his heir.
But if John were alive, he would warn
you to leave here Miss Van Gorder.
- Really?
- Yes.
It's been a tragic place
for anyone who ever lived in it.
- Well, good night.
- Good night doctor.
Who is out there?
- Nobody you need to worry about doctor.
- Oh, it's Andy.
- That's right, good evening Miss Van Gorder.
- Good evening Lieutenant.
- Somebody sick here?
- My maid was bitten by a bat.
Oh? A rabid bat?
Well, I'll know for sure when
I get to my lab, I, I caught the bat.
It happened indoors?
- In my bedroom.
- How it get in?
Well there are ways a
bat could get in a house.
You ought to know.
I, I spotted this hole in
the window the minute I got here.
That's where the two
legged bat got your door open.
Miss Van Gorder told me that she
phoned headquarters at Zenith.
Yes, I phoned twice, the second time
was after the prowler got in the house.
- Were in headquarters, Andy?
- No, but they contacted me.
An officer came and searched the house from
top to bottom but they couldn't find the bat.
- You better have this window fixed tomorrow.
- Oh yes, I certainly shall.
And I, I better be going, I'm due
in surgery at 8 o'clock in the morning.
- Good night.
- Good night doctor.
There'll be a man patrolling the
grounds all night Miss Van Gorder.
- Oh, thank you.
- And nobody inside Andy?
Why should there be?
Well, how do you know but what
the bat is hiding somewhere in the house?
I'm quite sure he isn't in
the house doctor, not now.
- Good night.
- Good night.
- Hi Andy.
- Hello Mark.
Well, congratulations, real
estate business must be picking up.
- New office, new furniture.
- New deal, how do you like it?
Ah, looks expensive.
- Are you squandering your inheritance?
- Oh, I haven't got it yet.
Oh, the paper says John Fleming
left his entire fortune to you.
Funny thing about that
entire fortune is that we can't find it.
No kidding?
No, all uncle John has in his bank
account was a couple hundred dollars.
And his safe deposit box was empty.
If we don't find that missing
million mine will be empty too.
How come?
Well, all my savings were
invested in Zenith bank stock.
The examiners won't certify
the bank as solvent until those...
stolen securities are found, so the...
stockholders have voted an
assessment that'll wipe some of us out.
It's as is those securities
have been converted into cash.
And if I can't find that cash, I'm sunk.
Oh, where are you going to look for it Andy?
Here in Zenith.
Your uncle wouldn't take a
million on a hunting trip, would he?
You suspect uncle John?
Why Andy, he founded the Zenith back.
That'd be like robbing the family tomb.
You think he wouldn't?
Well, besides...
Vick Bailey's fingerprints
are all over the vault.
Now, they didn't find any
of uncle John's fingerprints.
- Because he wiped them off.
- Can the defense prove that?
They'll try to.
Judie Holland had Bailey's
secretary as a defense witness.
And they believe her testimony
will have a powerful effect on the jury.
Well, she has a powerful
effect on me, Judie is a doll.
- Here's the book you mentioned Judie.
- Your newest one?
Yes, it's just been published.
You can have that copy if you wish.
Oh, it's a first edition
and you've signed it.
- Yes, of course.
- Thank you so much.
- May I serve tea now Miss Van Gorder?
- Yes, please do Warner.
Thank you.
- I see you've engaged new servants.
- Yes, of course.
Oh, how did you persuade
them to live in this house?
Jane Patterson, my new housekeeper,
knows this house better than you do doctor.
She worked for John Fleming
and Warner was my chauffeur.
- Chauffeur turned butler?
- It's incredible.
He can play any part at a moment's notice.
Ah, did you, did you get a plumber Warner?
No, we can't get a
plumber for three days madame.
What about that leaking pipe? The
basement will be flooded in three days.
The pipe is no longer leaking.
You mean it's dried up of its own accord?
No, not quite, I packed the elbow
where the water was coming up.
Packed the elbow?
- Where did you learn how to do that?
- Into each life, a little rain must fall.
And a careful man learns to keep himself dry.
Now, is there anything that
you require Miss Van Gorder?
- No, not at the moment Warner.
- Thank you madame.
Now, there's a character.
How long did you say that he
worked for you as chauffeur?
About three months.
Well, I hope he doesn't have a police record.
My dear Dale...
it may interest you to know that
the last night of his life, John Fleming...
told me that he loved
your husband like a son.
If Fleming were alive today, he would
be fighting to prove Vick's innocence.
Could Mr. Fleming prove his own innocence?
Miss Van Gorder,
can there be any doubt about it?
There will be when
Miss Holland testifies at Vick's trial.
Oh?
You know something
that we haven't heard yet Judie?
Something I saw with my own eyes.
She's not permitted to say what it was.
My dear girl, I wouldn't think of asking her.
But let's assume for a moment
that Fleming did steal the million, now...
what would he do about it? Where is it?
Hidden some place where he could lay his hands
on it without getting caught in the act.
Now, if I was writing this
instead of living in the middle of it...
I'd hide it right
here in this spooky old house.
Under a loose floorboard or up a chimney?
If Mr. Fleming...
had the nerve to steal a million,
he'd make his plans well in advance.
I'd say he'd prepare a place to hide it.
Possibly when this house was being built.
I rented this place from
Mark Fleming, his nephew.
I wonder, I wonder if he had the floor plans.
- I'll ask him.
- Yes.
Lizzie, will you bring Miss Bailey the phone?
You ask him now, his number is Summit...
- Summit 7537.
- Thank you Lizzie.
- Summit...?
- 7537.
Not bad, eh Andy? That means new business.
Now, you see? Somebody wants to buy a house.
- Mark Fleming speaking.
- Oh hello Dale.
Well, hang on a minute
honey while I see if I have them.
It's Dale Bailey all excited.
Miss Van Gorder wants to know
if I have the floor plans of the Oaks.
Now, what would she want
with the floor plans?
Well, she suggested to me that your
uncle might've hidden the bank loot there.
Are the plans here?
Somewhere in the house itself.
Wait a minute, there is a place where
uncle Johnny might've kept those blueprints.
What place?
Well, I heard him talk
about it a good many years ago.
I can't be sure of the exact location.
Anyway, I don't think the old boy
had the guts to steal a million.
But if I find those plans,
I'll let you know Andy.
Hello Dale?
Look honey, I haven't seen
those plans since I was a kid.
But I'll come over tonight,
and maybe we can find them.
Thank you Mark, we'll expect you.
He seems to think they're
here in the house somewhere.
- He's coming over tonight.
- Oh, that's good.
Dale and Judie are my
house guests for the weekend.
Would you like to have
dinner with us tonight?
Oh no thank you, I couldn't,
I still have a few calls to make.
You know, if Judy's testimony is
going to clear Vick Bailey and implicate...
John Fleming, others may get the idea
that there's buried treasure in this house.
Don't even mention your testimony
until you're actually on the stand.
Oh, I won't.
That's a smart girl
Judie and a very lovely girl.
- Well, good afternoon ladies.
- Doctor.
- Doctor.
- Goodbye Dr. Wells.
Come on girls, let's go.
So many unusual things
have happened here this summer.
The more I think about it...
the more I realize I should've
be putting them down on paper.
Weren't you your husband's secretary Dale?
- Yes, I was.
- You take shorthand?
Well my dear, if you'd like
to have your mind occupied...
I want you to work with me while I write
the story of this fantastic criminal...
the Bat.
- Wonderful dinner.
- Thank you.
Was really nice.
Was a good dinner Lizzie.
- As usual.
- Wonderful.
Oh, what a lovely piece of silver.
- It's an original, isn't it?
- Yes, they still use them in England.
That clock hasn't struck the
hour in the last 10 years...
if I'm to believe what Mark Fleming told me.
Why is it angled away
from the wall like that?
I don't know. Somebody must've moved it.
- Lizzie, very like when she was dusting.
- Wait a minute.
Did you know there's a door in this paneling?
No, I didn't. Oh, by gracious, so there is.
- Maybe it opens to a secret passage.
- Certainly to a secret something!
Who knows girls, we may be about
to stumble on that missing million.
Oh, there's a panel, there must
be some gimmick to it, there always is.
Calling car 11, calling car 11.
Proceed to the Oaks in Zenith township
immediately, a homicide is been reported.
Ok, proceeding to the Oaks.
Notify the county coroner, Dr. Wells.
Tell him to come to the Oaks at once.
Horrible.
It's as if his throat had been torn
by some creature with fans or claws.
That's his sign.
We found it on the others he killed.
I'd hoped those reports that he was up to his
old tricks again were pure imagination but...
apparently they're based on fact.
He's come back...
back to the scene of his kills.
Yes, that's who I mean.
That's who did this.
The Bat.
- Who found Mark?
- We all did.
That is Dale and Judie and I,
Lizzie was in the dining room.
This is my new housekeeper, Jane Patterson.
You know, she worked for John Fleming.
I know her.
Where were you Miss Patterson?
In the kitchen, cleaning up.
I cooked the dinner tonight.
Did you know that this
secret closet was here?
- No, it was behind the grandfather's clock.
- Well, it was I who found it, really.
Noticed the clock had been moved
and the door wasn't quite closed.
I'll get it.
Who is it?
Mark Fleming.
As coroner, you saw the
same wounds on the others.
- How long is he been dead?
- Oh, I'd say about a half an hour.
- You believe it was the Bat?
- That's the Bat's trademark.
- Perhaps he's still in the house.
- It's possible.
Why should he be?
Because he's looking for something
and like you, he believes it's here.
And he's a persistent killer.
I would advise you
get out of this house as quickly as possible.
Not withstanding
our expert police protection.
- Have you called the morgue?
- They're on their way here.
Oh, good, I want to examine
the body before they get here.
- Oh, may we take it into another room?
- Yes, to the sun room in the back.
- Thank you, give me a hand.
- Excuse me.
Oh, Warner, where have you been?
Well madame, it would have been an accident?
There's been a murder.
Mark Fleming, the young man from whom I
leased this place is killed here tonight.,
- They know who did it?
- Well they, they believe it was the Bat.
I'm sorry I had to use the
front door Miss Van Gorder.
Bu I forgot my keys and when I rang the bell
at the kitchen door, there was no response.
Oh, this is Warner Lieutenant.
He's my butler, he was my chauffeur.
Why did you promote him?
Well, it's very difficult to find a butler
they don't like service in the country.
Have you been a butler before?
I've served in many capacities sir, but
this was my night off and I forgot my keys.
I heard that part.
What time you leave the house tonight?
Oh, about 6:30, I had
dinner at Wiley's roadhouse.
Can you prove where you
spent the rest of the evening?
- I can try.
- Try hard.
And don't leave the
house, I'll get to you later.
Very good sir.
I shall be in my room Miss
Van Gorder, if you need me.
Yes Warner.
Surely, you don't think he's...
Warner and I met before.
I can't recall where or when.
But I will.
There'll be a crew
here shortly from headquarters...
dusting for fingerprints, taking photographs.
But in the meantime...
Miss Patterson, you aren't
leaving the house tonight are you?
No Lieutenant.
Don't, I'll talk to you in the morning.
Good night.
- Good night sir.
- Good night Miss Patterson.
Dale...
I was with Mark Fleming
this afternoon when you...
talked to him about
the floor plans of this house.
I heard him tell you he
was coming here tonight.
Dale called him at my request.
She told me he was coming.
Who else heard her tell you that?
- Judie, Lizzie...
- And that nice Dr. Wells..
Dr. Wells?
There are few killers
who kill for the fun of it.
The Bat very likely is a mental case and I'm
convinced that his crimes are motivated...
by his, mainly personal gain.
There's a million dollars at large.
And he's going to keep on hunting
for it until he lays his hands on it.
Now, these young ladies
are staying here tonight?
Yes, they're my house guests.
Well, when my crew
arrives we'll be busy for a while...
- so I'd suggest that...
- That we go to our rooms?
- That's very good idea.
- Come on girls.
What about a police guard for
this house tonight Lieutenant?
You've got one.
I'm going to cover this place tonight
from the attic to the basement.
If the Bat makes another call,
I'll have a little surprise for him.
Who, who is he? Have you any idea?
He could be anybody.
So far, there are clues to his identity
but nothing we could take before a jury.
I am afraid we must look
higher than the criminal world.
He may be a
merchant, lawyer, doctor, scientist.
One of the pillars of his community.
Ladies, lock your
doors tonight, stay behind them.
- I promise you you'll be safe, good night.
- Good night Lieutenant.
- Poor Mark.
- Yeah, it's a pity.
- So young.
- Well doctor, do you agree it was the Bat?
In my report, I shall say the death was...
caused by the same
technique used in the other killings.
A paralyzing blow to the throat, followed
by severe lacerations of the jugular...
resulting in excessive hemorrhage.
In a layman's language,
he didn't know what hit him.
Oh, he knew, but he didn't
have time to think about it.
You staying here tonight Andy?
Well, until I check the doors and windows but
I'll be back bright and early in the morning.
Neither snow nor rain
nor heat nor gloom of night...
stays these couriers from the swift
completion of their appointed rounds.
A lot of people are due for a
shock when I close this case.
Yes, I'm sure they are.
Good night Andy, don't get hurt.
Good night, doctor.
You know, I think we'd
better let get some sleep.
Oh well Lizzie and I share
this room for mutual protection.
You know, one night, a storm blew
the wires down, put the lights out...
and when I went out the next day and
bought a half a dozen of these things.
- You better take one with you Dale.
- Oh, thank you.
- We'll go across the hall.
- Are you sure there's nothing else you need?
- No.
- Quite sure, we'll be all right.
Well, if anything
bothers you, you just sing out.
And two strong
women will come to your rescue.
Oh, nothing will bother us,
not with Andy on the job.
- Good night.
- Good night.
Don't worry, everything will be all right.
- Good night.
- Good night.
Come on Lizzie.
- No, I don't think I'll sleep tonight.
- Me neither.
All I can see is poor
Mark Fleming staring at us.
I thought that when people died
their eyes closed, as in sleep.
- Don't think about it.
- I bet you're thinking about it.
No, I was thinking of my poor
husband sleeping in jail tonight.
Oh Judie, I love him so much.
- What's that noise?
- Oh, I don't know.
I kind of fell half asleep.
For a moment, I thought it
was something from a dream.
It's somewhere in the house.
Yes, on the floor
above, not directly over us.
Probably a room overlooking the driveway.
- Should we call Miss Van Gorder?
- She'll hear it.
How can she help but hear it?
Besides, we don't want her to think
we're a couple of hysterical women.
I'm about to become
one, I've had it for one night.
- Dale, you're not going out in that hall.
- I want to know what's happening up there.
But Lieutenant Anderson said if we stayed
behind our locked doors, we'd be safe.
Vick isn't safe locked up in that jail.
Suppose that stolen money is in this house.
Mark Fleming seemed to think it was.
Maybe that's what somebody is looking for.
Oh, for heaven's sake, don't you
hear that awful noise up there?
Now Lizzie, you just got to stay awake!
The house phone and the outside phone
wires have been cut and we can't get help!
- Where's that policeman?
- Oh, I don't know.
Something must've happened to him.
Now go on, get on your robe.
- Oh Dale please, don't go up there.
- I've got to.
Think what it could
mean to Vick, now you stay here.
Oh no, if you go, I go.
- You stay here.
- No, no.
- You won't go there alone.
- You wait here, I'm going to see what it is.
- Oh please let me go with you.
- Judie, will you warn me if anyone comes?
I'll only be a moment, now, wait.
Oh no.
What he do to her!
- Judie!
- No, not Judie!
Give her to me, I'll look after her.
Poor baby.
Judie.
- The Bat.
- Yes, the Bat.
He caught her at the head of the stairs.
We saw him rushing down the
stairs as we came out of the room.
I hurled that after him.
I hit him, I believe.
I'm going to cover this place
from attic to basement, you said!
Well, what were you covering when that
poor child was murdered? Where were you?
I saw a man outside on the grounds.
I went out there and hunted him.
I heard him in among the trees and so I...
followed the sound of him as far as
the brook down near the back road.
And then I lost him.
I'd rather give my own life
than have this happen to Judy.
But I told you to stay in your rooms
and lock your doors and stay there!
What was she doing at
the head of those stairs?
That was my fault.
They heard a strange noise, heavy pounding
in one of the rooms on the third floor.
- We all heard it.
- I wanted to see what it was.
Judie, she wouldn't let me go out by myself.
I made her stay on the balcony.
- What about your new butler?
- Well, he's in his room I suppose.
- Oh, Miss Patterson.
- Yes?
Did you know what happened here?
No sir, but I heard the
screams, I went to call Warner.
We have rooms on the same floor.
He wasn't in his room,
his bed hasn't been slept in.
If Miss Patterson heard the screams,
Warner could certainly hear them.
- You're quite right sir, I heard them.
- Oh, you did?
- And where were you?
- Outside on the grounds.
- Miss Holland is been murdered.
- No?
So you're surprised, shocked.
Well, I've seen better performances.
I remember you now, your name is not Warner.
I've got a circular in my
office with your picture on it.
The Chicago police not so long ago were
hunting for you in connection with a robbery.
You're right again sir, and they found me
and they tried me and I proved my innocence.
- And I was acquitted.
- That could've been a lucky break.
- Where were you when this child was killed?
- I told you before sir, outside.
- What you doing there?
- I was following you.
I saw you leaving the house
and seemed that you were hunting...
someone, I thought you might need some help.
Oh yes sir, I followed your
flashlight down through the trees.
Then it disappeared and then suddenly
as I was staring out into the darkness...
I was struck by something
on to the back of the head.
Next thing I knew, I was lying on the
ground, I realized I'd been knocked out.
I wish you had been knocked out.
For then we'd found you
with your mask still on your face!
You were hit here in this house...
with this poker as you were rushing
down those stairs after that child...
Oh no sir, you can't
pin this on me, I'm not the Bat!
I've never killed, I couldn't kill,
I won't take the rap for this!
Well doctor...
we have another case for the county coroner.
You see, the Bat came back.
Why did you come back doctor?
Well I, I had an accident
about a mile down the road.
The right rear wheel of my car
came off and I plunged into the ditch.
This was the nearest house
so I came here to call for help.
I thought I'd find you around Andy.
Physician, heal thyself.
You're must've been hit by
something on the back of your head.
- I told you I had an accident.
- So you did doctor.
So you did.
I could be wrong.
But maybe I'm not.
We shall see.
Fine dear, let's start a new chapter.
For days, the murders held the headlines.
Lieutenant Anderson grilled us...
and ransacked the house from top to bottom.
Warner was not placed under arrest
but his every move was watched.
At night...
except for a detective on guard in the house,
the police and the reporters left us alone.
And on one of those nights...
without telling Lizzie or anyone else,
I pursued a secret investigation of my own.
It was in an empty room on the third floor
where we kept our trunks and other things.
Put them up Bat.
A bright idea to kill me in my own lab
and let people think that I'm the Bat.
But you had to kill me first.
What would it to be? Ambush?
As clever as you are, you're
not smart enough to do that.
Nor were you smart enough to find the
money, though you came quite close to it.
But I know where it is.
And when you're dead with that
sign pinned on your chest...
I'm going to collect it
and live happily ever after.
He destroyed himself, how true that will be.
Well, goodbye Bat, here's a serum that
will heal you whether you're rabid or not.
Something is wrong, something is wrong.
Miss Cornelia?
Miss Cornelia?
Now, wonder would she be
going at this time of night.
I never!
Mr. Davenport, Mr. Davenport...
Oh, a fine thing, the door unbolted, the
chain off and you asleep on the job.
Wait till Lieutenant
Anderson hears about this.
Come on, wake up.
- What's the matter with you?
- I don't know, I don't know.
- My head hurts, my whole body is numb.
- Here, here, take a sip of this.
Try to snap out
of it, I'll be back in a minute.
Hurry, will you? It's Lizzie.
I'm terribly worried, I can't
find Miss Cornelia anywhere...
and something's happened to the
policeman, I don't know what.
Get Warner, bring him to the
drawing room, tell him we need him.
- Are you all right now?
- Yeah, I'll be all right in a minute.
I remember now, I took a drink
of wine from that decanter there.
- Miss Van Gorder told me to help myself.
- She wouldn't put nothing in it.
Well, somebody did, somebody
who knew I was on duty here.
Mean it was somebody
that got Miss Van Gorder.
I can't find her anywhere, upstairs,
downstairs or in the basement.
I told the housekeeper to get Warner.
Lieutenant Anderson
will want to know about this.
Hello?
Yeah, this is Davenport
at the Oaks, we got trouble here.
Well, for one thing I was drugged. Yeah.
But I must've been knocked out, because the
maid tells me Miss Van Gorder is missing.
You better call Anderson and let him know.
He's not at home? Well, where is he?
Out on a case? What case?
Dr. Wells?
What else did they tell you about him?
Oh hurry, will you?
We got to find Miss Cornelia!
Ok.
Lieutenant Anderson is out on a case.
Dr. Wells was found dead in a
room next to his garage, murdered.
Dr. Wells?
There's something queer about the killing of
Wells but headquarters won't talk about it.
Lizzie, Warner isn't in his room,
there's no sign of him anywhere.
And I was supposed to
keep an eye on that guy.
Where is Miss Cornelia?
That's what I want to know!
Wait a minute, didn't you say that the chain
and the bolt were off of the front door?
- I certainly did.
- Well, maybe Miss Van Gorder went outside.
Oh, she never would, we better look.
I can't, I can't breathe, there's no air.
Miss Cornelia?
- Miss Van Gorder?
- Miss Cornelia?
- Miss Cornelia?
- Miss Van Gorder?
Look, there's a light in that
room on the third floor.
Were you up there tonight?
Well, of course I was, but I turned the
lights out before I came downstairs.
Miss Cornelia might've turned them on again.
That's where we're
going to look first, come on.
Cornelia? Cornelia?
- Miss Cornelia?
- Yes I'm, I'm here.
Right here!
Here we are Miss Van
Gorder, what do we do now?
Over the mantle, there are five panels.
Strike it, with your hands.
- Which panel did you say Miss Van Gorder?
- Oh I, I just...
Miss Van Gorder, which panel?
We couldn't hear you!
She said strike it, what difference does
it make which panel? Strike them all.
Look!
Oh, it's all right now,
it's all right dear, Lizzie's here.
- Feeling better?
- Yes, much better.
We'll take you to your room.
Oh, no you wont, I'm going to
stay right here, I'm quite all right.
Oh, how blessed it is to
breathe without an effort, you know...
no one knows how sweet the air can taste
until someone shuts it off for a moment.
That room is just like a box.
When the mantle piece closed, it
seemed like all the air was drawn out of it.
Look, there's goes again!
Let it close, I can open it from in here.
There's a control
panel behind this blueprint.
Electric motor under the trap door here.
Once the door is open
you can keep it that way.
I believe that the fireplace in
this other room opens the same way.
And it does.
I tried to find this but I couldn't find it.
Yeah, it's back of this blueprint here.
Well, it's, it's quite a set up.
Too bad we can't open that safe the same way.
Take an expert to crack
this box or a shot of nitro.
Maybe, maybe that's what the Bat had in mind.
Could be, seems he's on the prowl tonight.
Miss Van Gorder, Warner has disappeared.
- Really?
- And Dr. Wells is been murdered.
Dr. Wells?
Lieutenant Anderson is
on that case right now.
Oh, does he know what happened here tonight?
They got word to him,
he'll be here any minute.
What's that noise?
- Miss Van Gorder, the garage is on fire.
- Great scotch, look at that.
Lizzie, put that light out in the other room.
Now, where are you going?
- To report the fire.
- Well, you just stay right here.
- But Miss Van Gorder, the garage?
- Well, let it burn, go watch the stairs.
Can't you see that fire was
set to get us out of the house.
- Out of the, you're talking about the...
- Yes, yes, I'm talking about the Bat.
Now that the lights are out, he'll think
his trick has worked and we've gone.
He'll be here any minute.
- Well, so will Lieutenant Anderson.
- I hope so, but the Bat will be here first.
And he'll kill again if we're in his
way, we got to be as clever as he is.
But you'll be safer
downstairs, I'll take care of him.
Well, the others can go
but I'm going to stay right here.
All right, but get out of sight.
Let's face it ladies and get it over with.
Others have seen my face before they died
but I'll have to deny you that pleasure.
This would make a good scene
for your book Miss Van Gorder.
But I'm afraid you'll never write it.
That is Warner, I could tell.
- You misjudge me Miss Ellen.
- Warner!
I don't like being a murder
suspect Miss Van Gorder.
I was headed for a plane but halfway to the
airport I changed my mind and came back.
I'm glad that I did.
Why, it's Lieutenant Anderson!
Yes, it was Anderson.
He discovered the secret of the hidden
room and was waiting to get into it...
and open up the safe.
We found the money in it, little over a
million in tens and twenties and hundreds.
Good old Andy, with all his ill
gotten gains invested in bank stock.
It's rather a clever
way to hide stolen money...
in the open, as it were and so respectable.
But don't try it.
No matter how clever you
are, you can't hide murder.
Well, that's it Dale.
That's the end.
country which I rented for the summer.
As an author, I write
tales of mystery and murder.
But the things that happened in this
house were far more fantastic...
than any story I've ever had published.
I brought a staff of
servants from my city apartment...
and my maid Lizzy Allen who
had been with me nearly 20 years.
Lizzy?
- Yes, Miss Cornelia?
- Is the car ready?
It's at the door.
Look. Miss Cornelia...
them servants you brought from the apartment
are talking about walking out on us.
Really?
Oh, I know they don't like it here
but I didn't think it was that bad.
Well, they've been hearing things about
the killer that the police call the Bat,
And the murders that he
committed here this past winter.
Now people are saying that he's back again.
Well, how can they be sure of that?
Has he committed another crime?
No, not yet, but that
ain't saying that he won't.
Here's something else.
You've heard about the bats they have
here, animal bats, the kind that fly.
- Yes, yes.
- Look what it says in this magazine.
This is a report from the
state Health Department...
and it says some of them bats is rabid.
- Well?
- And that ain't all.
And now there's a rumor going
around that it was the Bat himself...
the killer I mean, that released the
rabid bats in this neighborhood.
Oh, that's ridiculous.
Well, the housekeeper, the cook, the
butler and the upstairs maid don't think so.
Well, I can't help what they think.
If hysterical nonsense like that
can scare them out of their good jobs...
it's their loss not mine.
Come on Lizzy, I've got to get to the bank.
Drive directly to Zenith Bank Warner.
I'm afraid we'll have
to hurry, it's near closing time.
I'll get you there Miss Van Gorder.
Thanks again.
- Miss Van Gorder!
- How are you doing Mr. Bailey?
- How are you?
- I'm very well, thank you.
You remember Lizzy Allen?
- Of course, hello Miss Allen.
- How do you do?
- So you're spending the summer with us again?
- Yes, yes, I've leased the Oaks.,
The home of your bank president John Fleming.
I heard you had, I was surprised.
Why? Is there something the matter with it?
No, I was surprised because
Mr. Fleming said he would never rent it.
Oh?
Well I rented it from his nephew Mark
Fleming who has the real estate office here.
He said his uncle would
be gone the entire summer.
That's right.
Mr. Fleming is in the north woods
now with his physician Dr. Wells.
Oh, pard me, Dale.
I want you to meet my wife.
We were married at Christmas time.
- That must've been nice.
- Believe me, it was.
Oh, here she is, my wife,
Miss Van Gorder, Miss Allen.
- How do you do Miss Bailey?
- How do you do?
- Cornelia Van Gorder.
- Yes.
Oh, well I've read every murder
mystery you've ever written.
I just adored that weird one,
the private morgue of Dr. X.
- Even though it gave me the shivers.
- Only the shivers? Scared hell out of me.
Well, I, I, I really means that Miss
Corny killed them off in that one.
When you refer to my books,
please don't call me Miss Corny.
Pard me, Mr. Bailey,
Mr. Hynes is here to see you.
Oh yes, excuse me please.
- Don't be strangers now.
- No, no we won't.
Oh, so you're a bride?
- No, not quite.
- Not since Christmas.
You know, I'm sure I've seen you.
Well I, I used to be my
husband's secretary here in the bank.
Of course, I remember.
May I welcome our most
distinguished visitor back to Zenith?
Oh, that's very charming, but...
- Lieutenant Anderson.
- Lieutenant Anderson, of course.
Chief of detectives of the Zenith police
department, This is Miss Allen.
- Miss Allen.
- How do you do?
Lt. Anderson is one of our favorite citizens,
he's on the Bank's board of directors.
- Not bad for a policeman.
- You must've made a good thing of it.
Well, I saved my money,
if that's what you mean.
It's near closing time and I've got some
business in the safe deposit vault.
- Please come and see me Miss Bailey.
- Oh, I'd love to.
- And you Lieutenant.
- Thank you.
- Goodbye.
- Goodbye, nice to have met you.
My, what a charming woman, she
moved into the Oaks just the other day.
That house is a proper
sitting for a writer of mysteries.
Oh, it certainly is.
- Dick, what's the matter?
- Come in here, both of you.
Andy, we're in trouble. Wendell Hynes came
in to pick up $350,000 worth of bonds that...
we were holding as collateral for a loan.
They were kept in our special vault.
Mr. Fleming and I are the only officers
of the bank who have access to that vault.
- So?
- The Hynes bonds are gone.
That's not all, other
negotiable securities are missing.
From what I can gather
short of a careful check...
the bank is been looted of over
a million dollars worth of securities.
You'll have to notify Fleming.
I wish I could talk to him. Unfortunately,
he and Dr. Wells are deep in the woods.
They can't be reached by phone.
What is it?
I thought I heard someone
on the path coming from the lake.
- Had an idea it might be that guide of ours.
- Oh, Sam won't show up until morning.
It's a 20 mile canoe trip
from here to civilization.
Five will get you 10,
Sam has a message for me.
I thought you told them at
the bank not to bother you.
I did, but they'll bother me.
- Doctor?
- Yes, John.
What would you do for half a million?
Anything short of murder.
Why not murder?
Too messy.
Too great a risk?
For half a million? Yes.
I pinched a million from the bank.
I'm not kidding.
I embezzled it.
Not that I think you wouldn't do it
if you thought you could get away with it.
I got away with it.
I'm not talking about currency.
I took negotiable securities that
could be converted into cash.
I have the cash, in tens,
twenties, and hundreds.
And I'm your doctor,
not your lawyer, why tell me this?
You'll find out why.
Who's going to take the
blame for the robbery?
Bailey, the cashier,
they'll never suspect me.
- I like Bailey.
- Oh, so do I, I love the guy.
- I gave him his first chance.
- He has a lovely little wife.
Charming girl, was the best man.
Where's the million?
In my family's tomb in Zenith,
in the crypt with my father's casket.
- I don't buy that John.
- No?
No.
You forget that I had you in
charge when you were a very sick man.
When you raved in delirium.
And I heard you talk about a hidden room.
Now, where else could you put a hidden
room except in that mansion you built.
That white elephant you call the Oaks?
Look, everyone knows I have a bad heart.
Who would doubt it if you wired the
bank directors that my heart is failed.
That I'd fallen from a great height here in
the woods and that I was badly smashed up?
You could ship
the body back for burial and...
instruct them not to open the casket
due to the condition of its contents.
Well you realize, of course, that we
had to have a body to put in that casket.
Which means that we'd have to
deal with an undertaker at this end.
- Of course.
- But where do we get a body?
Couldn't we provide
one of our own? How about Sam?
Sam, our guide?
Sam weighs about as much
as I do, he's practically a hermit.
He wouldn't be missed for a long time.
The local undertaker would know him.
Not if we made him look as
if he'd been in a serious accident.
But if Bailey is going to take the
blame, why do you have to do this?
A jury might acquit him.
In that case, I'd be a logical suspect.
I could disappear of course,
but it's safer if they think I'm dead.
What if I don't go for this deal?
In that case, it would be two bad.
- You mean you'd kill me?
- What else could I do?
Now that I've told you about the million.
I'd say you were shot in a hunting accident.
Now look doctor...
if you can find another body
instead of Sam's, it's all right with me.
There's half a million in it for you.
I'll do my best.
- I smell smoke.
- So do I, what's that noise?
Look doctor, the woods are on fire.
It's coming this way,
we've got to get out of here.
Out the back way.
We will, as soon as I provide
that body we were talking about.
My goodness. Lizzie, is that you?
Yes Miss Cordelia, there's a storm
coming up and it's going to be a snorter.
The wind nearly blew the door off its hinges.
Well, that noise blew my game higher than
a kite, I think I've lost some of the cards.
Oh, I'll get them for you.
Oh, I see you found the paper.
To rat that paper boy.
Scooting by on his bicycle, just chucked it
into a couple bushes and let it go at that.
For land's sake, Mr. Vick
Bailey is been arrested.
- Oh?
- Right there.
Victor Bailey, vice president
and cashier of the Zenith bank,
was arraigned before United
States commissioner Alvin Fielding...
charged with the
embezzlement of over a million dollars.
I can't believe Vick Bailey had
anything to do with that robbery.
Oh well, I see our landlord is home again.
- Landlord?
- Mr. Fleming.
Dr. Malcolm Wells is back in
town with the body of John Fleming...
president of the Zenith bank,
who was killed in a forest fire.
Mr. Fleming will be laid to rest
in his family's tomb on Friday.
- And I hope he stays there.
- Why shouldn't he?
Well, this is his house. And ever since he
died, some funny things have happened here.
For instance?
The housekeeper, the cook and the butler
said that they heard strange noises at night.
And the upstairs maid swore that she met a
man without a face coming up the back stairs.
Oh, so that's why they quit and
left me to run this place without a staff.
They didn't tell you Miss Corny,
but the truth is, they were scared to stay.
But you're still here Lizzie.
Haven't you seen anything?
No, no, and even
if I had I ain't afraid of ghosts.
They're afraid of me.
Honest Miss Corny, a spiritualist told
me once that ghosts was allergic to me.
But, but this Bat feller they keep
talking about in the paper, I...
I guess he'd be different.
No, I don't think you'd
have the same effect on him.
Oh dear.
What are they trying to do? Drive
people away from this part of the country?
Why? What did it say about the Bat?
His specialty seems to be killing women,
my goodness, two of them in one night.
All his victims died the same way...
like their throats had been
ripped open with steel claws.
Well, that's a charming little caper.
I'll have to try it sometime.
In a book.
That ain't' nothing, just something
bumping against the house.
That's just the wind
banging a door, pay no attention to it.
Listen to this, one of his
victims who lived for a moment...
after she was found, described
the Bat as a man without a face.
Honest Miss Corny, I think
that woman must've been exaggerating.
That's just that heavy
tapestry at the top of the stairs.
I know, I know, I've
heard it before on a windy night.
But that sound a little
was someone on the stairs.
I know there isn't, least there shouldn't be.
There ain't, them is just the noises you
here in any old house on windy night.
It says here that the Bat
never leaves no fingerprints.
That's understandable, having no
face, he probably has no fingers either.
Lizzie.
And that, I suppose, is the
cat dropping its dentures?
No, no, I don't think so, but I think
it's something should be looked into.
Now, who chucked him down here?
The wind, I hope.
There must be a window open up there.
No Lizzie, let him lay. Let him sleep it off.
I hope the power lines don't
go down, put the lights out.
We'll check the windows in the living room...
and drawn the curtains
and then we'll go to bed.
Yes, ma'am.
I won't be a minute.
Miss Corny...
What was that?
Oh, when I went to get the
paper, I turned the latch off.
I forgot to turn it on again.
He's out there, he was coming in.
He might've got you.
Oh, but he didn't and
he's still out there, thanks to you.
Now, you hurry now go we'll call the police.
No, no, I won't leave you Miss Corny.
- Are you Ok?
- Yes ma'am, I'm, I'm ok.
Ok.
- Operator.
- Give me the police department please.
- Zenith police department.
- This is Cornelia Van Gorder.
- I'm living at the Oaks.
- We know about that Miss Van Gorder.
Just a moment ago, a man
tried to force his way into this house.
You're not alone there, are you?
What about your servants?
Well, I have none except my chauffeur and
he's away, won't be back until the morning.
Now, there's only two of us here tonight
and we're going to lock ourselves in my room.
Now, if, if any of your men see
anything, will you have them call me?
- I'll send officers over there right away.
- Well, thank you very much.
Come on Lizzie, we're
going to sleep in my room.
Well, nothing can get at us in
this room now, I don't think.
- This door seems good and solid.
- Like the door to a tomb.
I think that couch will be comfortable,
it's some extra bedding you know...
- in the closet.
- Yes, ma'am.
Let's see now.
No bolt, no that's not so good.
- Ma'am, what's that for?
- That my good woman, is a boobie trap.
If anybody tries to open this transom this'll
be knocked off, and we'll hear it fall..
Oh, fiddlesticks, I forgot my night things,
my robe, my gown and my sleepers.
- I'll go get them now.
- Now, wait a minute, Lizzie.
- I'll go with you...
- Now don't you bother Miss Cornelia.
- My room is just down the hall.
- Lizzie, I told you to wait!
It's all right, I'll only be a second.
Get in here!
Get in here!
- Yes?
- Miss Van Gorder?
- Yes?
- Zenith police department.
There's a police car just outside your house.
And the officers in
it have reported that there's...
no sign of a prowler anywhere on the grounds.
Oh, the man is inside now, he's
in the hall just outside my bedroom.
Have your men break through the kitchen door
and search this place from top to bottom.
- Ok, Miss Van Gorder, sit tight.
- I will.
I have a gun and I know how to use it.
Oh, relax, relax Lizzie, the police did a
good job, they couldn't find anybody in here.
- But we both saw him Miss Cornelia.
- All right, all right, so he got away.
But there are men on guard
outside, so just try and get some rest.
There's nothing can get at us here.
- Oh, Miss Cordelia, Miss Cordelia!
- What?
- What's the matter?
- A bat!
- Oh nonsense, you've had a nightmare.
- Maybe I did.
But there was a bat and it bit me.
- What?
- It flew in that closet.
Good gracious Lizzie, you're right!
Operator, operator, will you get me
Dr. Malcolm Wells' office please.
No, I don't know his number and I have no
phone book up here, but this is an emergency.
Will you connect me with his office please?
Oh dear, oh dear, I'm
going to get the rabies.
- Hello?
- Hello, Dr. Well's office?
This is a call service, Dr. Wells is out at
moment, but if you give me your name and...
- number, I'll try to locate him.
- Well, this is Miss Van Gorder of the Oaks.
My maid has just been bitten
by a bat that may be rabid...
and she must have
treatment as soon as possible.
And I was told that Dr. Wells
was the nearest physician.
I'll try to find him for you and if I
can't, I'll send you another doctor.
Well, thank you very much.
Oh, he's out on a case.
Oh, I hope it's not a delivery, a baby I
mean, they can be terribly complicated.
- It never bothered me none.
- Oh Lizzie, you never had a baby.
Of course I didn't, that's
why they never bothered me.
- Oh, does it hurt, eh?
- A little.
Dr. Wells? Are you there Dr. Wells?
Are you there
Dr. Wells? This is the operator.
Your call service is
on the wire, it's an emergency.
- This is Dr. Wells.
- This is your call service doctor.
Oh hello, I, I was just doing
an experiment, I left the receiver off.
That's what I thought, but I kept trying.
Miss Van Gorder at the Oaks called and
said that her maid had been bitten by a bat.
- And she's afraid it might be rabid.
- What?
Oh, all right, tell
her I'll be right over there.
- Who's there?
- Dr. Wells.
- Come in.
- Good evening.
Oh, I'm so glad they found you doctor.
Well, I reached my office shortly
after you called, how is your maid?
- Is she in any pain?
- No, no, she doesn't seem to be.
- Did the bat get away?
- No, I believe it's still in my bedroom.
Good, I'll want to examine it.
There you go
Miss Allen, now you'll feel better?
Doctor, have I got the rabies?
Well, I can tell you better after I've
examined the bat's brain under a microscope.
- That thing got a brain?
- Oh, you'd be surprised.
Where is it?
I think the little darling is in that closet.
You know, it's a pity you
leased this house Miss Van Gorder.
Why a pity?
Well, my dear lady, I don't
want to alarm you but...
Oh, after tonight nothing can alarm me.
Yes, I understand,
it must've been terrifying.
So many unexplainable
things had happened here.
It's something about the place.
Your servants must've sensed it
when they walked out on you...
an apprehension of disaster.
Well, let's see.
Yes, there he is.
All right now, take it easy, nobody is
going to hurt you, quiet now, quiet.
Looks quite normal,
doesn't seem to be sick at all.
Ain't that nice. I've been worried about him.
Well, you should be.
From his appearance, I'd say
that he doesn't have any infection.
In which case, you had a narrow escape.
Now, you take one of those tablets I left
for you and I'll guarantee you a good night.
And I'll drop in on here you tomorrow.
Oh, thanks for everything doctor.
- Now, don't worry, I can find my way out.
- I know you can, but do let me help you.
Oh, don't forget that once I'm gone
you'll have to climb those stairs alone.
Oh, I'm all right, I'm armed now.
Can you shoot one of those
things without shutting your eyes?
Oh doctor, there are guns
in every book I've ever written.
I don't write about
things I'm unfamiliar with.
Lock the door Lizzie.
- Good night.
- Yes ma'am, good night doctor.
- Accident?
- No, no, the wind blew him down.
- Oh?
- I think.
Did you know that young Mark Fleming leased
you this house without notifying his uncle?
No, no, I didn't.
Well, it doesn't matter now, John
Fleming is dead and Mark is his heir.
But if John were alive, he would warn
you to leave here Miss Van Gorder.
- Really?
- Yes.
It's been a tragic place
for anyone who ever lived in it.
- Well, good night.
- Good night doctor.
Who is out there?
- Nobody you need to worry about doctor.
- Oh, it's Andy.
- That's right, good evening Miss Van Gorder.
- Good evening Lieutenant.
- Somebody sick here?
- My maid was bitten by a bat.
Oh? A rabid bat?
Well, I'll know for sure when
I get to my lab, I, I caught the bat.
It happened indoors?
- In my bedroom.
- How it get in?
Well there are ways a
bat could get in a house.
You ought to know.
I, I spotted this hole in
the window the minute I got here.
That's where the two
legged bat got your door open.
Miss Van Gorder told me that she
phoned headquarters at Zenith.
Yes, I phoned twice, the second time
was after the prowler got in the house.
- Were in headquarters, Andy?
- No, but they contacted me.
An officer came and searched the house from
top to bottom but they couldn't find the bat.
- You better have this window fixed tomorrow.
- Oh yes, I certainly shall.
And I, I better be going, I'm due
in surgery at 8 o'clock in the morning.
- Good night.
- Good night doctor.
There'll be a man patrolling the
grounds all night Miss Van Gorder.
- Oh, thank you.
- And nobody inside Andy?
Why should there be?
Well, how do you know but what
the bat is hiding somewhere in the house?
I'm quite sure he isn't in
the house doctor, not now.
- Good night.
- Good night.
- Hi Andy.
- Hello Mark.
Well, congratulations, real
estate business must be picking up.
- New office, new furniture.
- New deal, how do you like it?
Ah, looks expensive.
- Are you squandering your inheritance?
- Oh, I haven't got it yet.
Oh, the paper says John Fleming
left his entire fortune to you.
Funny thing about that
entire fortune is that we can't find it.
No kidding?
No, all uncle John has in his bank
account was a couple hundred dollars.
And his safe deposit box was empty.
If we don't find that missing
million mine will be empty too.
How come?
Well, all my savings were
invested in Zenith bank stock.
The examiners won't certify
the bank as solvent until those...
stolen securities are found, so the...
stockholders have voted an
assessment that'll wipe some of us out.
It's as is those securities
have been converted into cash.
And if I can't find that cash, I'm sunk.
Oh, where are you going to look for it Andy?
Here in Zenith.
Your uncle wouldn't take a
million on a hunting trip, would he?
You suspect uncle John?
Why Andy, he founded the Zenith back.
That'd be like robbing the family tomb.
You think he wouldn't?
Well, besides...
Vick Bailey's fingerprints
are all over the vault.
Now, they didn't find any
of uncle John's fingerprints.
- Because he wiped them off.
- Can the defense prove that?
They'll try to.
Judie Holland had Bailey's
secretary as a defense witness.
And they believe her testimony
will have a powerful effect on the jury.
Well, she has a powerful
effect on me, Judie is a doll.
- Here's the book you mentioned Judie.
- Your newest one?
Yes, it's just been published.
You can have that copy if you wish.
Oh, it's a first edition
and you've signed it.
- Yes, of course.
- Thank you so much.
- May I serve tea now Miss Van Gorder?
- Yes, please do Warner.
Thank you.
- I see you've engaged new servants.
- Yes, of course.
Oh, how did you persuade
them to live in this house?
Jane Patterson, my new housekeeper,
knows this house better than you do doctor.
She worked for John Fleming
and Warner was my chauffeur.
- Chauffeur turned butler?
- It's incredible.
He can play any part at a moment's notice.
Ah, did you, did you get a plumber Warner?
No, we can't get a
plumber for three days madame.
What about that leaking pipe? The
basement will be flooded in three days.
The pipe is no longer leaking.
You mean it's dried up of its own accord?
No, not quite, I packed the elbow
where the water was coming up.
Packed the elbow?
- Where did you learn how to do that?
- Into each life, a little rain must fall.
And a careful man learns to keep himself dry.
Now, is there anything that
you require Miss Van Gorder?
- No, not at the moment Warner.
- Thank you madame.
Now, there's a character.
How long did you say that he
worked for you as chauffeur?
About three months.
Well, I hope he doesn't have a police record.
My dear Dale...
it may interest you to know that
the last night of his life, John Fleming...
told me that he loved
your husband like a son.
If Fleming were alive today, he would
be fighting to prove Vick's innocence.
Could Mr. Fleming prove his own innocence?
Miss Van Gorder,
can there be any doubt about it?
There will be when
Miss Holland testifies at Vick's trial.
Oh?
You know something
that we haven't heard yet Judie?
Something I saw with my own eyes.
She's not permitted to say what it was.
My dear girl, I wouldn't think of asking her.
But let's assume for a moment
that Fleming did steal the million, now...
what would he do about it? Where is it?
Hidden some place where he could lay his hands
on it without getting caught in the act.
Now, if I was writing this
instead of living in the middle of it...
I'd hide it right
here in this spooky old house.
Under a loose floorboard or up a chimney?
If Mr. Fleming...
had the nerve to steal a million,
he'd make his plans well in advance.
I'd say he'd prepare a place to hide it.
Possibly when this house was being built.
I rented this place from
Mark Fleming, his nephew.
I wonder, I wonder if he had the floor plans.
- I'll ask him.
- Yes.
Lizzie, will you bring Miss Bailey the phone?
You ask him now, his number is Summit...
- Summit 7537.
- Thank you Lizzie.
- Summit...?
- 7537.
Not bad, eh Andy? That means new business.
Now, you see? Somebody wants to buy a house.
- Mark Fleming speaking.
- Oh hello Dale.
Well, hang on a minute
honey while I see if I have them.
It's Dale Bailey all excited.
Miss Van Gorder wants to know
if I have the floor plans of the Oaks.
Now, what would she want
with the floor plans?
Well, she suggested to me that your
uncle might've hidden the bank loot there.
Are the plans here?
Somewhere in the house itself.
Wait a minute, there is a place where
uncle Johnny might've kept those blueprints.
What place?
Well, I heard him talk
about it a good many years ago.
I can't be sure of the exact location.
Anyway, I don't think the old boy
had the guts to steal a million.
But if I find those plans,
I'll let you know Andy.
Hello Dale?
Look honey, I haven't seen
those plans since I was a kid.
But I'll come over tonight,
and maybe we can find them.
Thank you Mark, we'll expect you.
He seems to think they're
here in the house somewhere.
- He's coming over tonight.
- Oh, that's good.
Dale and Judie are my
house guests for the weekend.
Would you like to have
dinner with us tonight?
Oh no thank you, I couldn't,
I still have a few calls to make.
You know, if Judy's testimony is
going to clear Vick Bailey and implicate...
John Fleming, others may get the idea
that there's buried treasure in this house.
Don't even mention your testimony
until you're actually on the stand.
Oh, I won't.
That's a smart girl
Judie and a very lovely girl.
- Well, good afternoon ladies.
- Doctor.
- Doctor.
- Goodbye Dr. Wells.
Come on girls, let's go.
So many unusual things
have happened here this summer.
The more I think about it...
the more I realize I should've
be putting them down on paper.
Weren't you your husband's secretary Dale?
- Yes, I was.
- You take shorthand?
Well my dear, if you'd like
to have your mind occupied...
I want you to work with me while I write
the story of this fantastic criminal...
the Bat.
- Wonderful dinner.
- Thank you.
Was really nice.
Was a good dinner Lizzie.
- As usual.
- Wonderful.
Oh, what a lovely piece of silver.
- It's an original, isn't it?
- Yes, they still use them in England.
That clock hasn't struck the
hour in the last 10 years...
if I'm to believe what Mark Fleming told me.
Why is it angled away
from the wall like that?
I don't know. Somebody must've moved it.
- Lizzie, very like when she was dusting.
- Wait a minute.
Did you know there's a door in this paneling?
No, I didn't. Oh, by gracious, so there is.
- Maybe it opens to a secret passage.
- Certainly to a secret something!
Who knows girls, we may be about
to stumble on that missing million.
Oh, there's a panel, there must
be some gimmick to it, there always is.
Calling car 11, calling car 11.
Proceed to the Oaks in Zenith township
immediately, a homicide is been reported.
Ok, proceeding to the Oaks.
Notify the county coroner, Dr. Wells.
Tell him to come to the Oaks at once.
Horrible.
It's as if his throat had been torn
by some creature with fans or claws.
That's his sign.
We found it on the others he killed.
I'd hoped those reports that he was up to his
old tricks again were pure imagination but...
apparently they're based on fact.
He's come back...
back to the scene of his kills.
Yes, that's who I mean.
That's who did this.
The Bat.
- Who found Mark?
- We all did.
That is Dale and Judie and I,
Lizzie was in the dining room.
This is my new housekeeper, Jane Patterson.
You know, she worked for John Fleming.
I know her.
Where were you Miss Patterson?
In the kitchen, cleaning up.
I cooked the dinner tonight.
Did you know that this
secret closet was here?
- No, it was behind the grandfather's clock.
- Well, it was I who found it, really.
Noticed the clock had been moved
and the door wasn't quite closed.
I'll get it.
Who is it?
Mark Fleming.
As coroner, you saw the
same wounds on the others.
- How long is he been dead?
- Oh, I'd say about a half an hour.
- You believe it was the Bat?
- That's the Bat's trademark.
- Perhaps he's still in the house.
- It's possible.
Why should he be?
Because he's looking for something
and like you, he believes it's here.
And he's a persistent killer.
I would advise you
get out of this house as quickly as possible.
Not withstanding
our expert police protection.
- Have you called the morgue?
- They're on their way here.
Oh, good, I want to examine
the body before they get here.
- Oh, may we take it into another room?
- Yes, to the sun room in the back.
- Thank you, give me a hand.
- Excuse me.
Oh, Warner, where have you been?
Well madame, it would have been an accident?
There's been a murder.
Mark Fleming, the young man from whom I
leased this place is killed here tonight.,
- They know who did it?
- Well they, they believe it was the Bat.
I'm sorry I had to use the
front door Miss Van Gorder.
Bu I forgot my keys and when I rang the bell
at the kitchen door, there was no response.
Oh, this is Warner Lieutenant.
He's my butler, he was my chauffeur.
Why did you promote him?
Well, it's very difficult to find a butler
they don't like service in the country.
Have you been a butler before?
I've served in many capacities sir, but
this was my night off and I forgot my keys.
I heard that part.
What time you leave the house tonight?
Oh, about 6:30, I had
dinner at Wiley's roadhouse.
Can you prove where you
spent the rest of the evening?
- I can try.
- Try hard.
And don't leave the
house, I'll get to you later.
Very good sir.
I shall be in my room Miss
Van Gorder, if you need me.
Yes Warner.
Surely, you don't think he's...
Warner and I met before.
I can't recall where or when.
But I will.
There'll be a crew
here shortly from headquarters...
dusting for fingerprints, taking photographs.
But in the meantime...
Miss Patterson, you aren't
leaving the house tonight are you?
No Lieutenant.
Don't, I'll talk to you in the morning.
Good night.
- Good night sir.
- Good night Miss Patterson.
Dale...
I was with Mark Fleming
this afternoon when you...
talked to him about
the floor plans of this house.
I heard him tell you he
was coming here tonight.
Dale called him at my request.
She told me he was coming.
Who else heard her tell you that?
- Judie, Lizzie...
- And that nice Dr. Wells..
Dr. Wells?
There are few killers
who kill for the fun of it.
The Bat very likely is a mental case and I'm
convinced that his crimes are motivated...
by his, mainly personal gain.
There's a million dollars at large.
And he's going to keep on hunting
for it until he lays his hands on it.
Now, these young ladies
are staying here tonight?
Yes, they're my house guests.
Well, when my crew
arrives we'll be busy for a while...
- so I'd suggest that...
- That we go to our rooms?
- That's very good idea.
- Come on girls.
What about a police guard for
this house tonight Lieutenant?
You've got one.
I'm going to cover this place tonight
from the attic to the basement.
If the Bat makes another call,
I'll have a little surprise for him.
Who, who is he? Have you any idea?
He could be anybody.
So far, there are clues to his identity
but nothing we could take before a jury.
I am afraid we must look
higher than the criminal world.
He may be a
merchant, lawyer, doctor, scientist.
One of the pillars of his community.
Ladies, lock your
doors tonight, stay behind them.
- I promise you you'll be safe, good night.
- Good night Lieutenant.
- Poor Mark.
- Yeah, it's a pity.
- So young.
- Well doctor, do you agree it was the Bat?
In my report, I shall say the death was...
caused by the same
technique used in the other killings.
A paralyzing blow to the throat, followed
by severe lacerations of the jugular...
resulting in excessive hemorrhage.
In a layman's language,
he didn't know what hit him.
Oh, he knew, but he didn't
have time to think about it.
You staying here tonight Andy?
Well, until I check the doors and windows but
I'll be back bright and early in the morning.
Neither snow nor rain
nor heat nor gloom of night...
stays these couriers from the swift
completion of their appointed rounds.
A lot of people are due for a
shock when I close this case.
Yes, I'm sure they are.
Good night Andy, don't get hurt.
Good night, doctor.
You know, I think we'd
better let get some sleep.
Oh well Lizzie and I share
this room for mutual protection.
You know, one night, a storm blew
the wires down, put the lights out...
and when I went out the next day and
bought a half a dozen of these things.
- You better take one with you Dale.
- Oh, thank you.
- We'll go across the hall.
- Are you sure there's nothing else you need?
- No.
- Quite sure, we'll be all right.
Well, if anything
bothers you, you just sing out.
And two strong
women will come to your rescue.
Oh, nothing will bother us,
not with Andy on the job.
- Good night.
- Good night.
Don't worry, everything will be all right.
- Good night.
- Good night.
Come on Lizzie.
- No, I don't think I'll sleep tonight.
- Me neither.
All I can see is poor
Mark Fleming staring at us.
I thought that when people died
their eyes closed, as in sleep.
- Don't think about it.
- I bet you're thinking about it.
No, I was thinking of my poor
husband sleeping in jail tonight.
Oh Judie, I love him so much.
- What's that noise?
- Oh, I don't know.
I kind of fell half asleep.
For a moment, I thought it
was something from a dream.
It's somewhere in the house.
Yes, on the floor
above, not directly over us.
Probably a room overlooking the driveway.
- Should we call Miss Van Gorder?
- She'll hear it.
How can she help but hear it?
Besides, we don't want her to think
we're a couple of hysterical women.
I'm about to become
one, I've had it for one night.
- Dale, you're not going out in that hall.
- I want to know what's happening up there.
But Lieutenant Anderson said if we stayed
behind our locked doors, we'd be safe.
Vick isn't safe locked up in that jail.
Suppose that stolen money is in this house.
Mark Fleming seemed to think it was.
Maybe that's what somebody is looking for.
Oh, for heaven's sake, don't you
hear that awful noise up there?
Now Lizzie, you just got to stay awake!
The house phone and the outside phone
wires have been cut and we can't get help!
- Where's that policeman?
- Oh, I don't know.
Something must've happened to him.
Now go on, get on your robe.
- Oh Dale please, don't go up there.
- I've got to.
Think what it could
mean to Vick, now you stay here.
Oh no, if you go, I go.
- You stay here.
- No, no.
- You won't go there alone.
- You wait here, I'm going to see what it is.
- Oh please let me go with you.
- Judie, will you warn me if anyone comes?
I'll only be a moment, now, wait.
Oh no.
What he do to her!
- Judie!
- No, not Judie!
Give her to me, I'll look after her.
Poor baby.
Judie.
- The Bat.
- Yes, the Bat.
He caught her at the head of the stairs.
We saw him rushing down the
stairs as we came out of the room.
I hurled that after him.
I hit him, I believe.
I'm going to cover this place
from attic to basement, you said!
Well, what were you covering when that
poor child was murdered? Where were you?
I saw a man outside on the grounds.
I went out there and hunted him.
I heard him in among the trees and so I...
followed the sound of him as far as
the brook down near the back road.
And then I lost him.
I'd rather give my own life
than have this happen to Judy.
But I told you to stay in your rooms
and lock your doors and stay there!
What was she doing at
the head of those stairs?
That was my fault.
They heard a strange noise, heavy pounding
in one of the rooms on the third floor.
- We all heard it.
- I wanted to see what it was.
Judie, she wouldn't let me go out by myself.
I made her stay on the balcony.
- What about your new butler?
- Well, he's in his room I suppose.
- Oh, Miss Patterson.
- Yes?
Did you know what happened here?
No sir, but I heard the
screams, I went to call Warner.
We have rooms on the same floor.
He wasn't in his room,
his bed hasn't been slept in.
If Miss Patterson heard the screams,
Warner could certainly hear them.
- You're quite right sir, I heard them.
- Oh, you did?
- And where were you?
- Outside on the grounds.
- Miss Holland is been murdered.
- No?
So you're surprised, shocked.
Well, I've seen better performances.
I remember you now, your name is not Warner.
I've got a circular in my
office with your picture on it.
The Chicago police not so long ago were
hunting for you in connection with a robbery.
You're right again sir, and they found me
and they tried me and I proved my innocence.
- And I was acquitted.
- That could've been a lucky break.
- Where were you when this child was killed?
- I told you before sir, outside.
- What you doing there?
- I was following you.
I saw you leaving the house
and seemed that you were hunting...
someone, I thought you might need some help.
Oh yes sir, I followed your
flashlight down through the trees.
Then it disappeared and then suddenly
as I was staring out into the darkness...
I was struck by something
on to the back of the head.
Next thing I knew, I was lying on the
ground, I realized I'd been knocked out.
I wish you had been knocked out.
For then we'd found you
with your mask still on your face!
You were hit here in this house...
with this poker as you were rushing
down those stairs after that child...
Oh no sir, you can't
pin this on me, I'm not the Bat!
I've never killed, I couldn't kill,
I won't take the rap for this!
Well doctor...
we have another case for the county coroner.
You see, the Bat came back.
Why did you come back doctor?
Well I, I had an accident
about a mile down the road.
The right rear wheel of my car
came off and I plunged into the ditch.
This was the nearest house
so I came here to call for help.
I thought I'd find you around Andy.
Physician, heal thyself.
You're must've been hit by
something on the back of your head.
- I told you I had an accident.
- So you did doctor.
So you did.
I could be wrong.
But maybe I'm not.
We shall see.
Fine dear, let's start a new chapter.
For days, the murders held the headlines.
Lieutenant Anderson grilled us...
and ransacked the house from top to bottom.
Warner was not placed under arrest
but his every move was watched.
At night...
except for a detective on guard in the house,
the police and the reporters left us alone.
And on one of those nights...
without telling Lizzie or anyone else,
I pursued a secret investigation of my own.
It was in an empty room on the third floor
where we kept our trunks and other things.
Put them up Bat.
A bright idea to kill me in my own lab
and let people think that I'm the Bat.
But you had to kill me first.
What would it to be? Ambush?
As clever as you are, you're
not smart enough to do that.
Nor were you smart enough to find the
money, though you came quite close to it.
But I know where it is.
And when you're dead with that
sign pinned on your chest...
I'm going to collect it
and live happily ever after.
He destroyed himself, how true that will be.
Well, goodbye Bat, here's a serum that
will heal you whether you're rabid or not.
Something is wrong, something is wrong.
Miss Cornelia?
Miss Cornelia?
Now, wonder would she be
going at this time of night.
I never!
Mr. Davenport, Mr. Davenport...
Oh, a fine thing, the door unbolted, the
chain off and you asleep on the job.
Wait till Lieutenant
Anderson hears about this.
Come on, wake up.
- What's the matter with you?
- I don't know, I don't know.
- My head hurts, my whole body is numb.
- Here, here, take a sip of this.
Try to snap out
of it, I'll be back in a minute.
Hurry, will you? It's Lizzie.
I'm terribly worried, I can't
find Miss Cornelia anywhere...
and something's happened to the
policeman, I don't know what.
Get Warner, bring him to the
drawing room, tell him we need him.
- Are you all right now?
- Yeah, I'll be all right in a minute.
I remember now, I took a drink
of wine from that decanter there.
- Miss Van Gorder told me to help myself.
- She wouldn't put nothing in it.
Well, somebody did, somebody
who knew I was on duty here.
Mean it was somebody
that got Miss Van Gorder.
I can't find her anywhere, upstairs,
downstairs or in the basement.
I told the housekeeper to get Warner.
Lieutenant Anderson
will want to know about this.
Hello?
Yeah, this is Davenport
at the Oaks, we got trouble here.
Well, for one thing I was drugged. Yeah.
But I must've been knocked out, because the
maid tells me Miss Van Gorder is missing.
You better call Anderson and let him know.
He's not at home? Well, where is he?
Out on a case? What case?
Dr. Wells?
What else did they tell you about him?
Oh hurry, will you?
We got to find Miss Cornelia!
Ok.
Lieutenant Anderson is out on a case.
Dr. Wells was found dead in a
room next to his garage, murdered.
Dr. Wells?
There's something queer about the killing of
Wells but headquarters won't talk about it.
Lizzie, Warner isn't in his room,
there's no sign of him anywhere.
And I was supposed to
keep an eye on that guy.
Where is Miss Cornelia?
That's what I want to know!
Wait a minute, didn't you say that the chain
and the bolt were off of the front door?
- I certainly did.
- Well, maybe Miss Van Gorder went outside.
Oh, she never would, we better look.
I can't, I can't breathe, there's no air.
Miss Cornelia?
- Miss Van Gorder?
- Miss Cornelia?
- Miss Cornelia?
- Miss Van Gorder?
Look, there's a light in that
room on the third floor.
Were you up there tonight?
Well, of course I was, but I turned the
lights out before I came downstairs.
Miss Cornelia might've turned them on again.
That's where we're
going to look first, come on.
Cornelia? Cornelia?
- Miss Cornelia?
- Yes I'm, I'm here.
Right here!
Here we are Miss Van
Gorder, what do we do now?
Over the mantle, there are five panels.
Strike it, with your hands.
- Which panel did you say Miss Van Gorder?
- Oh I, I just...
Miss Van Gorder, which panel?
We couldn't hear you!
She said strike it, what difference does
it make which panel? Strike them all.
Look!
Oh, it's all right now,
it's all right dear, Lizzie's here.
- Feeling better?
- Yes, much better.
We'll take you to your room.
Oh, no you wont, I'm going to
stay right here, I'm quite all right.
Oh, how blessed it is to
breathe without an effort, you know...
no one knows how sweet the air can taste
until someone shuts it off for a moment.
That room is just like a box.
When the mantle piece closed, it
seemed like all the air was drawn out of it.
Look, there's goes again!
Let it close, I can open it from in here.
There's a control
panel behind this blueprint.
Electric motor under the trap door here.
Once the door is open
you can keep it that way.
I believe that the fireplace in
this other room opens the same way.
And it does.
I tried to find this but I couldn't find it.
Yeah, it's back of this blueprint here.
Well, it's, it's quite a set up.
Too bad we can't open that safe the same way.
Take an expert to crack
this box or a shot of nitro.
Maybe, maybe that's what the Bat had in mind.
Could be, seems he's on the prowl tonight.
Miss Van Gorder, Warner has disappeared.
- Really?
- And Dr. Wells is been murdered.
Dr. Wells?
Lieutenant Anderson is
on that case right now.
Oh, does he know what happened here tonight?
They got word to him,
he'll be here any minute.
What's that noise?
- Miss Van Gorder, the garage is on fire.
- Great scotch, look at that.
Lizzie, put that light out in the other room.
Now, where are you going?
- To report the fire.
- Well, you just stay right here.
- But Miss Van Gorder, the garage?
- Well, let it burn, go watch the stairs.
Can't you see that fire was
set to get us out of the house.
- Out of the, you're talking about the...
- Yes, yes, I'm talking about the Bat.
Now that the lights are out, he'll think
his trick has worked and we've gone.
He'll be here any minute.
- Well, so will Lieutenant Anderson.
- I hope so, but the Bat will be here first.
And he'll kill again if we're in his
way, we got to be as clever as he is.
But you'll be safer
downstairs, I'll take care of him.
Well, the others can go
but I'm going to stay right here.
All right, but get out of sight.
Let's face it ladies and get it over with.
Others have seen my face before they died
but I'll have to deny you that pleasure.
This would make a good scene
for your book Miss Van Gorder.
But I'm afraid you'll never write it.
That is Warner, I could tell.
- You misjudge me Miss Ellen.
- Warner!
I don't like being a murder
suspect Miss Van Gorder.
I was headed for a plane but halfway to the
airport I changed my mind and came back.
I'm glad that I did.
Why, it's Lieutenant Anderson!
Yes, it was Anderson.
He discovered the secret of the hidden
room and was waiting to get into it...
and open up the safe.
We found the money in it, little over a
million in tens and twenties and hundreds.
Good old Andy, with all his ill
gotten gains invested in bank stock.
It's rather a clever
way to hide stolen money...
in the open, as it were and so respectable.
But don't try it.
No matter how clever you
are, you can't hide murder.
Well, that's it Dale.
That's the end.