There is a misconception of the 1943 Batman movie serial starring Robert Lewis that it is terrible and the worst adaptation of Batman ever made.
This is actually false. That dubious honor belongs to the 1949 follow up serial Batman and Robin which starred Robert Lowery as the Caped Crusader.
Batman creator Bob Kane seems to misremember the films stating that the second serial was the better of the two and Lewis Wilson being out of shape in the role of Batman.
As a matter of fact it was Robert Lowery who was completely unsuitable in the role of Batman. Apparently, he was so out of shape that they actually had to give him oxygen between takes.
As a matter of fact, the 1943 serial is the only time on film or on television where the actor playing Robin the Boy Wonder is actually relatively close to the age the character was in the comic book. Douglas Croft was 16 when he played Robin.
Johnny Duncan was 26, Burt Ward was 19 and Chris O'Donnell was 25 when they played the character in their respective adaptations.
It's true the 1943 Batman has the dubious honor of being racist and very politically incorrect by today's standards with the key villain being Japanese stereotype. But you have to keep in mind when this film came out it was at the height of WWII and not too long after Pearl Harbor.
The film is very low budget. So don't expect to see mind-blowing special effects or acting of Shakespearean caliber. Heck! There's not even a Batmobile in the film. Then again, Batman doesn't actually have a "Batmobile" in his first comic book appearance.
But we forget that films weren't created to be realistic. They were created for people to escape reality. There was a great deal of bad stuff going on in the world at that time, so you'd save up your pennies and escape into the world of fantasy that Hollywood created.
It really has only been in the past few decades this push for gritty realism in both the subject matter of the movies as well as the special effects.
At that time the country was both getting out of the Great Depression and there was a war going on across the pond. Films had to be made quickly. And as cheap as possible.
Movie serials satisfied both needs.
The film is very low budget. So don't expect to see mind-blowing special effects or acting of Shakespearean caliber. Heck! There's not even a Batmobile in the film. Then again, Batman doesn't actually have a "Batmobile" in his first comic book appearance.
But we forget that films weren't created to be realistic. They were created for people to escape reality. There was a great deal of bad stuff going on in the world at that time, so you'd save up your pennies and escape into the world of fantasy that Hollywood created.
It really has only been in the past few decades this push for gritty realism in both the subject matter of the movies as well as the special effects.
At that time the country was both getting out of the Great Depression and there was a war going on across the pond. Films had to be made quickly. And as cheap as possible.
Movie serials satisfied both needs.
That aside, it may not be Christopher Nolan or even Tim Burton. But it's a fun watch. This is less the brooding Dark Knight style Batman but more of the swashbuckling action/adventure style version of the character.
Which is actually something I wouldn't mind seeing the character return to. Maybe not as low budget as the serials. But maybe something a little more of a James Bond with a cape and less of the tortured soul.
If you're a fan of Batman or a film history buff, I would definitely give this film a try. Despite the low budget and production flaws, you might find it to be a lot of fun to watch.
6 comments:
My favorite Batman version in movies, animated or otherwise! Done only four years after the character was created and the serial was a big hit with WWII audiences.
Wilson has ties to the Big Woo-- he graduated Worcester Academy in 1939 (the year Batman was created) and that's a New Hampshire/Worcester Accent he has in the film which is often falsely thought to be Australian.
As for James Bond-- Wilson's son-- Michael G. Wilson is the producer of the current Bond films-- so the world connects!
Croft was either 14 or 16 when he made the film (his DOB varies according to the source) but even more remarkable is that Wilson is only 23!
And Alfred in the piece, as played by William Austin, was SO popular that the comics changed course from having a fat Alfred to the one we all know today-- thin with the David Niven moustache- and that's all due to Austin's performance.
Posted twice by accident thanks to the stupid photo word combination.
And 2nd Robin Duncan is still with us, and tells some pretty good stories.
Kane was a moron when it came to these movies, and such a blowhard it was hard for him to remember anything.
Very true. Kane's autobiography would make Baron Munchausen yell out "BULLSHIT!"
If you were to believe anything he says in it, then he fought off a group of kids like Zorro and he kanoodled with Marilyn Monroe.
I love the 'sketches' of Marilyn he was supposed to have done from life while they were on the beach together-- there is no way those were drawn from life.
I'd say this; Kane was smart about business-- he kept a percentage of ownership of Batman-- even if he did a minimal amount of the work.
A good friend of mine knew him well, and says he was a sweet man-- no doubt. But one bullshitter can spot another from twenty miles away.
That's true... on both accounts ;-)
You can't fault someone on business savvy. I've heard people bad-mouthing Todd McFarlane for "selling out" but I'll be honest. If someone backed up to my house with a dumptruck full of money, I don't think I would refuse it.
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