Batman

I was an avid serial fan when I used to go to the Saturday afternoon matinees at the local theater in the early 1950's. Three Columbia serials (with the occasional Mascot serial) were usually shown, hence my bias toward Columbia.

I actually saw 'The Batman' in the mid 1960's when it was shown at a City theater as a 'Cinethon' - all 15 episodes in sequence from start to finish in one sitting. I lived through it as any serial fan would and enjoyed every minute but under these circumstances, some details normally overlooked when watching one episode each week were revealed.

I was intrigued by the access to Dr. Daka's hideout via the amusement park ride. A great bit of imagination went into that one! I seem to recall that the great Jack Ingram was killed off in an early episode and reappeared about Chapter 11 but I could be mistaken after nearly 40 years have elapsed.

The progressive reappearance of the Columbia serials on DVD has me over the moon and I look forward to receiving the 1949 'Batman and Robin' serial when it is released in March. If 'The Batman' is released on DVD, I will be one of the first in line to buy it.

The 1943 Batman Movie Serial, starring Lewis Wilson as the Batman and Lewis Croft as Robin, is definitely one of my favorites. The evil Dr. Daka, played with devilish delight by J. Carol Naish, has enlisted a number of 5th columnists to subvert American interests, on U.S. soil. Innocent Americans are transformed into mindless zombies in order to assist the sinister Daka and his evil minions. Despite every advantage, the Batman manages to stop Daka and save America from the "Doom of the Rising Sun!" Watch for Shirley Patterson as Bruce Wayne's love interest, Linda Page, who definitely makes a wonderful damsel in distress. William Austin plays Wayne's faithful butler, Alfred and provides comic relief. Batman creator, Bob Kane, even makes an appearance in the first chapter as a newsboy. Batman fights fo

Okay, I'd probably be reluctant to admit to close friends or family that I'd enjoyed this show but to be truthful I did enjoy it.

For starters, just seeing Batman and Robin on screen was enough for me. I wasn't even born around the time it was on but I did watch it about 20 plus years ago and I just found it funny.

I liked the way each chapter ended in a cliffhanger (something that the 1960's series had as well) and it was great to see Batman and Robin escape from many seemingly inescapable traps. J. Carrol Naish also made an interesting villain even if he was a typical stereotype.

All in all, a great serial adventure which should be released onto video here in the United Kingdom. If it was, I'd buy every episode.

In Gothan City, in the Word War II, the Japanese spy Dr. Tito Daka (J. Carrol Naish) has a gang working for the Japanese government. He plans to steal a radium load to use in a lethal weapon and hijack an American prototype airplane. The evil Dr. Daka uses a machine to turn people into zombies to work for him. Batman is indeed the lazy millionaire Bruce Wayne (Lewis Wilson), and Robin is his protegee Dick Grayson (Douglas Croft) that are supported by the butler and chauffeur Alfred Pennyworth (William Austin). Bruce Wayne's love interest is Linda Page (Shirley Patterson) and Dr. Daka kidnaps her uncle Martin Warren to help him in his research but turns him into a zombie when he refuses to cooperate with the mastermind of the spy ring. Along fifteen Chapters, Dr. Daka stumbles upon Batman and the boy wonder Robin and they will fight each other.

"Batman" (1943) is the landmark of the first appearance of Batman on the screen and in serial at the climax of World War II. This low budget serial does not have the Batmobile; instead, Batman and Robin use Bruce Wayne's Cadillac convertible driven by Alfred. The plot has anti-Japanese messages and is silly, naive and funny in many moments, but is also highly entertaining and divided in 15 Chapters that were presented in the theaters once a week; now they are available on DVD. (1) The Electrical Brain; (2) The Bat's Cave; (3) The Mark of the Zombies; (4) Slaves of the Rising Sun; (5) The Living Corpse; (6) Poison Peril; (7) The Phoney Doctor (8) Lured by Radium; (9) The Sign of the Sphinx; (10) Flying Spies; (11) A Nipponese Trap; (12) Embers of Evil; (13) Eight Steps Down (14) The Executioner Strikes; (15) The Doom of the Rising Sun. Maybe the funniest scenes are when Dr. Daka communicates with his submarine by radio and they release a coffin with a near-death Japanese soldier only to tell that he should hijack an airplane; and when a spy breaks the window of the airplane to throw off a cargo of radium using parachutes for Dr. Daka's men. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Batman"

As a lover of the Saturday serials I was delighted to see that Columbia/Sony/etc.... was releasing the 1943 "BATMAN" on DVD (co-incidently on the same day that "Batman Begins" is released on DVD). I HAVE seen it at the movies on 2 consecutive Saturdays years ago and thought myself lucky to have "acquired" a bootleg copy through a fanzine (lousy print but when you're a collector you take the good with the bad). While it was unfortunate that our Japanese neighbors received harsh treatment due to the wartime climate, it was still good to see the rough and tumble action that Lewis Wilson and Douglas Croft (or to be more precise, their stunt doubles) brought to the screen. I won't dwell on Lewis' less than athletic presence in costume but as Bruce Wayne he was a dead ringer. Rumor has it that the BatCave, the Grandfather's clock entrance and Alfred's miraculous weight loss in the comics were directly influenced by this serial. Some of the second in command gangsters were just as Kane drew them and although Shirley Patterson did little more than scream she was none the less a hottie as Linda Page. Throw in J. Carrol Naish as villain Dr. Daka and you have 4 hours of escapist enjoyment.