Batman 1943 Serial Collection

[darkshadow0001]

I just watched a Batman series that I never knew existed before... a serial collection from 1943 by Columbia Pictures. It had a lot of the same structures as the 1960's Adam West series and also did some of the same things as Nolen's "The Dark Knight."

I really enjoyed watching these, they were only 15 minutes long and about 15 chapters long. However, they were continuous stories. As for the similarities for the Adam West series, it would explain at the end what might happen in the next episode and encourage people to watch it. The episodes also had fighting between the bad guys and Batman & Robin like the West show.

By the "The Dark Knight" comparison I noticed Batman seemed to "drop off" the bad guys to the local law enforcement like what was done in the Dark Knight. I realize a lot of the similarities were because of the comics rather then each franchise, but it was cool to watch. For the 1940's, they did a really good job with this serial collection. Any other Batman fanatics come across this?

 

[Dick Whitman]

The Adam West series was initially inspired by these Serials. Producer William Dozer learned that Hugh Hefner was playing them at the Playboy Mansion. They were enjoying them for unintentional camp value. Seeing an old movie(40s) with a modern eye(60s). The TV series kept the serials structure. Even having two episodes airing on different nights in the same week. With the first ending in a cliffhanger. But this time of course the camp was intentional.

As for The Dark Knight similarities that is interesting. Watching a few of the serials again after TDK DVD came out I thought the same thing. I think its largely because those serials were created very early in Batman's history. Being in the days when he was not directly working with the police, like he would in the 50s and 60s. So he would need to drop of criminals and not be present at the risk of being arrested himself.

The Joker fight in Bruce Wayne's penthouse in TDK was staged similar to those in the serials and the 60s tv series. With the Joker watching from the sidelines while his henchmen attack Batman. But then joining in himself.

I think this may have been accidental. TDK was going back to basics. When the premise was still uncomplicated. So that stuff that would seem too obvious in the current comics given the baggage of continuity and history seem fresh. The idea of Batman copycats is another example. You saw this often in 30s and 40s comics. The Fleischer Superman cartoons had a Superman impostor. The Disney Zorro series had a Zorro impostor. Back in the days when these characters were still unique and there were not hundreds of other costume characters. So a new guy in a costume was at first dismissed as the "Real guy".

 

[RandyS]

Have you seen 1949's "Batman & Robin"? No, no relation to the 1997 movie. It's another 15 chapter serial.

I love those old movies. Superman, Buck Rogers, Fash Gordon, etc.

 

[LaxScrutiny]

Which one has the Batmobile as just a black convertable and they transform it by putting the top up? And putting their costumes on in the back seat? I think that's the '49, it was pretty fun.

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

My favorite part of the 1943 serial is the really bad, totally un-PC, racist anti-Japanese propaganda.

 

[Christopher]

I really enjoyed watching these, they were only 15 minutes long and about 15 chapters long. However, they were continuous stories. As for the similarities for the Adam West series, it would explain at the end what might happen in the next episode and encourage people to watch it.

You mean you've never seen an old movie serial like this before? Wow, you've missed out. There were hundreds of them, most of them really cheesy. But there were some classics like the three Buster Crabbe Flash Gordon serials and the Rocketman/Commando Cody serials (which were the inspiration for The Rocketeer and for the look of Voyager's Captain Proton). The serials as a whole were the inspiration for Star Wars and Indiana Jones as well (which is why the SW films are called "episodes" and have serial-style recap scrolls at the beginning).

My favorite part of the 1943 serial is the really bad, totally un-PC, racist anti-Japanese propaganda.

I assume you mean that in the sense of your favorite thing to mock and look down on. It was really egregious, wasn't it? Like the narration in the first episode praising the government's "wise" decision to imprison Japanese-Americans in internment camps. Ick. And their idea of what constituted a "Japanese prince" was ridiculous. Dr. Tito Daka? The name "Tito" isn't even possible in Japanese. And Dr. Daka sounded more like a Brooklyn gangster than a Japanese prince. I did once hear a Chinese dialect that was reminiscent of the accent J. Carroll Naish used as Daka, but Chinese and Japanese aren't even in the same language family.

And that wasn't the only propagandistic element. Batman was a government agent, because of course you couldn't have a vigilante hero during the war, not at a time when the entire population of the country had to be mobilized to work together in a common cause.

I prefer the '49 serial, because it was free of the wartime politics. Also it had better music, which was also used in the '48 and '50 Superman serials.

 

[darkshadow0001]

I really enjoyed watching these, they were only 15 minutes long and about 15 chapters long. However, they were continuous stories. As for the similarities for the Adam West series, it would explain at the end what might happen in the next episode and encourage people to watch it.

You mean you've never seen an old movie serial like this before? Wow, you've missed out. There were hundreds of them, most of them really cheesy. But there were some classics like the three Buster Crabbe Flash Gordon serials and the Rocketman/Commando Cody serials (which were the inspiration for The Rocketeer and for the look of Voyager's Captain Proton). The serials as a whole were the inspiration for Star Wars and Indiana Jones as well (which is why the SW films are called "episodes" and have serial-style recap scrolls at the beginning).

Yes, I have. I've seen old Superman serial movies on either AMC or Cartoon Network before (the one with Kirk Aylen, I believe) but I never knew there were any for Batman.

I haven't seen the 1949 ones yet but I plan on watching them when I'm finished with the '43 ones.

I've even seen the 1910 and 1925 Wizard of Oz silent films, and another horror silent-film which I can't recall the name of at the moment.

 

[Aquehonga]

Great thread darkshadow0001

I'd love to see these. Sounds really cool from what you say.

Related to this, the Adam West/Burt Ward BATMAN airs Friday nights at 9 & 11pm on AmericanLifeTV, a cable/satellite network.

TCM should show all those 1940's BATMAN serials, as well as all the other serials mentioned. TCM airs things uncut, & with informative intros by Robert Osborne.

 

[darkshadow0001]

Which one has the Batmobile as just a black convertable and they transform it by putting the top up? And putting their costumes on in the back seat? I think that's the '49, it was pretty fun.

The '43 serials looked something like that, but I couldn't tell if it was a convertable or not.

 

[Christopher]

The Batmobile in the serials had to look like just an ordinary black car, because it had to match the cars in their stock action footage recycled from earlier serials.

 

[Dick Whitman]

Turner Classic Movies is showing 3 chapters a week of "Zorro Rides Again" n Saturday mornings at starting at 9:00 AM (ET). It should last until the end of the month.

This is the first Zorro serial. It features the grandson of the original Zorro. Taking place in the 1930s. It has been sighted as a key inspiration for Indiana Jones by George Lucas. It features Zorro riding a horse along a truck and then jumping on to the truck.

Two of my favorite serials are -

"Zorro's Fighting Legion" Which is the only Zorro serial to feature the original Zorro Don Diego. Also shows Zorro using his sword.

"The Adventures of Captain Marvel" The flying affects are incredible. Particularly for the early 1940s.