Big Screen Batman Review – “Batman: The Movie (1966)”

Holy campiness, Batman! It’s the 1966 film!

Cast, Crew, and Other Info

Adam West as Batman/Bruce Wayne

Burt Ward as Robin/Dick Grayson

Lee Meriwether as Catwoman/Kitka

Cesar Romero as the Joker

Burgess Meredith as the Penguin

Frank Gorshin as the Riddler

Alan Napier as Alfred Pennyworth

Neil Hamilton as Commissioner Gordon

Stafford Repp as Chief O’Hara

Written by Lorenzo Semple Jr.

Directed by Lesie H. Martinson

Complete information is available from the
IMDB
.

Buy from: Amazon.com
or Amazon.ca

Past movie reviews can be found here.

Premise

In a spin-off of the TV series, four supervillains
join forces to
execute a plot to dehydrate and capture members of the
World United
Security Council.

Additional comments

I’m actually quite surprised at the quality of this
DVD, given the
price of the item and the legal entanglements around
the characters.
(Fox owns this and the old TV series that spawned it,
but Warner
Bros. owns the characters and has some authority over
their releases.
This is why the TV series isn’t on DVD yet; they’re
still ironing out
the contracts.)

I should also point out that this is based on the
Batman
comics from the early days of the Comics Code
Authority, and that this
character has little or no resemblance to the current
(or even
original) comic book Batman.

High Point

Some days you just can’t get rid of a bomb.

Low Point

The “sea, see, C” bit.

The Scores

The originality score for a movie based on a
TV series that
was, in turn, based on a comic book is a bit limited,
particularly
when it comes across as being so much like the TV
series. I give it 3
out of 6.

The effects are awful. The shark looks
terrible, as does the
background replacement. Did these ever look good? I
give it 2 out of 6.

The story is loaded with contrivances,
coincidences, and very
extended periods of danger (including the long bomb
fuse, the shark
that didn’t even bite through the leotard, etc.) I
give it 3 out of 6.

The acting was played out as the director
requested, loaded
with ham, gusto, and overacting. You won’t find
serious acting when
the actors know they aren’t supposed to take things
seriously. I give
it 4 out of 6.

The emotional response is pretty good. This
wants to be
goofy fun, and that’s what it is. I give it 5 out of
6.

The production is very much like the TV
series. There is no
variety in lighting or editing, although the slanted
camera angles to
give a somewhat distinctive look. Some of the
costumes (Robin,
Catwoman) were exactly on target, most were passable,
and Batman’s was
just bad. (The cape and cowl should have been
reworked a couple of
times to get rid of the bib and pencilled on facial
features.) Also,
the Joker’s visible moustache under that white makeup
was just
pointless. (Yeah, I’m sure that’s because Romero
refused to shave his
trademark, but it just looks bad.) I give it 3 out of
6.

Overall, it’s an amusing diversion for fans
of the early
CCA-era Batman. I give it 4 out of 6.

In total, Batman: The Movie receives 24 out
of 42.

2 replies on “Big Screen Batman Review – “Batman: The Movie (1966)””

  1. You knew someone was going to quote this:

    “They may be drinkers, Robin, but they’re also human beings.”

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