Batman and Robin (1949)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Spencer Gordon Bennet

Writers:

Bob Kane (comics)
George H. Plympton (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

26 May 1949 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Crime | Drama | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Based On The Well-Known Batman Comic Magazine Feature appearing in "Detective Comics" and "Batman" Magazines

Plot:

The caped crusaders versus The Wizard, black-hooded mastermind.

Plot Keywords:

Batman | Convertible | Photographer | Hooded Villain | Cave

Cast

Robert Lowery	...	Batman / Bruce Wayne
Johnny Duncan	...	Robin / Dick Grayson (as John Duncan)
Jane Adams	...	Vicki Vale
Lyle Talbot	...	Commissioner Jim Gordon
Ralph Graves	...	Winslow Harrison [Chs. 7-8]
Don C. Harvey	...	Henchman Nolan [Chs. 1-6] (as Don Harvey)
William Fawcett	...	Prof. Hammil
Leonard Penn	...	Carter - Hammil's valet
Rick Vallin	...	Barry Brown
Michael Whalen	...	Private Investigator Dunne [Chs. 2, 9, 12]
Greg McClure	...	Henchman Evans [Chs. 1-6]
House Peters Jr.	...	Henchman Earl [Chs. 7-15]
Jim Diehl	...	Henchman Jason [Chs. 3-15]
Rusty Wescoatt	...	Henchman Ives [Chs. 3-13]

Also Known As:

The Adventures of Batman and Robin
The New Adventures of Batman and Robin

Runtime:

263 min (15 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono | Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #13671-13685)

Filming Locations:

George Lewis Mansion - Benedict Canyon Drive, Bel Air, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

An animated picture of Batman as played by Robert Lowery appears in the opening credits of The Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976).

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Wires can be seen when The Wizard is supposed to be invisible, most notably in the telephone booth when The Wizard is on the run and calls his headquarters.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Narrator: Crime, striking our city night and day, is on the increase. Our undermanned police force is helpless to cope with the situation, but they have an ally - Batman - who with the faithful Robin, wages unending war against all criminals!

Movie Connections:

Featured in Legends of the Dark Knight: The History of Batman (2005) (V)

Stood up to the test of time

When I was a small boy of 7, I saw a few Batman and Robin chapters at the local theater because my parents took me along as they wanted to see the feature and this serial happened to be playing. The look of the Wizard scared hell out of me and I never forgot that memory. To this day I think that it was the most terrifying looking serial villan. I bought the VHS tape about 10 years ago and it was fun the see it in it's entirety as I had not seen most of it the first time. I thought that Robert Lowery was a very good Batman as he was a big man with a determined voice and John Duncan was fine as he as not treated like a comic sidekick. The funny part was Lyle Talbot as Comm. Gordon who would see Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson a lot and never associate them as Batman and Robin who he would also see a lot. The same goes for Vicki Vale played by Jane Adams. No one also associated the fact that Batman and Wayne both drove 1949 Mercury convertibles. In any event it was fun to see again this week and if any of the surviving cast reads this I want to thank them for some great memories.