Batman (1966 movie) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Batman: The Movie
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Leslie H. Martinson
Produced by	William Dozier
Written by	Lorenzo Semple, Jr.
Starring	Adam West Burt Ward Lee Meriwether Cesar Romero Burgess Meredith Frank Gorshin
Music by	Nelson Riddle Theme: Neal Hefti
Cinematography	Howard Schwartz
Editing by	Harry Gerstad
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date(s)	July 30, 1966 (1966-07-30)
Running time	104 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	US$1.5 million
Money made	$1.7 million (est. US/ Canada rentals)

Batman (also known as Batman: The Movie) is a fun superhero film from 1966. It's based on the popular Batman TV show of that time. This movie was the first full-length film about the famous DC Comics hero, Batman. 20th Century Fox released it.

The film stars Adam West as Batman and Burt Ward as Robin. It came out just two months after the first season of the TV series ended. Most of the actors from the TV show are in the movie. However, Lee Meriwether plays Catwoman in the film. Julie Newmar had played Catwoman in the TV show before this movie.

The Story of Batman: The Movie

When Batman and Robin get a strange message, they think Commodore Schmidlapp is in danger. He is supposedly on his yacht. They quickly launch a rescue mission using the Batcopter. Batman tries to land on the yacht using a special ladder. But the yacht suddenly disappears!

Batman falls into the sea. A shark attacks his leg! Luckily, Batman has bat-shark repellent spray. He uses it, and the shark explodes. Batman and Robin go to Commissioner Gordon's office. They figure out that the message was a trick. It was set up by a group called the United Underworld. This group includes four of Gotham City's biggest villains: the Joker, the Penguin, the Riddler, and Catwoman.

Villains' Plan and Batman's Challenges

The United Underworld has a special machine called a dehydrator. It can turn people into dust! This machine was invented by Commodore Schmidlapp, who doesn't even know he's been kidnapped. The villains also have a submarine that looks like a penguin. They have three pirate helpers too.

Batman and Robin learn that the yacht was just a fake image. When they go back to where the yacht was, they find a buoy with a projector. The villains trap them on the buoy with a giant magnet. Then, torpedoes are fired at them! The heroes use a radio-detonator to blow up two torpedoes. A brave porpoise even helps by stopping the last one.

Catwoman pretends to be a reporter named "Miss Kitka." She helps the villains kidnap Bruce Wayne. She also pretends to be kidnapped with him. The villains want to trick Batman and defeat him. They don't know that Bruce Wayne is actually Batman!

Escapes and Mix-ups

Bruce Wayne manages to escape. Later, the Penguin pretends to be Commodore Schmidlapp. He sneaks into the Batcave with five of his helpers. This plan fails badly. The helpers disappear when they are rehydrated! The Penguin accidentally used toxic water from the Batcave's power source.

The villains succeed in kidnapping the members of the United Nations Security Council. These important people are turned into dust. Batman and Robin chase the villains in the Batboat. Robin uses a special sound weapon to stop the Penguin's submarine. A big fight happens on the surface.

Batman and Robin win the fight. But Batman is sad to find out that "Miss Kitka" is really Catwoman! Her mask falls off. Commodore Schmidlapp accidentally breaks the containers holding the powdered Council members. All the dust mixes together!

Saving the World Council

Batman quickly builds a special filter to separate the mixed dust. Robin asks if they should change the dust. He wonders if they could make people unable to harm each other. Batman says they cannot do that. He reminds Robin what happened to the Penguin's helpers. Batman says they can only hope people learn to live together peacefully.

The world watches as the United Nations Security Council members are re-hydrated. They all come back to life. But they are still arguing! And each person now speaks a different language and acts like someone from another country. Batman quietly hopes that this "mixing of minds" will do more good than harm. The Dynamic Duo then quietly leave the United Nations Headquarters by climbing out a window.

The Cast of Batman: The Movie

The Penguin (Burgess Meredith), the Riddler (Frank Gorshin) and the Joker (Cesar Romero) in 1966. These actors also played the television roles.

Lee Meriwether acted as Catwoman in the film (pictured), replacing Julie Newmar.

Many actors from the original Batman TV show were in the movie.

The actors who played Batman, Robin, Alfred, Commissioner Gordon, Chief O'Hara, Aunt Harriet, the Joker, the Penguin, and the Riddler all played their roles again. Julie Newmar played Catwoman in the TV series. But she was busy with other things when the movie was made. So, Lee Meriwether took over the role for the film. Julie Newmar played Catwoman again in the TV show's second season. Later, Eartha Kitt played the character in the third season.

Making the Movie

William Dozier wanted to make a movie to get people excited about his new Batman TV series. He hoped the movie would be in theaters while the TV show was being filmed. But the studio, 20th Century Fox, didn't want to pay for the whole movie by themselves. They preferred sharing the cost of a TV series.

The film was written by Lorenzo Semple, Jr., who also wrote for the TV show. It was directed by Leslie H. Martinson. He had directed two episodes of the TV series before.

The Movie's Style

Many people describe the movie as a funny take on a comic-book hero. Some say the film perfectly captured the feel of the Batman comics at that time. They felt the movie showed Batman in a way that matched the comics.

The movie also made fun of some parts of Batman's history. For example, it showed how Batman often escaped danger almost by luck. It also made fun of how Batman always added "Bat-" to the names of his gadgets. The dramatic title cards during fight scenes were also a nod to the comics. The movie also made fun of the culture of the mid-1960s.

The film was also one of the first times Batman dealt with Cold War issues. It showed things like Polaris Missiles and old submarines. It even made fun of politics and world leaders.

Cool Bat-Vehicles

The Batmobile as seen in the 1960s Batman TV series.

Besides the famous Batmobile, Batman and Robin used other cool vehicles:

• The Batcycle with a side car
• The Batboat, made by a company called Glastron
• The Batcopter

Only the Batcycle was used regularly in the TV series. The TV show didn't have enough money to use the Batboat and Batcopter often. Sometimes, old clips from the movie were shown in the TV series when these vehicles appeared.

When the Movie Came Out

Batman first showed in Austin, Texas on July 30, 1966. This was between the first and second seasons of the TV show. The movie did fairly well at the box office. The company that made the Batboat, Glastron, was based in Austin. So, the movie premiered in their hometown as a thank you.

The TV network ABC first showed the film on TV on July 4, 1971. Later, the movie was released on home video. It came out on VHS and Betamax in 1985. It was also released on DVD in 2001 and on Blu-ray in 2008.

What People Thought

The film has generally received good reviews over the years. On the website Rotten Tomatoes, the movie has an 80% rating. This means most reviews were positive. The website says the film is very funny and enjoyable.

Bill Gibron from Filmcritic.com gave the movie 3 out of 5 stars. He said the TV cast really captured the fun and crazy parts of their characters. Variety magazine also praised the film. They said the actors playing the villains were very enthusiastic. They also liked how calm and innocent Adam West and Burt Ward were as Batman and Robin.

See also

In Spanish: Batman (pel%C3%ADcula de 1966) para niños