The Bat
1937 · 103 min
Comedy
★ 4.3The 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!
Crew
- Director Paul Verhoeven
- Director Hans H. Zerlett
- Writer Walter Wassermann
- Writer Carl Haffner
- Writer Lotte Neumann
- Writer Richard Genée
Cast
Lída Baarová
Maria Weigel / Rosalinde
Hans Söhnker
Kammersänger Hans Weigel / Eisenstein
Friedl Czepa
Hanni / Adele
- J
Jola Jobst
Berta / Ida
Georg Alexander
Staatsanwalt Wentin / Frank
- R
Robert Dorsay
Chauffeur Franz / Alfred
Hans Moser
Hans Moser
Harald Paulsen
Rechtsanwalt Dr. Rommel / Dr.Falke
Karl Stepanek
Attaché Baranoff / Orlovsky
- H
Hans Stiebner
Kapellmeister
- O
Otto Graf
Rundfunkreporter
- A
Albert Ihle
Präsident
Crew
- Director — Paul Verhoeven
- Director — Hans H. Zerlett
- Writer — Walter Wassermann
- Writer — Carl Haffner
- Writer — Lotte Neumann
- Writer — Richard Genée
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