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The Bat (1937)

The Bat (1937)

Comedy
Release Date: 1937, October 30
Directors: Paul Verhoeven, Hans H. Zerlett
Countries: Germany
Production: Imagoton, Tobis Filmkunst
Cast: Karl Stepanek, Hans Söhnker, Paul Walter, Hans Moser, Lída Baarová, Otto Graf, Hilla Höfer, Georg Alexander, Friedl Czepa, Hans Stiebner, Harald Paulsen, Michael von Newlinsky

Overview:

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!