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Batman and Robin (serial)

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Batman and Robin
Directed bySpencer Gordon Bennet
Written by
Based on
Robin
by
Produced bySam Katzman
Starring
CinematographyIra H. Morgan
Edited byDwight Caldwell
Earl Turner
Music byMischa Bakaleinikoff
Color processBlack and white
Distributed byColumbia Pictures
Release date
  • May 26, 1949 (1949-05-26) (United States)
Running time
15 chapters (17-26 mins)
(Total: 264 minutes)
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

New Adventures of Batman and Robin, the Boy Wonder,[1][2] also known as simply Batman and Robin, is a 15-chapter serial released in 1949 by Columbia Pictures. It is a sequel to the 1943 serial Batman, although with different actors. Robert Lowery played Batman, while Johnny Duncan played Robin. Supporting players included Jane Adams as Vicki Vale and veteran character actor Lyle Talbot as Commissioner Gordon.

The serials were re-released as Video On Demand titles by RiffTrax, the alumni project of former Mystery Science Theater 3000 members Michael J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett. As of September 2014, they have released the entire serial.[3] Turner Classic Movies has broadcast the film serial from June to November 2015 and from October 2021 to January 2022 in a weekly half-hour slot on Saturday mornings.

Plot

The dynamic duo face off against the Wizard, a hooded villain with an electronic device that remotely controls vehicles and a compulsion to set challenges for Batman and Robin. The Wizard's identity remains a mystery to the caped crusaders throughout until the end.[4]

Cast

Production

Robert Lowery

Batman and Robin is, according to historians Jim Harmon and Donald Glut, one of several Katzman productions which involved money-saving measures. The Batman costume had a poorly fitting cowl and the Robin costume added pink tights to cover the "hairy legs" of both the actor and the stuntman. The Batmobile is again excluded, but instead of a limousine as in the first serial, the duo drive around in a 1949 Mercury.[5]

Several mistakes and failures of logic occur in the serial. One example is that the film shows the Bat-Signal working in broad daylight. Another occurs when, despite the fact that the heroes' utility belts had been replaced by normal belts with no pockets or pouches for this serial, in order to escape from a vault, Batman pulls the nozzle and hose of an oxy-acetylene torch from his belt to cut through a steel door (the tanks for the torch are not shown); to compound this mistake, it is a full-sized oxy-acetylene torch that would have been impossible to carry unseen on his person. Harmon and Glut suggest that this was probably scripted to be a miniaturised 3-inch torch, as used in the comics, but the filmmakers improvised in following the directions for a "blowtorch".[5]

Release

DVD cover

In the wake of the success of Batman, in 1989 GoodTimes Entertainment released the serial on VHS, splitting the entire serial into two separate, budget-priced tapes recorded in LP mode. The GoodTimes edition was slightly edited, as well, with several minutes of the opening chapter mysteriously cut. In 1997, Columbia TriStar Home Video re-released the uncut serial (in SP mode) as a complete 2-tape VHS set. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released the serial on DVD in 2005, timed to coincide with the theatrical release of Batman Begins. Unlike its predecessor, Batman and Robin: The Complete 1949 Movie Serial Collection has been given a restoration. On February 4, 2014, Mill Creek Entertainment released Gotham City Serials, a two-disc DVD set that includes both the 1943 Batman serial and the 1949 Batman and Robin serial. RiffTrax released a Video On Demand of the first installment of the short on July 16, 2013, featuring a running mocking commentary from Michael J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett of Mystery Science Theater 3000 fame.[6] The final episode, "Batman Victorious", was released with commentary on September 19, 2014.

Chapter titles

Turner Classic Movies began airing episodes of Batman and Robin in June 2015, following one week after the conclusion of airing the previous 1943 serial. Broadcast paused in August in favor of alternate programming, but resumed in September.

  1. Batman Takes Over (broadcast June 27, 2015 on TCM)
  2. Tunnel of Terror (broadcast July 11, 2015 on TCM)
  3. Robin's Wild Ride (broadcast July 18, 2015 on TCM)
  4. Batman Trapped! (broadcast July 25, 2015 on TCM)
  5. Robin Rescues Batman! (broadcast September 5, 2015 on TCM)
  6. Target - Robin! (broadcast September 12, 2015 on TCM)
  7. The Fatal Blast (broadcast September 19, 2015 on TCM)
  8. Robin Meets the Wizard! (broadcast September 26, 2015 on TCM)
  9. The Wizard Strikes Back! (broadcast October 3, 2015 on TCM)
  10. Batman's Last Chance! (broadcast October 10, 2015 on TCM)
  11. Robin's Ruse (broadcast October 17, 2015 on TCM)
  12. Robin Rides the Wind (broadcast October 24, 2015 on TCM)
  13. The Wizard's Challenge (broadcast November 7, 2015 on TCM)
  14. Batman vs. Wizard (broadcast November 14, 2015 on TCM)
  15. Batman Victorious (broadcast November 21, 2015 on TCM)

Source:[7]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Batman and Robin (1949) - Home Video Reviews - TCM.com". Archived from the original on 29 October 2016.
  2. ^ Poster doctormacro.com
  3. ^ "Search". Archived from the original on 2017-03-27. Retrieved 2014-02-14.
  4. ^ Rovin, Jeff (1987). The Encyclopedia of Supervillains. New York: Facts on File. p. 373. ISBN 0-8160-1356-X.
  5. ^ a b Harmon, Jim; Donald F. Glut (1973). "10. The Long-Underwear Boys "You've Met Me, Now Meet My Fist!"". The Great Movie Serials: Their Sound and Fury. Routledge. pp. 240–242. ISBN 978-0-7130-0097-9.
  6. ^ "New Short from RiffTrax… « Satellite News". www.mst3kinfo.com. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  7. ^ Cline, William C. (1984). "Filmography". In the Nick of Time. McFarland & Company, Inc. pp. 249. ISBN 0-7864-0471-X.
Preceded by Columbia Serial
Batman and Robin (1949) 		Succeeded by
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