Click HERE to see this thread with all of the graphics, features, and links.

Batman: The Movie (1960's)

OK, this movie is genius. You all need to track down the DVD of this movie and watch it.

For something that was made in 1960's the comedy is way ahead of it's time. It's full of cool hippy chic and just plain craziness that it's just too good.

Seriously, Adam West is a legend. The man could deliver such cheesy, over the top, caractured lines, while wearring an awful Batman costume and keep a straight face.

This movie contains the infamous: "Hand me down the shark repellant Bat-Spray!" line, deliverred right after Batman is attacked by a shark who clamps onto his leg.

Commissioner Gordons lines are great too: "The Riddler? the Joker? Catwoman and The Penguin? The angles of that rectangle are too fearsome to contemplate!"

Then there's Robin, who is so cheesily All-American and so gosh darnit wholesome, that his quips are often humourous too. "Holy Halloween" - After witnessing The Penguin and co ride off on flying umbrellas.
The villains are also deliciously evil and all top actors of their time, and still are. The humour is the star of the show, and I am absolutely convinced that this is where a lot of shows like Family Guy get their humour derived from. There's a lot of Family Guy-esque humour going on.

The best lines definitely go to West though. Another gem was "Now Robin, we must leave........inconspicuously.......out the window". Such great humour from the 60's that I never knew existed at that time. The scene in which a porpoise sacrifices itself by jumping in front of one of Penguins torpedoes, to save Batman and Robin, is sheer genius.

Regardless of how funny it is, I really don't think a Batman movie should be a spoof of Batman (I'm looking at you, B&R). That show almost killed any darkness Batman had in the beginning, and because of its over-the-top ridiculousness a lot of people still remember Batman best as that silly man with the purple pointy ears. That isn't Batman, dammit.

I love that show.

It is a way Batman can never be adapted again, and still be cool.

Its classic Batman. I've seen some comic books of batman during the 60's and 50's, and the show really does depict a lot of that.

a lot of fanboys should give that show a lot of credit. It was campy and cheesy, but hey at least he was still written as a detective in the show.

If you read the EARLY comics, say the late 30's early 40's

the storys were pretty dark.


I dont know what happen in the 60's but it happen.

Yeah, I know. I'm just saying that period is rather classic (50's-60's) because we will probably never see Batman portrayed like that, and have it be popular ever again.

You may have a point, But most Bat fans, kinda of look down at that period. I know I do. I sure miss the Joker smiles when the Joker was doing strange crimes.

I don't care if anyone bashes it for being too corny or "unBatman".

Sure, the TV show was arguably responsible for the direction of Shumachers films. It went back to the more famous campiness that everyone remembers. Most people think it has ALWAYS been Batman and Robin, the Dynamic Duo, doing crazy stupid stuff.

However.

Without the TV show and this movie - Batman wouldn't be as famous PERIOD. I highly doubt we would have seen Burton getting the green light to start his movies.

I also doubt that Batman Begins would have been made if it weren't for that stupid TV show making people aware of him.

I think that's why Batman is so universally accepted. He's so adaptable as a character and has been adapted in many different ways. Silly, corny, dark, scary, detective, thriller, Batman appeals to everyone.

In fact, I bet many moviegoers went to see Burtons movie merely because they remember the TV show. It did wonders for Batman and is one of the most influential and most ahead-of-its-time TV shows from the 60's.

I mean, Batman even had a dance move named after him.

Had Batman been the Dark Knight from day one. Been Mr. Serious, Mr. Dark and so on from the beginning, I bet half the fanboys wouldn't have even heard about him to begin with. He'd be like Green Lantern or The Flash, on the cusp of mainstream popularity but never accepted as well.

So when people moan about the TV show being campy and not "Batman", I have to agree with the statement, but in general, "ya just don't get it, do ya?"

it was different times, and it was an honest adaptation of those times.
Even the costumes. C'mon guys, it was probably the only and last chance we would ever get to see Robin in that stupid Robinhood like out fit with the leprechan shoes.

I like it better than the movies because it stayed faithfull to itself throughout its entire run. And for those reasons why my favorite adaptations of batman are the 60's show, and BTAS.

But yeah at the edn of the day, Comics are canon PERIOD

Batman was not campy in at First.

The Shadow and Dick Tracy never went into that campy period like Batman did, and yet these 2 comic heros are rember today.

YES I saying if there was no Campy Batman, Batman would still be rember today. IF Shadow can make it with out being Campy, than Batman would.

Was two face, or scarecrow on the show? I don't remember.


I think I do remember some made up villians like King tut, and egg head, at least I think they were made up.

Two Face and Scarecrow were never on the show, and Egghead and King Tut were made up.

I will amitt when I was 7 or 8, Yes I watch it.

You can argue that the Batman of the 60's was a more corny and less darker than it's predecessor of 1943. But when you think about it is more of a fan favorite than general audiences (60's Batman) Not saying that the Adam West Batman was only for the fans. But nowadays it has moved towards that.

Despite its corny and cheese lines I still love this series and the movie. But mostly because I saw the movie and the series during my childhood. As a matter of fact my first introduction to Batman happen at the same when I discover the comics and the tv show.

Well, The Shadow is hardly mainstream. You can't use him as an arguement. Ask a population of people who Batman is, they'll know. Ask the same about The Shadow, and the best they'll come up with is the lame movie with Alec Baldwin AT BEST.

Dick Tracy was camp. It had rediculous villains and characters just like Batman. You telling me a guy called "Mumbles" is serious?

Come on, it's all in good fun, people need to stop being stuck up asses and enjoy themselves.

But they killed in Tracy.

When Batman became Camp, Well The Joker did not have one death victim.

As For Tracy, some of the villians were evil, and they had mobster like ways of killing people.

Mumbles is not one of the biggies. Big Boy, Flatop, The brown, They were not campy, but prue evil.

oh yeah just wanted to say, EVEN today most people know who the Shadow is.

They just put of a 3 set cd of the radio host of Oson Wells Shadow.

I bought it.

I wouldn't say it had a total bad influence, it has inspired others in some way.

I have an issue of Legends of the Dark night ( I believe that is what it is called) with Two face in it.

And batman is basically the spitting image of Adam West. The face and chin, and the cowl and mask with really small ears. The only difference is, is that the suit is black and gray, with just a bat on the chest with no yellow halo. The Utility belt is also like the TV show, with big pouches and everything. Though the issue was dark, it was a cool mix.