The Bat

The Bat (1937)

Comedy

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!

Directors: Paul Verhoeven, Hans H. Zerlett.

Casts

	Lída Baarová as Maria Weigel / Rosalinde
	Hans Söhnker as Kammersänger Hans Weigel / Eisenstein
	Friedl Czepa as Hanni / Adele
	Jola Jobst as Berta / Ida
	Georg Alexander as Staatsanwalt Wentin / Frank
	Robert Dorsay as Chauffeur Franz / Alfred
	Hans Moser as Hans Moser
	Harald Paulsen as Rechtsanwalt Dr. Rommel / Dr.Falke
	Karl Stepanek as Attaché Baranoff / Orlovsky
	Hans Stiebner as Kapellmeister
	Otto Graf as Rundfunkreporter
	Albert Ihle as Präsident
	Arthur Kistenmacher as Polizist
	Erwin Werner as Bühnenarbeiter
	Paul Walter as Theaterintendant
	Sergei Woischeff as Lakai bei Orlovsky
	Susi Lembach as Festteilnehmerin
	Charlotte Krause-Walter as 2. Festteilnehmerin
	Hilla Höfer as Mädchen bei Eisenstein
	Charly Berger as 1. Gast bei Orlovsky
	Michael von Newlinsky as 2. Gast bei Orlovsky
	William Richter as 3. Gast bei Orlovsky
	Theo Timmerkamp as Gast bei Orlovsky
	Fritz Draeger as Gast bei der Aufführung
	Mimy Ahrend as
	Olly von Bongardt as
	Rudolf Essek as
	Vera Valden as
	Elly von Kovatsy as
	Friedrich Kühne as
	Kai Möller as
	Christa Thomsen as

Crew