Movie Reviews for Writers: The Bat

We writers get our ideas from crazy places. We get them from events in our lives, from dreams, from what-if questions, and even from weird conversations with others. 

Why do I bring this up? Because I just watched the 1959 version of The Bat with Agnes Moorehead and Vincent Price. Besides being a tightly scripted and suspenseful whodunit, it has enough twists and red herrings to keep Marlowe and Hammer guessing. But, in addition to all that, it also says a bit about how our experiences as writers help to shape our stories. 

For example, upon learning about the murder method, Moorehead’s Cornelia van Gorder, a famous mystery writer, perks up with the story-crafting side of her brain. 

Lizzie Allen: His specialty seems to be killing women, my goodness, two of them in one night, all his victims died the same way, like their throats had been ripped open with steel claws.

Cornelia van Gorder: That’s charming, I’ll have to try it some time.

[Lizzie stares at her with a weird look]

Cornelia van Gorder: In a book.

Have you been to a convention or conference where people ask you where you get your ideas? From now on, I want to remember Ms. Cornie’s quote here for the next time I’m asked. 

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https://seanhtaylor.blogspot.com/2021/09/movie-reviews-for-writers-bat.html