Theres no batmobile or batplane but hey, this was 1943. Although i am a big movie buff of films made during the 1920s 1950s, this was one of the first serials that i had watched. Batmans first bigscreen appearance came in a 1943 serial by columbia pictures, who produced another in 1949. The bumbling son of a retired military agent who had worked for the wayne family, alfred applied for the job of butler and allaround gentlemans gentleman for bruce and dick at wayne manor. Batman serial wikipedia these came out only 4 years after the creation of the character, and was the first liveaction performance of the caped crusader. Rounding out the cast were shirley patterson as linda page bruce waynes love interest, and william austin as alfred the film is notable for being the first filmed appearance of. Like most other serials, these were lowbudget affairs that were run once a week, featuring cliffhanger type endings to draw audiences back for the next installment. A few months after bill finger coined the term batmobile, artist jerry robinson drew what would be come the first definitive design of the car. In 1956 he gueststarred on an episode of the adventures of superman, marking the first time a batman actor shared. In his first screen appearance, the caped crusader of gotham city belying the. This one shows hints of the batman action to come in the late 60s. The design was created nearly whole cloth, with only a passing resemblance to real cars of the time. It took more than 20 years for the next batman feature film to be released. Batmans first appearance on the big screen was in the 1940s, in a 15part movie serial that also doubled as war propaganda.
This was the unedited version or at least i think so. Its the 75th anniversary of batmans first ever big screen outing. Columbias twodisc set of batman the complete 1943 movie serial collection looks okay after a very bad start. The complete 1943 movie serial collection looks really nice, and shows how much better vintage serials look when their authorized and not a budget public domain release. Daka, a japanese spy who invented a device that turns people into. The world of comic books is littered with iconic characters, one of them being the caped crusader, batman. Lewis wilson play batman in the first batma n serial movie in 1933. Batmans first movie was a wwii antijapan serial video.
The batman 1943 trailer first ever live action batman youtube. Jun 27, 2017 the batman is a 1943 blackandwhite 15chapter theatrical serial from columbia pictures, produced by rudolph c. In the days before television when movie theaters provided the only. The two of them, with assistance from artists like jerry robinson and george roussos, collaborated on the initial issues of batman.
Every live action batman movie ranked from worst to best. Batman was a 15chapter serial film released in 1943 by columbia pictures and was the first appearance of the comic book character on film. Again, the one exception is the first chapter, in which the amount of deterioration at times makes it difficult to. As always, this list wont match up to your list, because that wouldnt be any fun. And one of the biggest batman events that took place when he was new was the release of his first celluloid appearance, the 1943 columbia blackandwhite.
Batmans first movie was a wwii antijapan serial video the 1943 batman serial put the caped crusader in the role of u. Batman is a 1943 blackandwhite 15chapter theatrical serial from columbia pictures, produced by rudolph c. Indeed, when batman climbs down the fire escape after a fight, a pack of. The serial is based on the dc comics character batman, who first appeared. Batmans first bigscreen appearance came in a 1943 serial by columbia. Batman and robin this is the first ever liveaction production featuring the characters batman, robin, alfred and linda page. Movie adaptation of the serial addeddate 20190612 04. They were batmans creators bill finger and bob kane. Theres a great trailer for the 1943 batman serial, which i have, and i assume its been doctored for the 1966 marathon reissue as batman and robin, and it has comic strip style blam and splat effects drawn over the frames in the style of the 1960s tv series.
The first episode is depressingly grainy and terminally contrasty in some scenes, such as the first establishing shot of batman sitting at a boring desk amid a bunch of bats in the bat cave. For the substantial cinematic legacy that batman has subsequently developed, this serial is an inauspicious screen debut. The story is told in 15 chapters and is amusing to watch with 70 years distance. I just saw the first batman of spring democratic underground.
Here is a trailer for the serial along with the intro to the first episode. The plot concerns batman lewis wilson and robin douglas croft trying to foil a scheme by the evil dr. The first live action batman film was a serial produced by columbia in 1943. The ultimate batman quiz is here for all the dc fans. See more ideas about batman, vintage movies and batman and superman. Batman and robin 1949 is just an abysmal experience, with a bad lead actor wearing a floppyeared batsuit. Carrol naish, shirley patterson, frank austin, william austin. As i watched this 1943 batman serial, i could just imagine how young boys and girls of the time would anxiously await the next exciting episode each week at the theaters. Bob kanes batman comic had only appeared a few years earlier may 1939 but was brought to the screen for the first time here.
Batman was a relatively new character in the golden age of comics, and the creative teams on the batman series consisted of the same people who had worked on the batman stories in detective comics. With the success of the television series batman 1966, columbias 8mm division released this serial in a condensed version on six reels of super8 film for the. The batman 1943 trailer first ever live action batman. Carrol naish played the villain, an original character named dr. Click here to take a quick look at all the batman movies. The 1949 serial was a more of a gangster story spiced up with a colorless supervillain the wizard. Battinsons batman cowl is the first batman mask since 19431949 to not have a prominent builtin frown discussion eyeslits are in a fixed angular shape though, which tries to give off an scowl, but one can only do so much with a fabric mask. Here is the original 1943 trailer advertising columbia pictures bat man 15 chapter serial. Batman was a 15chapter serial released in 1943 by columbia pictures. The first serial, released by columbia in 15 parts, amounts to four and a half hours of the worst version of batman to ever hit the silver screen.
The films plot dealt with batman and robins struggle against dr. This lead to a number of changes, but thats no surprise these days, when plenty of adaptations change things for their own needs. The first ever live action batman was portrayed by lewis wilson in the 15 chapter serial the batman in 1943. Most critics will say that the 1943 serial is superior to the 1949 one, even if it was made with less money. The serial starred lewis wilson as batman and douglas croft as robin. Batman 1943 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. Were ever conscious of landmark dates here at batmanonline, and 2018 marks a special one in the caped crusaders cinematic history. Every batman movie ranked worst to best, including. Carrol naish as the nefarious criminal mastermind dr. Batman and robin battle spymaster prince daka who runs a covert espionage organization located in gotham citys nowdeserted little tokyo which turns american scientists into pliable zombies. Greatest movie series franchises of all time the batman films batman 1943 serial. This interested me so i went to check out chapter 6 of the 1943 batman serial i taped off of amc about 6 years ago. This was the first of columbias two batman serials and was followed by the slightly better batman and robin 1949.
Lacking the funding of later batman projects, the batmobile was simply a factorystock convertible. Lacking the funding of later batman projects, the batmobile was simply a factorystock automobile. Flothow, directed by lambert hillyer, that stars lewis wilson as batman and douglas croft as robin. Theres the usual assortment of narrow escapes, last minute rescues, zombies, an alligator pit and an endless supply of the villains henchmen. He first made his appearance in comic books on march 30th 1939 since then has been leaving his mark in countless comics, animation, television, films, video games, toys and other products. Flothow, directed by lambert hillyer, that stars lewis wilson as batman and douglas croft as his sidekick robin. The first episode does look washed out and dupey, especially when compared with the other 14. Dc comics dynamic duo made their liveaction debut in columbia pictures 15chapter 1943 movie serial batman, starring lewis wilson as batmanbruce wayne, douglas croft as robindick grayson, and j.
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