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.

---

Plot Keywords:

black cat | dc comics | the joker character | the riddler character | bruce wayne character | 

---

Taglines:

From the famous character "BATMAN"

---

Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Crime | Family

---

Certificate:

PG

Details

Official Sites:

Fox

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 July 1966 (USA)

Also Known As:

Batman: The Movie

Filming Locations:

1800 Avenue of the Stars, Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox,William Dozier Productions,Greenlawn Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

"Plaisir D'Amour" by Johann Martini, is sung by a chanteuse in the cabaret scene, but neither the song nor the singer are listed in the credits. The actress playing the singer was Julie Gregg, who had just played The Penguin's moll in the final two part episode of the first season.

---

Goofs

When Catwoman is putting a dehydrated henchman from the dustpan to the bottle, and The Penguin says "careful", you can see blue powder spill over and not go into the bottle.

---

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...

---

Crazy Credits

The film ends with THE END, then it suddenly changes to THE LIVING END.....?

---

Connections

Featured in The Batmobile Revealed (2001)

---

Soundtracks

Batman Theme
Written by Neal Hefti
Performed by Studio Orchestra

User Reviews

Brilliant parody of 1940's serials

I'm dismayed by the reviewers who compare this with the bloated, boring Batman movies of 1980-90's. It was always intended as comedy, and the special effcts, acting, etc., were designed to that effect. Maybe it's okay in comic books but can anyone take seriously a bunch of crazy hero/villains running around in capes and tights? You have to look back to those 13 chapter sci-fi serials of the 1940's to get the show/movie: each chapter ended with the heroes getting blown up, then the next chapter showed the last 5 minuts of the previous chapter except with the added footage showing the hero's escape. Then another 5 minutes of the characters recapping the entire story for the benefit of the audience if they hadn't seen the previous chapters. Quite amusing to watch today (I would recommend "Lost City of the Jungle" which loosely inspired Indiana Jones, and has those credits that stream up the screen like in Star Wars). That's why the Batman series were always 2-parters with ridiculous cliff hanger endings, with Batman uttering "If I can only reach my utility belt..." Adam West's performance can only be characterised as sublimely surreal: he really deserves an award. The only thing that comes close to this is Mystery Men, which many also unfortunately don't seem to get.