#batman 1943

[hooperdrivestheboat]

Batman (1943), "The Bat's Cave"

[phoenixkaptain]

The 1943 Batman serial is many things.

It's highly accurate to the comics at the time. From Bruce Wayne's persona to the blatant, unfortunately period-typical racism, and even to how much of Batman's continued survival is based on Robin saving him. It is certainly a time capsule for World War II propaganda, especially in comics.

Bruce Wayne was so fun to experience. The actor really brought to life his laidback to the point of farce personality. He asks Linda not to wake him up before noon. He says he spent the entire evening having a good time with Dick and forgot he had a date with her. He says he and Dick took a nap while trying to find a cave. Someone suggests that Bruce Wayne could be Batman and Deker thinks the very idea is ludicrous. (Deker changes his mind, but I love his "Don't be ridiculous" primary reaction)

Robin is great. He gets to wear a disguise. He saves Batman constantly. He's the one who captures Deker in the end. He accidentally sends Deker into an alligator pit. He's surprisingly competent and just plain adorable. Basically, he's just like the comics of the time. I love him.

The side characters can be fun. Linda Page is certainly a character. I like how she's constantly disappointed by Bruce, yet continues to invite him places. And she's almost always really very happy to see him. The way she always tags on "Hi, Dick," is absurdly adorable. Alfred is also wonderful in this. I can see why they changed Alfred so much following this serial. He's a big old scaredy cat working for the most intimidating man alive. He's nothing at all like modern Alfred, but he has his own charm. I like him.

It is, as previously mentioned, very racist. To the point of discomfort. At the same time, I have no idea how any of these characters knew Deker was Japanese just by looking at him. And I don't want to complain about his accent, but his accent was... a fascinating choice. There are moments where he just sounds like Speedy Gonzalez to me. He's the very picture of a comic book villain, especially with how over the top he is. Which can be enjoyable to a point, but it all the same is very, extremely racist.

Would I recommend you watch it? No. It's three and a half hours long, it's very WWII-era propaganda, and the fight scenes were far too numerous for how much time they take up overall. It's uncomfortable to watch any scene with Deker no matter how much he's like a Bond villain, Batman keeps getting knocked out by randos (which is surprisingly accurate to the comics to be honest), and it's way too drawn out. Like it's absurdly drawn out. No Batman storyline should be three hours and thirty-five minutes long, but especially not this one.

TLDR: do not waste three and half hours of your life watching this serial. Instead, skip to 3:32:24 of the video Batman (1943) | Full Serial/Movie by BatmanTVSeries-zn8pz on YouTube. The only scene that truly matters ❤️

[webshootersandwingdings]

Australian posters for Columbia Pictures’ Superman (1948) and Batman (1943), the first live action appearance for each respective character.

[zeawesomebirdie]

Batman 1943 episode 1: The Electrical Brain

Dick leaning over Bruce's shoulder the moment Linda leaves the room + Bruce's little smile every time he turns toward Dick

+ BONUS: pov your ward didn't appreciate the flirty comment you made

[masterofthew1cket]

every year my history teacher asks who the best Batman is as part of the first google forms assignment (trick question, he's not looking for an opinion, the correct answer is always Will Arnet)

im gonna tell him the correct answer is Dick Grayson.

Dick Grayson is the best Batman. you gotta admit

history teacher: who's the best Batman portrayal? me, having an entire essay on why all the actors are bad, actually: [listing comic writers]

[mylifeingotham]

LIVE ACTION ALFRED PENNYWORTH

Fun Fact: Gotham and Pennyworth are in the same universe

[mydarlingbat]

Lewis Wilson plays Batman in the 1943 film. First i would like to say that Lewis does a much better Bruce Wayne than Batman. His Bruce Wayne is very egotistical. He comes off charming at times. He was a pretty good Bruce Wayne to me. His Batman not so much. If he fought like that in the Batman comics. He would probably be dead already. I just felt like Douglas croft who plays Robin saved Batman so many times in this film. I felt like Robin was Batman for a little while. Douglas is a pretty good Robin and he is a pretty good as Dick Grayson as well. There are some racist remarks that doesn't sit well with me at all, but we do know this is a older film. The fighting is terrible, however there is a lot of action scenes, even if they aren't good. It's continually. Plus Batman almost got threw off a building three times, and the forth they actually succeeded pushing him down an elevator at the bottom. Linda page was Linda page. Some of her acting was okay. The crying scenes isn't very realistic, although the zombies scenes was actually pretty well depict. William Austin who plays Alfred is fantastic. He does give off a childish demeanor, and he's so cute. I honesty love the relationship between Alfred and Bruce. It's very playful and lighthearted, so I love his portray on Alfred. I loved it. J Henson was my favorite thug. He played Eddie Kane, so i enjoy his character very much. Lewis Wilson Chuck White is mwah. I absolutely adored it. I think he played his role amazing. Nice disguise and everything. I would say you really have to be into the film, and what I mean by that, is you have to really pay close attention to everything, and you might enjoy it better. I didn't find Batman scary at all. The Batman costume is horrible. It's not scary. The Robin costume isn't bad at all. The movie is about Japanese who is turning Americans into zombies and making them work for him. I don't want to give too much away, but the movie itself was 6 out of 10.

[sisaloofafump]

Batman 1943, despite its myriad of political problems, was absolutely spot on with Bruce and Dick.

You've got this young, insanely charming playboy who wins the hearts of everyone he meets... and who takes his rascal of a ward absolutely everywhere.

Bruce is on a date? Dick's right there with him, messing around with Linda's trinkets. He missed an engagement? Oh, he was out with Dick at the amusement park. It's not even questioned anymore when Dick shows up. It's just a given. They're a package deal. Attached at the hip, playing pranks on Alfred.