Mill Creek is back with yet another fantastic DVD set. This time around it’s GOTHAM CITY SERIALS: THE COMPLETE 1940S MOVIE SERIALS COLLECTION. To be more specific, this is a collection featuring the first ever attempt at bringing Batman to the big screen. In the 40’s Batman was brought to life twice thanks to two different 15-chapter movie serials. Both complete serials are available on this one set.
The first serial, simply titled BATMAN, was released in 1943 by Columbia Pictures. Lewis Wilson became the first in a long line of actors to portray the Dark Knight with Douglas Croft stepping in as the Boy Wonder, Robin. Batman was still new at this time so the character hadn’t fully developed and there were some regulations in place that caused certain aspects that were already in place in the Batman world to be replaced. Most notably is that the Dynamic Duo are portrayed as FBI agents and no villains from the Rogues Gallery appear.
Despite these differences BATMAN also introduced a lot of what would be staples for the Caped Crusader. This was the first introduction to the Bat Cave with its secret entrance from inside Wayne Manor. Alfred’s portrayal by actor William Austin as a thin man with a mustache became the new model for Alfred going forward.
The plot involves a Japanese scientist named Dr. Daka who has invented a device to turn people into zombies to do his bidding. Nothing really great happens with this, but it is all pretty racist. BATMAN was filmed during WWII, so there are lots of racial slurs towards the Japanese.
Overall I think BATMAN is a pretty cool thing to have and watch. Yes, it’s low budget and the costumes and sets look bad, Wilson is a sort of chunky Batman and Croft isn’t a graceful Robin, but even with its flaws it is the first ever film adaptation of Batman. For that reason alone, this serial is very important.
The second serial on the set is another 15-parter from Columbia titled BATMAN AND ROBIN. This time our heroes are played by Robert Lowery and Johnny Duncan. In this go-around Batman and Robin face off against The Wizard (Leonard Penn). Unfortunately this is not the same supervillain from the DC universe and is instead a masked man with a device to control cars.
BATMAN AND ROBIN is more or less the same as what we got in BATMAN, minus the racism. It’s another low budget fare, but it has value in being only the second portrayal of Batman. I think it’s amazing to watch these serials and think about how much comic books and their adaptations have progressed. We’ve truly come along way.
The set is put together nicely by Mill Creek, with each serial coming on their own disc. Everything looks about as good as I can imagine it looking and the sound quality is pretty solid.
GOTHAM CITY SERIALS isn’t for everybody and maybe not even for the casual Batman fan, but if you’re a diehard fan of the Dark Knight, I think this is definitely a must own. I think it’s very interesting and even important in a way to see the origins of Batman on film. At a going price of about $10, there’s no reason not to pick this up.
Rating: 4/5
Own GOTHAM CITY SERIALS today: http://www.millcreekent.com/the-dark-knight-serials-batman-batman-robin.html
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