The Bat (play) (nominated by RL0919) is a three-act play by Mary Roberts Rinehart

and Avery Hopwood that was first produced by Lincoln Wagenhals and Collin Kemper in
1920. The story combines elements of mystery and comedy as Cornelia Van Gorder and
guests at her rented summer home spend a stormy night searching for stolen money
they believe is hidden in the house, while they are stalked by a masked criminal
known as "the Bat". The Bat's identity is revealed at the end of the final act.
After opening in 1920, The Bat was a critical and commercial success. It ran for
867 performances in New York and 327 performances in London; several road companies
took the show to other areas. The play was revived twice on Broadway, in 1937 and
1953. It had several adaptations, including a 1926 novelization credited to
Rinehart and Hopwood but ghostwritten by Stephen Vincent Ben�t. Three film
adaptations were produced: The Bat (1926), The Bat Whispers (1930), and The Bat
(1959). The play and its adaptations inspired other comedy-mysteries with similar
settings, and influenced the creation of the comic-book superhero Batman