In 1965, Columbia Pictures re-released its Batman (1943) and Batman And Robin (1949) serials to surprising approval. Only thing was, audiences weren't thrilled, they were laughing. There were two-part matinees and straight-through marathons (15 episodes totaled about four bladder-busting hours).
They were even shown at the Playboy Mansion. An ABC executive attended one of those bunny-fied screenings, the story goes, and it had a huge influence on the flavor of the Batman TV show.
Columbia's Batman serials are pretty cheap affairs. Pretty much anything producer Sam Katzman every touched was really low-rent, from Batman And Robin to Harum Scarum with Elvis. In the first serial, Batman drives a Cadillac. In the second, he and Robin fight crime in a Mercury. But however threadbare they are, the serials did add to the whole Batman mythos: the Batcave was introduced here (a desk in front of a fake rock wall), as was its secret entrance through the Wayne Manor study. Both innovations would make it into the comics, the TV show and everything that came after.
In Batman And Robin, Commissioner Gordon is played by Lyle Talbot. He also played Lex Luthor in the Atom Man Vs. Superman serial. Over the course of his long Hollywood career, Talbot would work with everyone from Roy Rogers and Mae West to Ed Wood. He's in Wood's Glen Or Glenda, Jail Bait and Plan 9 From Outer Space.
The Batman serials were also available in 8mm for home use. (This was long before home video, citizens.) I had the first one, Batman, that way. I ran it a million times.
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