HOLY ANNIVERSARY!

60 YEARS OF BATMAN MOVIES

Roger Crow reflects on several decades of the cinematic Dark Knight Detective, from 1966’s Batman: The Movie, to the later hit-and-miss epics, and Batfilms which never saw the light of day.

Lewis Wilson as Batman and Douglas Croft as Robin in the 15-chapter 1943 Batman serial

Lee Meriwether as Catwoman, Frank Gorshin as The Riddler, Burgess Meredith as The Penguin and Cesar Romero as The Joker in Batman: The Movie (1966)

Batman’s 1939 print debut set the ball rolling on one of the richest characters in comic book history. However, before we enter a chiropteran-cave of memories devoted to the past 60 years on (or off) film, a mention of the 1940s serials. Lewis Wilson played the titular hero in 1943’s 15 chapter Columbia serial, Batman, and they also backed Batman and Robin, a 1949 saga with Robert Lowery as the shadowy crime buster. The 1950s was a Bat-free movie zone, but all that changed a decade later.

Behind the scenes from Batman: The Movie

THE SIXTIES

There was something magic in the air in 1966, and it wasn’t just England’s winning World Cup goal. Star Trek debuted on TV; The Prisoner started filming; Patrick Troughton took over the Tardis as Dr Who, and a hit series about the Caped Crusader transfixed millions.

The latter of course spawned Batman the Movie, which burst onto the big screen that year, and, as many a fan hoped, the Caped Crusader and Boy Wonder Robin faced off against A-list super-villains - Joker, Riddler, Catwoman and Penguin. Yes, it was absurd, but Adam West playing it straight as Bruce Wayne/Batman was genius. Credibility was everything with his protagonist(s), even if the setting was pure comedy.

In Blighty, ITV screenings in the 1970s were a joy. Clips on Tiswas of Batman fighting off a shark while hanging from the Batcopter ensured a lifelong love affair was born for this fan alone. But it took a long time for aficionados to get the next big-screen film they craved.

“Quick Robin, hand me down… the shark…repellent…Batspray!”

THE SEVENTIES

Cinematically another Bat-free decade, sadly, though 1977 animated TV series The New Adventures of Batman did see Adam West and Burt Ward vocally reprise their roles as the Dark Knight and Robin for 16 eps. However, the success of Superman: The Movie in 1978 gave Warner Bros’ bosses an incentive to get DC Comics’ other male A-list super hero on the silver screen. That dream project would take more than a decade to reach fruition.