batmanrobin

Old movie serials are hard to rate. They played by a completely different set of rules than feature
films. Back when you could get into the movie theatre for mere cents and stay there as long as you
wanted, the theatre played cartoons, newsreels, often two feature films and a few episodes from
popular serials. Children flocked to the matinees for the cartoons and the serial episodes to see
how their favorite heroes would escape what was about to befall them last week.

With Batman being such a popular character in the 1940s, it is little wonder that he was picked up
by Columbia Pictures and given not one, but two major serials. The first, titled “The Batman,” hit
theatres in 1943. It was enough of a success that it earned a sequel serial, “Batman and Robin,”
which hit movie screens in 1949.

The plot of this Batman adventure is not anywhere near as sophisticated as the stories in the
modern animated series or the current feature films, but as so often is the case art imitates its
source and the early Batman comic books contained stories of greater simplicity than those of
decades later. Really, Batman comics didn’t gain intricate stories until the 1970s. Before that, it
was all about atmosphere and Batman’s complex personality.

“Batman and Robin,” like every other serial of the period, was made by the seat of the filmmakers’
pants on a very tight budget. The story is very simplistic. Batman and Robin find themselves up
against a mysterious mastermind called The Wizard. He has stolen a machine that can control any
moving vehicle within 50 miles and he plans on using it for his dastardly schemes. Batman and
Robin must stop him from acquiring diamonds, which fuel the device.

The actors aren’t top tier, which was common, and hence the acting is fairly wooden, especially from
Batman and Robin. Like most serials, the costumes are pretty cheap and the Batmobile was
probably the producer’s car, a standard convertible with no décor and missing a hubcap. The story
is a pattern of Batman and Robin getting into fistfights in various locations with The Wizard’s thugs
and photographer Vicki Vale falling into scrapes from which Batman must rescue her, much the
same way Lois Lane functions in the original Superman serial.

The actor who plays Robin has what appears to be a substantial Southern accent, which is rather
strange for those who know the character. Batman doesn’t have any pouches on his utility belt,
which is more a decoration than a functional piece of equipment, so he has to tuck loose items into
his waistband. Yeah, it’s silly but fairly amusing and, for a serial of the period, has significant
production value.

“Batman and Robin” is more a piece of cinema history and Batman history than anything else. At a
running time of over 260 minutes across over 10 episodes, it’s for the true Batman fan or film history
enthusiast to really appreciate. Still, a fun and nostalgic moment of Americana.