Batman And Robin: 1943
A few days ago I was at the local Big Lots where they’d just set up a bin filled with DVDs for only $3 a pop. It was in this bin that I stumbled upon some buried treasure. That being the complete collection of the 1943 Batman movie serials. Not a bad deal, since I was prepared to pay the listed price of $25 when it had first come out.
After watching most of it, I find it deliciously entertaining. While there’s a certain presence of camp from it simply being from the 1940′s, there are also aspects of what I understand to be Batman that I was pleased to see. Firstly, he was serious about being a detective. He’d go undercover in disguise for reconnaissance and use scientific tools to unravel clues. Also, it was clear that Bruce Wayne was the alter ego…a character that Batman would play to conceal his true identity. And even though he was a goofball, Alfred was faithful to what his character was during that time and it was cool to see him get involved in Batman and Robin’s plans.
All that said, there were some qualities of the series that were, well…pretty fucked up. From the top, the whole thing is incredibly racist. It’s somewhat understandable since it was produced during World War II and America was already balls-deep in anti-Japanese propaganda. The main villain was a Japanese agent, but played by an American with eye make-up, using an accent that doesn’t resemble any genuine Asian dialect that I can recognize. The writers were also not at all shy about using the term “shifty-eyed Japs” quite repeatedly.
While Batman had many aforementioned skills that I admired, sadly fighting was not one of them in this series. When Batman would bust in to stop the bad guys from their shenanigans, he would succeed only in that the bad guys would all drop what they’re doing to gang rush Batman and stomp his ass before making their get-away. In fact, if there’s an exact polar opposite to Hokuto Shinken, that’s what Batman practiced. If he did study any kind of martial arts, it consisted of one guy grabbing him from behind while another guy gut-punches him until he passes out. That and falling off of stuff. Buildings, bridges, overhead electrical cables… That grappling hook gun that he’s now most known for was clearly borne of habitual folly during the Roosevelt years.
Oh, and Robin drives the car. That just don’t work.
All-in-all, totally worth $3. If you can grab it up in your area, go for it!
