Batman (1966)

Director:

Leslie H. Martinson

Writers:

Lorenzo Semple Jr. (written by)
Bob Kane (characters)

Release Date:

5 October 1966 (France)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Crime | Family

Tagline:

He's Here Big As Life In A Real Bat-Epic

Plot:

The Dynamic Duo faces four super-villains who plan to hold the world for ransom with the help of a secret invention that instantly dehydrates people.

Plot Keywords:

Batman | Penguin | Joker | Villain | Submarine

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Adam West	...	Batman / Bruce Wayne
Burt Ward	...	Robin / Dick Grayson
Lee Meriwether	...	The Catwoman / Kitka
Cesar Romero	...	The Joker
Burgess Meredith	...	The Penguin
Frank Gorshin	...	The Riddler
Alan Napier	...	Alfred
Neil Hamilton	...	Commissioner Gordon
Stafford Repp	...	Chief O'Hara
Madge Blake	...	Aunt Harriet Cooper
Reginald Denny	...	Commodore Schmidlapp
Milton Frome	...	Vice Admiral Fangschliester
Gil Perkins	...	Bluebeard
Dick Crockett	...	Morgan
George Sawaya	...	Quetch

Also Known As:

Batman: The Movie (USA) (video box title)

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Finland:K-12 (original rating) | Finland:K-8 (re-rating) | Canada:PG (Nova Scotia) (35th anniversary special edition) | Netherlands:6 | USA:PG (Certificate No. 21297) | Italy:T | Australia:G (original rating) | Australia:PG (DVD rating) | Brazil:Livre | Canada:F (Ontario) | Canada:G (Manitoba/Quebec) | France:U | Singapore:PG | Sweden:11 | UK:U | West Germany:6 | Iceland:L

Filming Locations:

380 South San Rafael Avenue, Pasadena, California, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

During Bruce Wayne's fight with the villains, he says lines about a hidden radio up his sleeve and knowing the villains were listening, although he wasn't properly miked for the dialogue to be heard well.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: During the Batman/Robin boat scene where they are attempting to find finger prints, Robin claims they are the only ones on the ocean. However moments before if you look in the background some sort of vessel moves by.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Narrator: This yacht is bringing a revolutionary scientific invention to Gotham City. On a peaceful afternoon motor ride, millionaire Bruce Wayne and his youthful ward Dick Grayson have been summoned back to Wayne Manor by an urgent but anonymous call for help; the invention AND its custodian are reported in grave danger aboard the yacht...

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Many Faces of Catwoman (2005) (V)

"Oh, the delicious irony of it all!"

Having, losing, gaining... to a generation of kids this WAS Batman. Only when Tim Burton reinvented the big screen perception of the "caped crusader" did it become outdated.

The third of the new films, Batman Forever parodied this film and the series with a "holy" joke. Unfortunately the movie in question was the first to be directed by Joel Schumacher, and so was consequently brash and bereft of wit. Yes, thanks to ShoeMaker this version of Gotham has suddenly become the coolest yet again.

It's all such brilliant fun, awash with the irony so gloriously absent from Batman & Robin. Michael Keaton was a wonderfully dark Batman, but the other two were planks. Adam West is knowingly hammy as the title role, and relishes the deliberately cheesy lines. He has a potbelly and a costume that looks like it was made out of an old binliner. Anyone who cannot see the genius of that is beyond help. Burt Ward's brilliantly overacted Robin is also hilarious, and far less irritating than the asinine Chris O'Donnell version.

The Batmobile is ace, too. I remember having a chunky Corgi model of the car that shot out matchsticks across the room. Much better than a CGI-enhanced penile extension. Even the rubbish filmed backdrops are fun. Everything's a bat-something in this film, a rope ladder having a large "Bat Ladder" sign tied to the end.

This is a fantastic movie, how could anyone not love it? Some hilarious scenes include the shark fight, the trap door spring and Batman with the biggest (and longest-fused) bomb in history. Look at this dialogue exchange where they try to work out which supervillain is behind the mayhem: "But wait! It happened at sea. See? C for Catwoman." "An exploding shark ... was pulling my leg." "The Joker! It all led to a sinister riddle. Riddle -er. Riddler?"

Fortunately, it turns out they're all involved, along with Burgess Meredith as the Penguin. The scenes set on the villains' hideout are shot with the camera at slanted angles, an inspired touch. All the poor things about this film work in its favour - Cesar Romero as the Joker looks about 80 and clearly hasn't bothered to shave off his moustache, but it works, as does the full-bore "acting" of Meredith and Merriwether. Only Frank Gorshin as the Riddler slightly disappoints; though that's because he's nowhere near as over the top. He is, of course, infinitely preferable to Jim Carrey. Anyway, they all work superbly together and the film doesn't feel top-heavy. A huge flaw of the new series, where more than one villain never quite clicked, can you imagine Nicholson, Pfeiffer, Carrey and DeVito all in the same movie? Of course it'd be impossible not just in budget but in egos, so having modest TV actors here serves the story well. One strange element of characterisation is seeing the Joker getting bossed around by the Penguin, something that would never happen in the comics.

Some of it's so wilfully silly it almost goes too far. If you put your tongue into your cheek you may choke, and seeing a Pentagon head playing tiddlywinks eggs the joke a little, though the whole thing is so well-meaning that you simply can't hold it against the movie. The plot, though, really isn't up to much at all, something I never noticed as a child (but then I never realised it was a comedy when I was a child, either). A repetitious sequence of events that sees the villains constantly trying to destroy Batman and Robin from afar, the heroes trying to locate their secret base. It goes round in circles, but a glorious "Biff! Pow!" fight on a submarine and a sideways swipe at eugenics make sure it all ends in style.

Lastly, look out for the scene where Ward and West run up and down on the spot ("Luckily we're in tip-top condition!") while a film background of a street and the theme tune play - a classic. Simple, silly fun and almost relentlessly appealing. So much so I nearly added another point to the total... 6/10.