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Batman (also known as its video-box title Batman: The Movie) is a 1966 film spin-off of the popular Batman television series, and was the first full-length theatrical adaptation of the DC Comics character. The 20th Century Fox release starred Adam West as Batman and Burt Ward as Robin.

The film was directed by Leslie H. Martinson who also directed a pair of Batman episodes; "The Penguin Goes Straight" and "Not Yet, He Ain't," both from season one.

History

Filmed at the end of the first season of Batman (between April 25 and May 31, 1966 at an estimated $1,377,800), it featured four main criminals from the show, including the "clown prince of crime" The Joker (Cesar Romero), that "count of criminal conundrums" The Riddler (Frank Gorshin), that "pompous, waddling master of fowl play" The Penguin (Burgess Meredith), and the "fiendish feline" The Catwoman (Lee Meriwether). It was written by Lorenzo Semple Jr.. It was directed by Leslie H. Martinson, who won a Golden Gryphon for his efforts, and is less well remembered for directing a large number of less notable movies such as PT 109 and Rescue from Gilligan's Island.

The 105-minute Batman opened at The Paramount Theatre in Austin, Texas on Saturday, July 30, 1966 (between the first and second seasons of the TV series). Like the television series, the movie featured saturated colors, campy dialogue and special effects, and over-exaggeration in acting performances, effectively being a tongue-in-cheek parody. The movie was moderately successful at the box office.

Plot summary

When Batman (West) and Robin (Ward) get a tip that Commodore Schmidlapp (the final role of actor Reginald Denny) is in danger aboard his yacht, they launch a rescue mission using the Batcopter. After a tangle with an exploding shark, Batman and Robin head back to Commissioner Gordon's office where, by case of deduction and wisdom, they figure out that the tip was a set-up by four of the most powerful villains ever (Joker, Penguin, Riddler and Catwoman), who unite to defeat the Dynamic Duo once and for all.

Armed with a dehydrator that can turn humans into dust, a Navy surplus submarine, and their three pirate henchmen (Bluebeard, Morgan and Quetch), the "fearsome foursome" intends to take over the world, and Batman and Robin must stop them. Catwoman romantically lures Bruce Wayne into a trap, unaware that Wayne is Batman's alter-ego, and Penguin even schemes his way into the Batcave, leaving the Duo unable to prevent the kidnapping of the dehydrated United World Security Council.

After giving chase in the Batboat, the Caped Crusader and Boy Wonder use a sonic charge weapon to disable Penguin's submarine and bring it to the surface, where a grand fistfight ensues. Although the powdered members of the dehydrated Council are mixed together -- which would normally spell their doom -- Batman constructs an elaborate filter to return each of them to life.

Prior to this process, Robin asks Batman if it might not be in the world's best interests, with continued problems of overt racism, especially in the U.S. during the 1960s, for them to alter the dust samples so that humans can no longer harm one another. In response, Batman says that they cannot do so and can only hope for people, in general, to learn to live together peacefully on their own.

However, in the final scene, Robin's wishes are ironically fulfilled when the Security Council is improperly re-hydrated. While all of the members are alive and well, continuing to squabble among themselves and totally oblivious of their surroundings, each of them now speaks a completely different language than their original native tongue. As the world looks on in disbelief at this development, Batman and Robin quietly climb out of the United World Headquarters to an uncertain future. Batman's final words express his sincere hope that this "mixing of minds" does more good than it does harm.

Cast

Though Julie Newmar played the Catwoman to great acclaim in the TV series, she could not get out of the movie Mackenna's Gold and thus Lee Meriwether plays the Catwoman in this movie.

• Adam West - Batman/Bruce Wayne
• Burt Ward - Robin/Dick Grayson
• Cesar Romero - Joker
• Frank Gorshin - The Riddler/Edward Nygma
• Burgess Meredith - The Penguin/Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot
• Lee Meriwether - Catwoman/Miss Kitka
• Alan Napier - Alfred Pennyworth
• Neil Hamilton - Commissioner Gordon
• Stafford Repp - Chief O'Hara
• Madge Blake - Aunt Harriet
• Reginald Denny - Commodore Schmidlapp
• Milton Frome - Vice Admiral Fangschleister
• Gil Perkins - Bluebeard
• Dick Crockett - Morgan
• George Sawaya - Quetch
• William Dozier - Desmond Doomsday the Narrator (uncredited)

Credits

• A William Dozier Production
• Music by Nelson Riddle
• Associate Producer Charles B. FitzSimons
• Director of Photography: Howard Schwartz, A.S.C.
• Art Directors: Jack Martin Smith, Serge Krizman
• Set Decoration: Walter M. Scott, Chester L. Bayhi
• Unit Production Manager: Sam Strangis
• Assistant Directors: William Derwin, David Whorf
• Film Editor: Harry Gerstad, A.C.E.
• Special Photographic Effects: L.B. Abbott
• Sound: Roy Meadows, Harry M. Leonard
• Makeup by Ben Nye, Bryce Hutchinson
• Hair Styles Supervised by Margaret Donovan
• Batman Theme by Neal Hefti
• Orchestration by Gil Grau
• Second Unit Director: Ray Kellogg
• Second Unit Photography: Jack Marta
• Aerial Photography: Nelson Tyler
• Batboat: Glastron
• Main Title by Richard Kuhn and National Screen Service
• Color by DeLuxe
• Written by Lorenzo Semple Jr. - Based upon the characters created by Bob Kane appearing in Batman and Detective Comics Magazine published by National Periodical Publications, Inc.
• Produced by William Dozier
• Directed by Leslie H. Martinson

Vehicles

Besides the Batmobile, other vehicles used by The Dynamic Duo:

• Batcopter
• Batcycle with side car
• Batboat, provided by Glastron

Of the three new Batvehicles which first appeared in the Batman movie, only the Batcycle crossed over into the Batman TV series, as the budgetary limits of the TV series precluded the use of the others. Instead, snippets of the Batcopter and Batboat from the movie were stitched into episodes of the TV series.

External links

• Batman at IMDb
• Batman The Movie @ BYTB: Batman Yesterday, Today and Beyond
• Batmania UK :: 1966 Batman
• "Strange new Batman/White Stripes link" Article on Batman: The Movie's pop culture influence

• 1966 films
• Films based on television series
• 20th Century Fox films
• Batman films
• Superhero films