Ranking the Batman Movies: #8 - "Batman: The Movie" (1966)

In continuing with my "Ranking the Batman Movies" ranking of the Batman movies, we move on to number eight on the list, "Batman", produced in 1966.

#8 - "Batman" (1966)

An adaptation of the classic TV series of the same name, "Batman" starred Adam West as the caped crusader Batman and Burt Ward as Robin, the boy wonder. (Isn't it funny how the actor who portrayed Batman's ward has a last name of "Ward"? No? Okay, moving on.)

In the 1960's Batman wasn't getting as much media as he does nowadays. His only main source of exposure was the comic books. The original Batman series was somewhere in the 250-350 issue count, so there was no shortages of story in terms of print. Each and every Batman villain was getting their weekly attempts at killing Batman and lay siege to Gotham City, but it wasn't until the character got picked up for a half-hour long action series on ABC that he got all the exposure he'd ever need, and more.

The series ran for two seasons, but still amassed one hundred and thirty-some-odd episodes in that two year time frame. From '66 to '68, children all over the world thrilled to the caped crusader's adventures to beat up the bad guys and save the day. Much like the Adventures of Superman series starring George Reeves captivated children all over the world a decade before, now Batman was doing the very same. People week-in and week-out cheered as Batman and Robin repeatedly saved Gotham City and defeated the super villains of the week. The Joker, Catwoman, the Penguin, the Riddler (whom the series made a star villain), and Mr. Freeze all regularly caused havoc in Gotham City and Batman and Robin were dispatched to save the day. During the show's initial run in '66, Batman: The Movie was released, starring much of the same cast as the TV series. Batman's theatrical debut made its way into cinemas across the globe and continued to be adored by children and parents alike.

So it seems like nothing about the series or its companion film were anything less than glorious, right? Everything seemed to have gone right for the world's greatest detective, you think? At the time, yes. Here lately, I can definitely tell that the appeal of the series and the film has died off a little bit. The main reason for that being is that the film and series it's adapted from are both extremely campy and cheesy, and seeing as how today's Batman fans are more into the Frank Miller-esque portrayal of the Dark Knight makes it feel out of touch with the times. It's well known that the dark-nature, gritty Batman people like seeing today was completely lost on the producers of the 60's. From the bright and colorful costumes, to the *Zap!* *Pow* *Splash!* disco-font words that flash onto the screen close to every time a punch or other sound effect occurs, Batman appealed to everyone of the 1960's, but as the world changed into the 70's, and later the 80's, the release of The Dark Knight Returns, and 1989's popular Tim Burton Batman film, the appeal of the 60's series started to shift to more of a cult status. Today, people who didn't grow up watching their parents' old tapes of Batman from '66 look at the series as an outdated fad of sorts. Adam West's hammy deliveries mocked by Nicolas Cage in Kick-Ass, and Burt Ward's constant use of the "Holy ---, Batman!" catchphrase seem like nothing more but outdated gimmicks than actual exclamations. The show marginalized soon-to-be popular police commissioner Gordon, and omitted Two-Face entirely. Instead, it went on a path to create some of its own Batman villains, like Egghead, played by Vincent Price.

So does that mean that the appeal of the series is completely lost for future generations to enjoy? Well, today, watching the movie is like watching a live yearbook of the 1960's. If you've ever wanted to know how media and actors/actresses were played out, dressed, and behaved, watching this along with an old rerun of Star Trek will perfectly sum up how the 60's looked and felt. On top of that, you can most certainly guess that the series and movie were the biggest inspirations for Joel Schumacher's entries into the Batman mythos, Batman Forever and Batman & Robin. The campy scenery, the over-the-top acting, the lame dialogue and the ridiculous color-coordination of the cinematography almost certainly came from viewing old reruns of Batman and Batman: The Movie. While Tim Burton wanted to do his own thing and make his own Batman stories, Joel Schumacher wanted to use the most recognized form of Batman media as inspirations for his crazy Batman films.

In my opinion, I'd say give them a try. With the series having recently been released in its entirety on Blu-ray for the first time, true Batman fans can't call themselves as such until they've watched some of it and the old '66 Batman movie. It's campy, it's dumb, a lot of it is hokey even by the 80's standards, but it's some hokey, campy, dumb TV that the world should still have some affection for. Not only was it just Batman's first foray into media that wasn't printed, but it's a pop culture staple of the 1960's that the world shouldn't leave behind. It was coming on strong at the same time as "Flower power", Star Trek, LBJ, James Bond, Vietnam, Gilligan's Island, Hippie counter-culture, The Brady Bunch and more! All TV back then was just as weird as Batman. Give it a shot, it can't hurt.


Catch me next time when I move up to #7 on the BatList.
Stay tuned!
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