Release CalendarTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV News
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsABFFPride MonthOutfest OutfrontsSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
Sign In
New Customer? Create account
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

Batman

  • 1943
  • Approved
  • 4h 20m
IMDb RATING
6.1/10
2.3K
YOUR RATING
Douglas Croft, Shirley Patterson, and Lewis Wilson in Batman (1943)
Japanese spymaster Prince Daka operates a covert espionage organization located in Gotham City's now-deserted Little Tokyo which turns American scientists into pliable zombies.
Play trailer1:22
1 Video
59 Photos
ActionCrimeFamily

Japanese spymaster Prince Daka operates a covert espionage organization located in Gotham City's now-deserted Little Tokyo which turns American scientists into pliable zombies.Japanese spymaster Prince Daka operates a covert espionage organization located in Gotham City's now-deserted Little Tokyo which turns American scientists into pliable zombies.Japanese spymaster Prince Daka operates a covert espionage organization located in Gotham City's now-deserted Little Tokyo which turns American scientists into pliable zombies.

  • Director
    • Lambert Hillyer
  • Writers
    • Bob Kane
    • Victor McLeod
    • Leslie Swabacker
  • Stars
    • Lewis Wilson
    • Douglas Croft
    • J. Carrol Naish
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    6.1/10
    2.3K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Lambert Hillyer
    • Writers
      • Bob Kane
      • Victor McLeod
      • Leslie Swabacker
    • Stars
      • Lewis Wilson
      • Douglas Croft
      • J. Carrol Naish
    • 53User reviews
    • 21Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 nomination

    Videos1

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 1:22
    Watch Official Trailer

    Photos59

    BATMAN, serical, Columbia, 1943, **I.V.
    Douglas Croft, Shirley Patterson, and Lewis Wilson in Batman (1943)
    Douglas Croft, Shirley Patterson, and Lewis Wilson in Batman (1943)
    Batman (1943)
    Douglas Croft, Shirley Patterson, and Lewis Wilson in Batman (1943)
    J. Carrol Naish in Batman (1943)
    Robert Fiske, George J. Lewis, and J. Carrol Naish in Batman (1943)
    Douglas Croft, J. Carrol Naish, and Lewis Wilson in Batman (1943)
    J. Carrol Naish in Batman (1943)
    Douglas Croft, Robert Fiske, and Lewis Wilson in Batman (1943)
    Douglas Croft, J. Carrol Naish, and Lewis Wilson in Batman (1943)
    Lewis Wilson in Batman (1943)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Lewis Wilson
    Lewis Wilson
    • Batman…
    Douglas Croft
    Douglas Croft
    • Robin…
    J. Carrol Naish
    J. Carrol Naish
    • Dr. Daka
    Shirley Patterson
    Shirley Patterson
    • Linda Page
    Frank Austin
    Frank Austin
    • Hotel Clerk
    • (uncredited)
    William Austin
    William Austin
    • Alfred Beagle
    • (uncredited)
    Lynton Brent
    Lynton Brent
    • Intended Lockwood Pilot
    • (uncredited)
    Roy Bucko
    Roy Bucko
    • Barfly
    • (uncredited)
    George Chesebro
    George Chesebro
    • Brennan [Ch. 1-3]
    • (uncredited)
    Dick Curtis
    Dick Curtis
    • Agent Croft of Section 50 [Ch. 10-12])
    • (uncredited)
    Jimmy Dime
    Jimmy Dime
    • Henchman
    • (uncredited)
    Lester Dorr
    Lester Dorr
    • Agent on Plane [Ch. 10]
    • (uncredited)
    Kenne Duncan
    Kenne Duncan
    • Fred - the Mechanic [Ch. 5-6]
    • (uncredited)
    Robert Fiske
    Robert Fiske
    • Foster [Ch. 1-4]
    • (uncredited)
    Sam Flint
    Sam Flint
    • Dr. G.H. Borden [Ch. 1]
    • (uncredited)
    Jerry Frank
    • Cave of Horrors Thug
    • (uncredited)
    Terry Frost
    Terry Frost
    • Male Nurse [Ch. 7]
    • (uncredited)
    Jack Gardner
    • Jim Bramwell
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Lambert Hillyer
    • Writers
      • Bob Kane
      • Victor McLeod
      • Leslie Swabacker
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    More like this

    Batman and Robin
    5.9
    Batman and Robin
    Adventures of Captain Marvel
    7.2
    Adventures of Captain Marvel
    Atom Man vs. Superman
    6.7
    Atom Man vs. Superman
    Spy Smasher
    7.0
    Spy Smasher
    Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders
    6.7
    Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders
    Dick Tracy vs. Cueball
    5.9
    Dick Tracy vs. Cueball
    Superman
    7.3
    Superman
    Batman: The Brave and the Bold
    7.3
    Batman: The Brave and the Bold
    Nancy Drew: Detective
    6.6
    Nancy Drew: Detective
    Batman vs. Two-Face
    6.1
    Batman vs. Two-Face
    The Phantom
    7.0
    The Phantom
    Adventures of Superman
    7.7
    Adventures of Superman

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      This is the first filmed appearance of Batman.
    • Goofs
      At the end of Chapter 2, as Batman is battling with the thugs, his cape is ripped off and thrown to the floor. After a brief cutaway to Alfred waiting in the car, it is back on his shoulders with no apparent break in the action.
    • Quotes

      Alfred Pennyworth: How many did I kill?

      Bruce Wayne: Seven.

      Alfred Pennyworth: But there were only four of the ruffians.

      Richard Grayson: You killed three of them twice.

      Alfred Pennyworth: Where are the bodies?

      Bruce Wayne: We threw them out the window.

    • Crazy credits
      This serial was promoted under the titles "The Batman", "The Bat Man" and "Bat Man". The actual title on the beginning of each chapter was simply "Batman".
    • Alternate versions
      Filmed at the height of the Second World War, this serial originally featured a large amount of racist dialogue. A later reissue (released on video by Goodtimes) maintains the fact the villain is Japanese, but otherwise features new narration and dialogue which substitutes less-racist terminology.
    • Connections
      Edited into The Three Stooges Follies (1974)
    • Soundtracks
      Rienzi- Overture
      (uncredited)

      Composed by Richard Wagner

      Used in main title and various episodes

    User reviews53

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    From a seven-year-old's viewpoint, this was a masterpiece.
    I saw this (all fifteen chapters) as a young kid, and along with my friends I was mesmerized. Kids didn't notice that the final scenes of each chapter didn't exactly match with the beginning of the next week's episode, but what the hell. Batman and Robin were able to get out of those jams, and that was what really mattered. Special effects were par for the time, especially considering they were on a low budget.

    An earlier comment criticized that the film referred to Japanese as "slant-eyed". There was no political correctness in society at that point. America was at war, and even newspapers used rougher descriptions when making reference to Germans and Japanese. The film also mentions how wise it was to round up and interne all people of Japanese extraction. This was 1943, and the serial was reflective of the public mood of the moment. No apologies should be necessary.
    helpful•4
    1
    • jhfindley
    • Feb 2, 2002

    Top picks

    Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations
    Sign in

    FAQ2

    • Who created the character of Batman? Bob Kane is listed in old (pre-2015) media including the comic books as creating Batman on his own but new media (made after 2015) shows him as co-creating the character with someone called Bill Finger, so what's all that about?
    • Why is there no Batmobile?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • July 16, 1943 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • An Evening with Batman and Robin
    • Filming locations
      • Iverson Ranch - 1 Iverson Lane, Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California, USA
    • Production company
      • Columbia Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      4 hours 20 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    Douglas Croft, Shirley Patterson, and Lewis Wilson in Batman (1943)
    Top Gap
    By what name was Batman (1943) officially released in India in English?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2023 by IMDb.com, Inc.