THE BATMAN (1943)

The first foray of Batman and Robin in the Cinema. This is a 15-Chapter serial that narrates the struggle of the Dynamic Duo against a Japanese spy ring. It is rabidly anti-Japanese in its depiction of the then enemy. The Batman is a 1943 American 15-chapter theatrical serial from Columbia Pictures, produced by Rudolph C. Flothow, directed by Lambert Hillyer, that stars Lewis Wilson as the Batman and Douglas Croft as his sidekick, Robin.[ The serial is based on the DC Comics character Batman, who first appeared in Detective Comics #27 in May 1939. The villain is an original character named Dr. Daka, a secret agent of the Japanese Imperial government, played by J. Carrol Naish. Rounding out the cast are Shirley Patterson as Linda Page, Bruce Wayne's love interest, and William Austin as Alfred, the Wayne Manor butler.

The serial's story line involves the Batman, a secret U.S. government agent, attempting to defeat the schemes of Japanese agent Dr. Daka operating in Los Angeles at the height of World War II.[ Serving Daka are his American henchmen.

Batman is notable for being the first appearance on film of theBatman and for debuting story elements that quickly became permanent parts of the Batman character's mythos, such as the "Bat's Cave" and its secret entrance through a grandfather clock inside Wayne Manor. The serial also changed the course of how Alfred's physical appearance was depicted in future Batman stories. At the time Batman was released in theaters, Alfred was drawn as a portly gentleman in the comics. Subsequent issues suddenly depicted Alfred as slim and sporting a thin moustache, following actor William Austin's appearance.

The serial was commercially successful and in 1949, four years after World War II, spawned another Columbia chapter serial, Batman and Robin. The entire first Batman serial was re-released theatrically in 1965 as An Evening with Batman and Robin, and proved very popular (some theatres showed the chapters as a Saturday matinee). Its success inspired the action-comedy lampoon series Batman (and its 1966 theatrical feature film spin-off) starring Adam West and Burt Ward.

Plot

The Batman/Bruce Wayne (Lewis Wilson), and his ward, Robin/Dick Grayson (Douglas Croft), secret government agents following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, become aware of a Japanese sabotage ring operating in Gotham City. Bruce's girlfriend Linda Page (Shirley Patterson) asks for his help in finding her uncle, Martin Warren (Gus Glassmire), who was abducted by the ring after he was released from prison.

Dr. Tito Daka (J. Carrol Naish), the Japanese leader of the ring, plans to steal the city's radium supply to power his invention, a hand-held ray gun that can dissolve anything hit by its powerful beam. He forces from Warren the location of the vault where the radium is stored. Daka sends his American henchmen, along with a zombie that he controls by microphone via an electronic brain implant, to steal the precious metal. Batman discovers the plot and eventually routs the gang after a terrific battle.

In his secret Bat's Cave, the Batman interrogates one of Daka's henchmen, who reveals the radium was to have been taken to The House of the Open Door, located in the mostly deserted "Little Tokyo" section of Gotham City. Batman and Robin infiltrate the gang's lair (also Dr. Daka's laboratory), hidden inside a still-open business, a Fun House ride. There, they find Linda bound, gagged, and unconscious. After she is rescued by the Dynamic Duo, Daka transforms her uncle Warren into a zombie, and plots the derailment of a heavily laden supply train. Once again, Dr. Daka's sabotage efforts are stopped by the Batman and Robin.

Traps and counter-traps follow in the succeeding chapters, as the Dynamic Duo continue to thwart the plans of the Japanese agent and his henchmen. When Dr. Daka attempts to steal America's Victory Plans, the Batman and Robin finally prevail. They oversee the capture of Daka's men and finally the death of the Japanese agent, as he tries to escape and falls through his own hidden trapdoor into a pit full of hungry alligators.

Chapter titles
Chapter Title Release # Release Date Length
(feet) Running Time
1 The Electrical Brain 5120 July 16, 1943 2423′ 26.9 minutes
2 The Bat's Cave 5121 July 23, 1943 1606′ 17.8 minutes
3 The Mark of the Zombies 5122 July 30, 1943 1638′ 18.2 minutes
4 Slaves of the Rising Sun 5123 August 6, 1943 1664′ 18.5 minutes
5 The Living Corpse 5124 August 13, 1943 1565′ 17.4 minutes
6 Poison Peril 5125 August 20, 1943 1538′ 17.1 minutes
7 The Phoney Doctor 5126 August 27, 1943 1467′ 16.3 minutes
8 Lured By Radium 5127 September 3, 1943 1525′ 16.9 minutes
9 The Sign of the Sphinx 5218 September 10, 1943 1500′ 16.7 minutes
10 Flying Spies 5129 September 17, 1943 1618′ 18 minutes
11 A Nipponese Trap 5130 September 24, 1943 1447′ 16.1 minutes
12 Embers of Evil 5131 October 1, 1943 1333′ 14.8 minutes
13 Eight Steps Down 5132 October 8, 1943 1322′ 14.7 minutes
14 The Executioner Strikes 5133 October 15, 1943 1441′ 16 minutes
15 The Doom of the Rising Sun 5134 October 22, 1943 1840′ 20.4 minutes

Cast

Lewis Wilson as Bruce Wayne / Batman
Douglas Croft as Richard "Dick" Grayson / Robin
J. Carrol Naish as Dr. Tito Daka/Prince Daka
Shirley Patterson as Linda Page
William Austin as Alfred (uncredited)
Robert Fiske as Foster (uncredited)
Gus Glassmire as Uncle Martin (uncredited)
Karl Hackett as Wallace (uncredited)
Tom London as Andrews (uncredited)
Charles Middleton as Ken Colton (Episodes #6-#8) (uncredited)
Harry Tenbrook as Bartender (uncredited)
Charles C. Wilson as Police Captain Arnold (uncredited)