THE BAT
[STAGE-PLAY]
The play by Mary Roberts Rinehart and Avery Hopwood premiered on Broadway on August 23,
1920 and had recently completed its run of 867 performances at the time of this broadcast.
CHECK THIS: None of the actors appearing in the broadcast were from the original stage cast.
ORIGINATION: WOR, New York City, New York; 2FC, Sydney (ABC).
DURATION: November 20, 1922 (WOR); March 2, 1934 (2FC).
PERSONNEL: Unknown.
EXTANT RECORDINGS: None.
[CHRONOLOGY]
(WOR, NEW YORK)
[Monday—6:30- PM]
November 20, 1922 “Scene from ‘The Bat’”
CAST: Ursula Ellsworth, Robert Gleckler, Arthur J. O’Keefe, Norma Phillips,
Julia Stuart.
(2FC, SYDNEY)
[Friday— PM]
March 2, 1934 “The Bat”
[“…a mystery play…”]
[SUBJECT FOR FURTHER RESEARCH]
BATS IN THE BELFRY (KTAB, San Francisco)—Cited in the 1937/38 edition of the Variety Radio
Directory; two broadcast dates, at least, are confirmed—March 28 and April 4, 1934—but the slant of the
show remains unknown. Judging from the slangy levity of the title, this could have been either a
horror/mystery series or a zany comedy program in the manner of Raymond Knight’s Cuckoo Hour or Brad
Browne’s Nit Wits. I suspect the latter to be true.