Batman: The Movie (1966)

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

Director:

Leslie H. Martinson

Writers:

Lorenzo Semple Jr., Bob Kane (based upon the characters created by)

Stars:

Adam West, Burt Ward, Lee Meriwether

1 win.

Cast

Complete credited 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

Storyline

The arch-villains of the United Underworld - the Joker, the Penguin, the Riddler and the Catwoman - combine forces to dispose of Batman and Robin as they launch their fantastic plot to control the entire world. From his submarine, Penguin and his cohorts hijack a yacht containing a dehydrator, which can extract all moisture from humans and reduce them to particles of dust. The evildoers turn the nine Security Council members in the United World Building into nine vials of multicolored crystals! Batman and Robin track the villains in their Batboat and use Batcharge missiles to force the submarine to surface.

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Plot Keywords:

batman character | parody | campy | tongue in cheek | world domination | 

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Taglines:

All Brand-New! Never Seen on TV!

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Crime | Family

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

(at around 1h 40 mins) At the end of the film, one of the United World delegates is seen banging his shoe on the table while yelling. This is a parody of Nikita Khrushchev's famous behavior during a debate in the United Nations General Assembly on October 12, 1960.

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Goofs

(at around 1h) When Batman and Robin are climbing up the wall, you can see the strings used to hold their capes up, as the scene is clearly a rotated shot of the duo walking horizontally. Although this has been widely regarded as a mistake, the special edition DVD commentary with Adam West and Burt Ward explains that it was done purposely to have some fun for the adult audience.

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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! Never ones to shirk responsibility, Bruce and Dick, with characteristic speed and resolve, descend promptly into The Batcave, and then, as they have done...

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Crazy Credits

(Opening disclaimer) ACKNOWLEDGMENT We wish to express our gratitude to the enemies of crime and crusaders against crime throughout the world for their inspirational example. To them, and to lovers of adventure, lovers of pure escapism, lovers of unadulterated entertainment, lovers of the ridiculous and the bizarre--- To funlovers everywhere--- This picture is respectfully dedicated. If we have overlooked any sizable groups of lovers, we apologize. ---THE PRODUCERS

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Alternate Versions

Some American TV prints omit the sequence showing Batman and Robin driving the Batmobile down a boat dock to reach the Batboat (including a gag showing them using another set of batpoles to get down to sea level).

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Connections

Featured in Atop the Fourth Wall: The Dark Knight Strikes Again: Part 1 (2009)

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Soundtracks

Ochi Chyornye (Dark Eyes)
(uncredited)
[Violin serenade in restaurant]

User Reviews

''Sometimes you just can't get rid of a bomb!''

1966 was, among many other things, the year of "Batman". This campy color TV series (very) loosely based on the classic comic strip, was originally planned for a fall debut. But the ABC network which commissioned the show, had already seen several of their new programs fail dismally in the ratings. Desperate for some promising new material. they gave "Batman" the green light, and it premiered in January. Thanks to it's 'hip' humor, an eye-popping kaleidoscope of bizarre color backgrounds and a cast of "guest villains" second to none: Julie Newmar, Cesar Romero, Anne Baxter, Burgess Meredith (the list goes on and on) the show was an immediate smash. Suddenly, America became "batty" and it's popularity was so great that stars scrambled for a chance to appear on the program. Along with its ratings, success came the brilliant merchandising campaign - everything from bubble gum cards and records to underwear and cereal. Inevitably, a movie was planned, supposedly either to introduce audiences to the show (which wasn't necessary after all, because the program was picked up first) or to sell the series overseas. It's main function, of course, was to cash in on the Batmania flooding the country while it was still hot. So, with a slightly bigger budget - mainly to accommodate the construction of the batboat and the batcopter, a feature version of the show was quickly filmed between the end of the first season and the beginning of the second. By the time of the movie's release in August 1966, however, the Batman craze had already begun to fade. The critics, for the most part, dismissed the film and audiences chose to ignore it. And, in recent years, there has been some speculation as to what happened. Although it has been written that Twentieth Century-Fox did little to inform the public that this was a project made exclusively for the big screen and not (as with "The Man from Uncle") a compilation of previously seen television episodes edited into a feature. In fact, the movie was promoted both in advertising materials (trailers, posters, etc) and magazine features as being "All New, Made Especially for the Giant Motion Picture Screen". It appears that the viewing public felt that it was probably just more of the same, figuring there was no point in paying to see what they got for free at home. So, despite mass bookings in every theater available, the film came and went. But, seen today, "Batman" holds up well, capturing perfectly what was one of the biggest fads to come along in the sixties.

Adam West and Burt Ward personify the clueless but virtuous Superheroes - always ready for a challenge, and, as usual, lionized by their puny police force led by Commissioner Gordon (Neil Hamilton) and Chief O'Hara (Stafford Repp). Alfred, alter-ego Bruce Wayne's faithful butler (Alan Napier) and Harriet Cooper (Madge Blake), aunt of Robin's alter ego Dick Grayson are on hand as well. The chief delight here though, are the four Supervillains - The Catwoman (Lee Meriwether, subbing for Julie Newmar), The Penguin (a rakish Burgess Meredith), The Joker (onetime Latin lover Cesar Romero) and The Riddler (a manic Frank Gorshin). The plot, the usual nonsense involving this crew's attempt at world domination, serves as a suitable background for sight gags and pratfalls galore. Meriwether and Meredith are the Villains with the most footage, each getting to disguise themselves during the course of the story. Posing as Russian reporter Miss Kitka, and sporting a commendably convincing accent, the incredibly lovely Meriwether is (understandably) successful in a scheme to lure Bruce Wayne into a kidnapping, hoping Batman will dash to the rescue! Meredith is not quite as able, in his guise as the villain's hostage Commodore Schmidlapp, though he does manage to get into the secret Batcave. And the plot thickens...West and Ward perform their chores with appropriately deadpan dispatch, but, as usual, the devils have the best parts, with Lee Meriwether offering a deliciously different interpretation of The Catwoman, and Burgess Meredith, who was born to play The Penguin, standing out. Batman is great fun both for younger viewers (who won't pick up on the intentional parody) and older ones (who will). "Holy time capsule!" Sevaral years ago, a wide screen DVD was released. It boasts an excellent transfer, Stereo sound and many extras, including a running commentary track with West and Ward, trailers, still galleries, and new featurettes about the film, and the Batmobile, with creator George Barris. A MUST for Batfans!

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 July 1966 (USA)

Also Known As:

Batman: The Movie

Filming Locations:

Gateway East Building - 1800 Avenue of the Stars, Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,377,800 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Marvel Enterprises, William Dozier Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1