This is the first filmed appearance of Batman.
Alfred the Butler first appeared in "Batman" #16, a few months before the release of this serial. The story introduced him as newly entering Bruce Wayne's employ. However, records indicate that he was created by the writers of the film and put into the comic book to conform to the film. In his first few appearances, Alfred was drawn as very chubby and clean-shaven. Soon after the release of the film, there was a story where he went to a health spa, lost weight and began to wear a mustache, which made him look quite similar to William Austin. From then on, in the comics (and animated cartoons) Alfred has resembled the Austin image. The comics gave Alfred the surname Beagle in 1945, however, he was re-named Alfred Pennyworth in 1969, whether due to an editor's error or a deliberate revision. In the 1970s he was given a backstory as a military hero, and in the mid-1980s his biography was revised so that he was the Wayne family butler in Bruce's childhood.
This serial was reissued under the title "An Evening With Batman and Robin" in late 1965. There was no added footage. The program simply consisted of all of the episodes (complete with titles, credits and cliffhangers exactly as they were shown in theaters in 1943) presented one after the other in one sitting. Contrary to popular belief, this was not done in response to the success of the Batman (1966) TV show. That began on January 12, 1966 and "An Evening With Batman and Robin" was playing in theaters as early as December 10, 1965.
Initially, J. Carrol Naish was cast as the Joker. This is evident in some of the early posters for the serial which show Batman punching his arch-nemesis (later changed to Dr. Daka). If you look at Naish's costume and makeup as well as his hideout being in a carnival, all of the Joker elements appear to have been retained and only his name and nationality were changed. It's assumed the change was made because at the time this was written, in late 1942 early 1943, the Allies were in danger of losing World War II after many early setbacks, and patriotism was strongly encouraged of all of Hollywood's films at the time.
Bob Kane: Batman co-creator makes a brief cameo as the newsboy in Chapter 1, yelling "Read all about the Batman!" before handing a paper to Bruce Wayne.