Batman

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

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.

This is one of the best of Columbia's serials produced in the 40s. There's no Batmobile or Batplane but hey, this was 1943.

There's the usual assortment of narrow escapes, last minute rescues, zombies, an alligator pit and an endless supply of the villain's henchmen.

Also included are some great stuntwork and excellent fight scenes.

Lewis Wilson and Douglas Croft make an credible Batman and Robin and their alter-egos Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson. Two distinct advantages this serial has is it's wartime setting and the casting of the excellent J. Carroll Naish as the chief villain, Daka who is trying to install "The New Order" in America. Many serial and "B" movie veterans are cast in other roles. Look for George J. Lewis, Tom London and Dick Curtis as various henchmen and Charles Middleton, on the right side of the law for a change.

This 15 Chapter Serial was over 20 years old when we saw it in our neighborhood. The overwhelming success of the BATMAN TV Series created a market for everything that was Batman. So, Columbia released its venerable wartime relic to the movie houses in the spring of 1966. It wasn't edited into some sort of feature summary, but rather the whole serial was shown, chapter after chapter, all in one sitting! We saw it twice!

There have been a lot of criticisms of this film, ranging from the reference to "the Japs" and indeed reference to the establishment of the Nesi Camps by executive order of President Roosevelt at the urging of California Governor Earl Warren. (Nesi refers to native born Americans of Japanese descent) Well, we all know that it was World War II going on out there and our films were full of our propaganda. We can't condemn this serial for that. The studio was doing its part for the war effort by having the heroes battle Axis Agents, Sabateurs and 5th Column Traitors as well as common thugs.

The production was very frugal, for it obviously was to be produced for as cheap a price tag as possible. The serials were, after all, a sort of throw in to the general out put of film. They were meant for the Saturday afternoon bubble gum crowd. Always filmed in B&W, as were most motion pictures of the time.

The cast was full of veteran character actors, who would always give a decent performance with whatever storyline they had. The true "Star" of BATMAN was J.Carroll Nash.He was born in New York City of Irish ancestry, but no shillelaghs or clay pipes for him. After extensive experience on the stage, Mr. Nash made a living portraying Italians (Sahara, Life with Luigi radio TV), Hispanics (The Fugitive (1947) ) and Indians. He also did some Orientals as in the Charlie Chan TV and Dr. Daka, the Japanese operative and lead villain of this 1943 BATMAN.

But it is the lead of this production, Lewis Wilson, who was the reference of the heading "My Favorite Batman". Of all of the actors to be cast in the role, (and the have been no less than six in live action film) it is Lewis Wilson and his horn ear type cowl that I think of as the best. First, he did originate the role when Batman Comics were only about 4 years old. Secondly, he looked like the character Bruce Wayne as drawn in the comics. He had a sort of upper class accent which Mr. Wayne would probably possess.He had appeared to have a stocky sort of a build which also coincided with the comics. Finally, he wasn't in very many films in his career and BATMAN was probably his widest exposure.

As for production values,well they did the best with what they had. They even managed to evoke some of the dark, mysterious mood of the Batman Comics feature. Indeed, the mood and World War II period are well represented with the use of B & W film.

I sure hope that this one will be out in VHS and DVD in its original, uncut form. Don't re-write it for the sake of political correctness. Such revisionist behaviour is equal to book burning. Afterall, we must take the thorns along with the rose petals.

UPDATE**** Dateline:Chicago, Illinois, April 17, 2006. Well, it's not news by now, but Columbia has released this great 1943 BATMAN Serial this past year.To their credit and our delight, they also released 1949's NEW ADVENTURES OF BATMAN AND ROBIN with Robert Lowery and John Duncan in the starring roles. These chapter-plays are complete,uncut from crisp,clean newly struck film masters. They are available in DVD sets.

Rumor has it that Columbia will be doing the same thing with their two serials starring the Man of Steel, SUPERMAN (1948) and ATOM MAN VS.SUPERMAN (1950). Who knows, this could be the start of something big for us serial buffs!Let's hope!

* In response to learned those who state that it is erroneous to say that Columbia Pictures re-released this serial because of the success of BATMAN TV, we offer the following. Yes, this is correct, but only up to a point. There was a special showing of the fifteen Chapters of the 1943 BATMAN Serial in a few big city movie houses. In my town, Chicago, it was at the very trendy Playboy Theatre and advertised as "An Evening with Batman & Robin". This was before the debut of BATMAN on ABC, January 12, 1966. It was after that time, BATMAN '43 went into general release, nationwide.

I know that it's a Columbia, but it is one of Columbia's best. Lewis Wilson and Douglas Croft are the definitive Batman and Robin. The story is great, the acting is great, the casting was great, and the photography was great. There are also some great fighting sequences and awesome cliffhangers.

Dr. Tito Daka is a classic villain. Daka was Japanese (He prefers to be called Nipponese) and was probably hated very much because remember, this serial was made during WW2.

The Batcave was pretty cool. I like it how Batman and Robin were taken directly to the scene of the crime by Alfred. There was no Batmobile.

I recommend this serial to anyone.

10/10 Stars