Batman and Robin

I do believe that the sequel Batman serial is very dated for the 40s and that time period, but it is a very nice representation of how the times were then. The only thing I don't like is there is no batmobile or any of the fancy cars as in the current 90's films. The costumes are very good and represent how earlier forms of Batman and Robin really were. They were not always the plastic wearing gurus of today's movies and it was more practical for the hero to get hurt or killed, thus the chapters every week and cliffhanger endings. Overall, I give Batman and Robin 1949 a rating of 7 out of 10.

With the end of World War II, there was a marked change of tone and settings in the film world. This was especially true in that staple of the Saturday Matinée, the Serial. After all,Nazi Germany,Fascist Italy and Imperial Japan had now been defeated. There were no Nazi U Boats, Imperial Japanese soldiers, nor any Axis Spies or 5th Column Traitors to deal with. Now the bad guys would either have to be of the domestic variety of crook. Or, if by chance the baddies were of the international espionage set, their Nationality would have to be kept a secret. Just as before the United States got into the War, the villains country could be implied, but not specifically stated.

The second Batman chapter-play did follow all of the above mentioned, using a large number of common underworld types and a secret leader of unknown origin and identity (until the end), who was bent on, what else, world domination.

The cast and production team changed as Columbia had Sam Katzman produce it. Mr. Katzman's Production Company, called ESKAY, was known for the frugality of its productions. Much of its output was done at and released by Monogram Pictures. The best known of these would probably be the EAST SIDE KIDS series, one branch of the DEAD END Family Tree.

This was the second serial for a comic character;but it was not the first time that it was done. Flash Gordon, Don Winslow, The Spider, Tailspin Tommy, Jungle Jim,The Green Hornet and Secret Agent X9, had all had 2 or more.DICK TRACY leads the pack with four serials. But unlike these others, which may have had one or two changes in cast, the 1949 Batman film cleaned house, leaving no one from the original.

Veteran Robert Lowery, who referred to himself as "the King of the B's", was a good choice for Bruce Wayne/Batman. His dead panning of Wayne's dialog contrasted with the so-serious speech of Batman. He possessed the build and obvious athleticism to bring a certain authenticity to the role.

John Duncan* had been around doing juvenile roles for several years (including the previously mentioned EAST SIDE KIDS series), and now had matured some, giving him both the youthful appearance and the gymnast-like musculature that Robin would have.

Additionally, we have all characters and elements taken directly from the comics feature. News Photographer,Vicki Vale (Jane Adams), Alfred the Butler(Eric Wilton) and Police Commissioner James Gordon(Lyle Talbot) were all characters out of the comic book adventures. They reprised the Bat Cave from the '43 version and added The Bat Signal(the bat emblemed searchlight,Batman summoner of Gotham City's sky), albeit in a sort of vest pocket size.

Like many serials, they did employ a hooded mystery man villain as the "brains" heavy you know, unknown but having several on screen suspects to keep the audience guessing for 15 chapters.This was okay, or at least adequate, but begs the question: Why not use one of the great colorful villains from the comics pages? The Batman TV of 2 decades later did so, making the series so memorable.

As for THE NEW ADVENTURES of BATMAN and ROBIN, it ranks far above most serials of its Post World War II period. As well as common crooks and masked super villains, it confronted the Super Nova Explosion of Technological Advancement, a phenomenon of which we still have a lot of apprehension.

NOTE* John Duncan, now a man in his 80's, still makes appearances a various Film Fan conventions around the country. We met him in a Bud & Sharon Courts promoted event, here in Chicago about 2 years ago. He was most energetic and gracious to the fans (including this writer).

Wow this movie is great and quite exciting.The costumes looks funny and many jokes about Batman started probably out of this.Furthermore a great movie even for younger Batman fans like me.Personally Batman is my favourite hero because he is just a normal bloke with nice gadgets,some muscle and a brain.The action is superb and storyline for me gets an A.Great plot and fighting too.Just don't mention the Batmobile but alas any comicbook fan will tell you that the Batmobile appeared much later detective comics # 27. You will be watching episode after episode and wonder how on earth can batman survive this.The only problem I have with this movie is once you start watching it believe me you won't stop.I give this Movie 7.9 out of 10.

In 1949, six years after the original Batman Movie Serial was released, Columbia Pictures, released the the long awaited sequel, "Batman and Robin". Robert Lowery inherited the role of Batman/Bruce Wayne from Lewis Wilson. Lowery would later blame his role as Batman for "a lackluster movie career, as a leading man, in Hollywood". He complained that the eyeholes, in his costume, made it "difficult to see" and thus made him appear awkward. John Duncan assumed the role of Batman's faithful ally, from Douglas Croft. The serials premise is that crime is running wild in Gotham City. A mysterious masked figure, called the Wizard, has stolen a diamond powered remote control device, that renders all of the machines in Gotham City totally inoperative. Comissioner Gordon (played by Lyle Talbot) immediately summons Batman with the aid of an infamous bat signal, that shines in the heavens above Gotham. Photographer Viki Vale (played by Jame Adams) is entangled in the Wizard's evil web of deceit. The Wizard even employs a mysterious submarine to ferry his evil henchmen to his secret underground lair. This serial's creators took great pains to try to confuse the viewers, with several red herrings, in regard to the Wizard's true identity. They even lifted several scenes from the original chapterplay (a common serial sequel practice). Batman and Robin are relentless crusaders for justice--

I remember this being shown in serial version as a black & white fill-in for a 70s youth culture show in Australia. It was actually a music and pop culture show, and this was done as a novelty bit; but I thoroughly loved it; and avidly followed the adventure every week. I wish some younger kids shows of today had the guts to try something like that, and reinvent the classic stories.

I especially remember the submarine going to the hidden lair of the villain.

And also Batman and Robin riding around in the standard convertible. For a while, I started to doubt this version existed, since it never got mentioned in any discussion of Batman.

It's this version that caused me to be rather dismissive of the more campy over-the-top TV series (starring Adam West and Burt Ward) that everyone is so fond of now.