MovieChat Forums > The Bat (1959) Discussion > The suit of armor at the head of the sta...

The suit of armor at the head of the stairs...

posted 17 years ago by novastar_6
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I think all of us when we first watched this movie wondered, was it REALLY the wind that knocked down the suit of armor? Granted, that would be a pretty amazing feat if the Bat could be at the top of those stairs and knock it down without Lizzie and Cornelia knowing...but still it all went together pretty oddly. Suits of armor, as I recall, are supposed to be excruciatingly heavy, several hundred pounds perhaps, though perhaps theirs was a more lightweight model...but no wind that I know of short of a tornado, would be able to knock a big bulking thing like that down a flight of stairs. What's everybody else think about that scene?

[–] WarpedRecord 16 years ago

That's a good point. It would take much more than a gust of wind to knock down a suit of armor. Of course, the Bat would have to be extremely clumsy to knock that thing down the stairs if he were prowling.

But beyond that, I think that scene was awkwardly directed and confusing. It was hard to tell exactly what fell down the stars. Part of the problem is these public domain copies are so poor.

Aside from that minor criticism, however, this was an excellent film with a fine cast and a rewarding payoff.

[–] novastar_6 16 years ago

Or perhaps the Bat was responsible, and he did it to draw attention away from another part of the house so he could get in another way? I know it sounds weird but if he did knock it down he probably thought they'd try and pick it up again like Lizzie started to, and not expect them to head right for the front door immediately after, you know?