Batman and Robin

There is not a better example of a typical 40's/50's cliffhanger matinée serial than this underbudgeted Batman entry. And, you're either going to embrace all it's flawed charms or not. There's no in between.

First,let me tell you where I'm coming from. I loved the Batman 60's TV program for all it's campiness, and I am still amazed at Burton's first Warner Bros. Batman blockbuster with Keaton/Nicholson which incredibly and masterfully convinced us to suspend disbelief and take the masked crusader seriously. The '49 Batman serial, while closer to the TV version, than the high budgeted movie spectacular, for me, is somewhere in between. The reason is, that I saw this serial for the first time as an 8 year old matinée movie goer in Florida during it's first release.

It was much different then, and I'm not convinced that in spite of the advancements in production values and special effects that it was any more fun or magical to be a movie kid today as it was in the 50's. We all see movies through our own set of filters and if your's are the Matrix and video games, you will probably not be a fan of Batman '49.

We were not blind or stupid, we saw the flaws and didn't care. We also saw the adventure and embraced it. For all it's lack of high production, this Batman and Robin was a whole lot of fun. And in running the VHS or DVD versions, I'm transported back to a simpler time, and, more importantly, am convinced that this example of matinée fare is typical of what my generation of baby boomers learned from the movies about right from wrong and good from evil.

I don't profess to be in a position to objectively judge the artistic merits of this series since the last (and only) time I saw it, was in 1952, when I was 7. Fifty years tends to warp perspectives! I will therefore comment only as to what it meant to me all those years ago!

It meant everything!! Shown at our local Saturday morning pictures, my friends and I would rock on down to our local Odeon theater in South East London. After Laurel and Hardy, The "Purple People Eaters" and a Jackie Coogan flick the session would close off with this serial. This was as good as jaw dropping excitement got! I didn't pay too much attention to the authenticity of the dialog or sets...just the incessant biffing. Having to wait a WHOLE WEEK to find out how Batman or Robin escaped from their impending fate...be it a bomb or approaching steam train, was exquisite torture!

In hindsight, this serial probably WAS the inspiration behind the 1960's Adam West/Burt Ward revival. It was campy but Oh, such fun. You have no idea just how MUCH fun - to a seven year old!

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.

If you are expecting the campy 1960's Batman, then this isn't the show for you. However, if you are looking for an exciting action adventure serial, then this is for you. This show plays more like the comic book version of Batman that came out in the 1940's which was a very straightforward comic. The plot is okay but there are some plot holes, which probably owe more to the low budget. Also, the cast is very solid, especially veteran character actor Lyle Talbot as Commisioner Gordon.

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.