The Bat (1959)

In The Bat, top-billed Vincent Price brings his silky, sinister elegance to the second remake of the hoary "old dark house" stage play. But the real stars of the show are Agnes Moorehead, as an eccentric mystery writer who decides to pull off the million-dollar bank heist, and the steel-clawed killer known only as "The Bat." Price's devious doctor is but one of a rogues' gallery of suspects that include a Johnny-on-the-spot police detective, a chauffeur turned butler with a checkered past, and a housekeeper with echoes of Rebecca's Mrs. Danvers. Moorehead is a kick as the spirited author, and makes the most of her expanded role, but fans of the early film productions (1926's The Bat and 1930's The Bat Whispers, both directed by Roland West) will be less forgiving of other changes, especially writer-director Crane Wilbur's decision to draw the story out over a succession of nights. Wilbur loses the tension and claustrophobia of the originals with a rambling pace and handsome but airy photography, more appropriate to an episode of Perry Mason. Moorehead and Price bring a little spirit to the otherwise bland film, but not quite enough. --Sean Axmaker


A self-admitted alcoholic (as indicated in a 1974 radio interview for the BBC), Haley fought a battle with liquor well into the 1970s. Nonetheless, he and his band continued to be a popular touring act, enjoying a career resurgence in the late 1960s with the Rock and Roll Revival movement and the signing of a lucrative record deal with the European Sonet Records label. After performing for Queen Elizabeth II at a command performance in 1979, Haley made his final performances in South Africa in May and June 1980. Prior to the South African tour, he was diagnosed with a brain tumor, and a planned tour of Germany in the fall of 1980 was canceled. Despite his ill health, Haley began compiling notes for possible use as a basis for either a biographical film based on his life, or a published autobiography (accounts differ), and there were plans for him to record an album in Memphis, Tennessee, when the brain tumor began affecting his behavior and he retired to his home in Harlingen, Texas where he died early on the morning February 9, 1981.

Media reports immediately following his death indicated Haley displayed deranged and erratic behavior in his final weeks, although beyond a biography of Haley by John Swenson released a year later which describes Haley painting the windows of his home black and making rambling late-night phone calls to friends and relatives, there is little information extant about Haley's final days. The exact cause of his death is controversial. Media reports, supported by Haley's death certificate (reproduced in the book Bill Haley: The Daddy of Rock and Roll by John Swenson), suggest he died of "natural causes most likely heart attack". Members of Haley's family, however, contest that he died from the brain tumor. Haley was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.

Songwriters Tom Russell and Dave Alvin addressed Haley's sad demise in musical terms with "Haley's Comet" on Alvin's 1991 album "Blue Blvd." Dwight Yoakam sang backup on the tribute.

Haley's original Comets from 1954 and 1955 still tour the world to packed houses. Despite ranging in age from 72 to 84, the band shows no sign of slowing down, releasing a concert DVD in 2004 on Hydra Records, playing the trendy Viper Room in West Hollywood in 2005, and performing at Dick Clark's American Bandstand Theater in Branson, Missouri in 2006-07. In March 2007 The Original Comets pre opened the Bill-Haley-Museum in Munich Germany (Schleissheimerstr.321,München www.rockithydra.de). On October 27th, 2007 ex Comets guitar player Bill Turner opened the Bill-Haley-Museum for the public.The Museum keeps the legacy and importance of Bill Haley & His Comets alive. There are hundreds of photos, posters,books,instruments,Gold Records,business papers and merchandise on display.