EDITOR’S NOTE: The Bat People was on the CBS Late Movie on February 7, 1975.
The Bat People, also known as It Lives By Night and It’s Alive, is a unique blend of horror and romance. Directed by Jerry Jameson (Starflight One, Terror on the 40th Floor) and written by Lou Shaw, this film has been described as having a leisurely pace. Some say it has a leisurely pace. Others say nothing ever seems to happen. Your enjoyment of this movie will depend on how much you enjoy a movie that likes to chill and let things roll.
Dr. John Beck (Stewart Moss, Doctor Death: Seeker of Souls) takes his new bride Cathy (Marianne McAndrew, Hello, Dolly!) deep into the Carlsbad Caverns. Ironically, Dr. Beck is a bat expert — a bat person, if you will — and gets bit by a fruit bat that turns him into a vampire. And just like me trying to fix something wrong in my house, everything he does worsens things instead of just calling in an expert. The plot takes a surprising turn that will keep you engaged and curious.
Dr. Kipling (Paul Kerr) thinks it might be all in his mind while Sgt. Ward (Michael Pataki) is probably going to kill him. He decides to become a bat and live in the caves forever, but true love wins out because his wife makes sweet love to him and becomes a bat person herself. Ah man, it brings a tear to the eye.
Actually, it really is love, because Miss and McAndrew were married in real life.
Sure, it made plod a bit, but where else can you see Stan Winston’s first work and a moment where Pataki’s car gets swarmed by bats?
Here’s a drink to go with this.
It Drinks By Night
- 1.5 oz. rum
- 1 oz. Kaluha
- 1 oz. milk
- 3 oz. cola
- Add all ingredients to a glass filled with ice, and cola last.
- Stir and fly away to join your people.
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