Batman (1943)

What is Ming the Merciless doing in a Batman movie? Playing a gun toting miner, of course. This is one of many surprises that pop up in the 1943 movie serial Batman.  Ming was played by the great character actor, Charles Middleton, and it’s rather amusing to see him in a rather incidental role as opposed to the main villain (which was his specialty). He turns up just long enough to be blown up in a mine explosion.                

Batman was the first screen adaptation of the comic book and, as a result, it’s a rather raw take on the character; he is not the dark, brooding vigilante that we know today, but rather a fairly jovial and extremely fallible super hero.  In the Christopher Nolan adaptations, Batman is able take out the villain’s henchmen without breaking a sweat, but in this serial he is constantly getting his ass handed to him. The biggest flaw of this Batman is that he is pure impulse; he almost never takes the time to scope out the area and strategize a plan for capturing the villains. Instead, he just rushes head first into a room and naturally assumes that he can handle the situation on his own. It would certainly be beneficial for him to know how many men are in a room, or where the villains have hidden Linda Page, his supposed fiancée.  He is completely oblivious to the dangers that are in store for him and is too reliant on Robin to bail him out. This is a typical scene: Batman and Robin spot one of Daka’s lackeys walking into the building. Batman runs in after him and gets knocked out for his efforts. The lackeys leave Batman to his grisly fate, Robin arrives just in the nick of time to save him. It is amazing in a serial titled Batman that Robin is the one who ends up saving the day. 

That’s right; Batman isn't allowed to be the hero in his first screen appearance. It is a rather baffling decision on the part of writers and the director. Who wants to watch a movie where Robin triumphs at the end? The answer: NO ONE. Of course, I can only speak for myself, as a kid I absolutely loathed the character of Robin and hated how he compromised the sheer awesomeness of Batman. Why is The Dark Knight hanging around with this annoying little bastard? Granted, Robin in this serial (as portrayed by Douglas Croft) is not nearly as abrasive as Burt Ward’s interpretation in the sixties television series, but still, he does grow a bit tiresome as the story progresses.  

It should also be noted that Batman’s code of not killing is nowhere to be found in this film. In fact, the film has a fairly high body count; Daka loses almost half of his henchmen due to Batman’s interference. Though, most of the deaths are an indirect consequence of Batman's actions. There is, however, a scene in which Batman knocks out two men in the back of an armored car and makes no attempt to save them as it goes careening off a cliff. Though, this was fairly common place in the Batman comic books at the time, as well. There’s actually one story, “Dr. Hugo Strange and the Mutant Monsters,” where Batman hangs one of Strange’s creations at the climax. 

Lewis Wilson was the first actor (and still the youngest) to play Batman on the big screen and his casting is a double edged sword; he makes for a terrific Bruce Wayne. He looks uncannily like the Bruce Wayne in the comic books at the time.  There is also a fun section in the serial in which he disguises himself as a hoodlum, Chuck White, so he can infiltrate Daka’s criminal underworld. Wilson is absolutely a joy to watch in these moments; his Bruce Wayne is a rather lazy and foppish fellow, and is largely played for laughs.

Unfortunately, once he dons the cape and cowl, our suspension of disbelief evaporates right in front of our eyes. Wilson was a handsome actor, but a model for physical fitness he was not. It doesn’t help that he’s laden with a chintzy costume that accentuates his flabby physique. This is one case where adding fake muscles to the costume would have greatly benefited the actor. Though, it does help explain why Batman is constantly getting owned by puny henchmen…well, except for at the serial’s climax when he has no problem handling a group of them. 

 Wilson would retire from acting at a fairly young age and, reportedly, was complete embarrassment by his involvement in this serial. It is too bad as he gives, despite his paunch belly, a rather lively performance.  He may lack the intensity (and the ripped physique) of Christian Bale, but he’s a lot more fun to watch.

J. Carrol Naish hams it up as the sadistic villain, Prince Daka. This serial was made during the height of World War II, so it’s not too surprising that its main villain is mad Japanese doctor out to control the world. It is a fairly xenophobic piece of work and it’s filled with all kinds of racial slurs; in the serial’s opening the narrator refers to Japanese people as being “shifty eyed” and when Linda Page meets Daka for the first time, she exclaims in sheer terror, “A Jap!”  These scenes are fairly uncomfortable for modern day viewers, though they are so ridiculously over the top that it’s hard to take them seriously.  Daka has developed a machine that can transform people into super strong zombies that obey only his commands, yet he only uses it on two elderly gentlemen and Linda Page. He is about to brainwash Batman, but Robin intervenes.  His main goal is to get his hands on a supply of radium that he needs to power his super ray gun. He also has a colorful way of disposing of his enemies; dropping them into a pit of alligators.  Hmmmm…I wonder if that is somehow going to play a part in his demise?  Also, in a fairly clever touch, Daka’s layer is hidden inside a House of Horrors.

Shirley Patterson is a beautiful actress and does what the script asks of her, which isn’t very much. The character of Linda Page is a fairly useless and forgettable; her main function is to get captured so Batman can rescue her.  In fact, her engagement to Bruce Wayne comes off as an afterthought; it isn’t until Chapter 13 that it is revealed she is his fiancée.  Up until this revelation, it is never made clear what their relationship is to one another. How does she know Bruce?  Half of the time, Linda seems to have the utmost contempt for Bruce Wayne and his “leisurely” lifestyle. Why the hell would she agree to marry such a guy? When her character isn't stumbling into trouble, she is nowhere to be seen.  The whole fiancée subplot is totally contrived and doesn't feel natural to the overall story line; Linda and Bruce are engaged because the script demands it.  Interestingly enough, Patterson, using the name of Shawn Smith, would experience her greatest success in the fifties, starring in the Universal thriller, The Land Unknown, and the cult classic, It! The Terror From Beyond Space.

Douglas Croft is probably the best realized screen Robin; it helps that he is actually the right age. Robin is an irritating character, but Croft makes the most of the material he is given. It is to his credit that you don’t roll your eyes ever time Robin utters a line.  Hell, at least he is of actual use to Batman as opposed to other incarnations of Robin, whom mainly just got in the way.  Croft, sadly, passed away at the young age of 37. 

Batman is far from being a great piece of cinema and, especially when compared to the action films of today, it is often extremely corny and dated. Yet, part of its charm is that it offers the modern day a viewer a glimpse into the world (and mindset) of 1943. It may not overwhelm you, but it moves along at a fairly fast pace (thanks to Lambert Hillyer’s efficient direction) and is actually more tightly plotted that most movie serials from the time period. It is definitely worth a look as a piece of nostalgia. Also, it is more beneficial to watch it over the course of a couple of days, instead in one sitting; it will seem far less redundant.

Credits

Cast: Lewis Wilson (Bruce Wayne/Chuck White/Batman), Douglas Croft (Dick Grayson/Robin), J. Carrol Naish (Prince Daka), Shirley Patterson (Linda Page), William Austin (Alfred), Charles Middleton (Ken Colton), Charles C. Wilson (Police Captain Arnold).

Director: Lambert Hillyer
Screenplay: Victor McLeod, Leslie Swabacker, Harry L. Fraser. Based off the comic book character by Bob Kane. 

Running Time: 260 min [15 episodes]