I've sat through this serial a number of times, trying to understand its appeal, even among hardcore serial fans. It's just very poorly done. Robin seems to be on tranquilizers, and looks more like Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer than the Boy Wonder. Wayne Manor is a middle class home and the Batmobile is a Mercury. It's not even black. All of which could be forgiven were the writing remotely coherent. But alas. Take Professor Hamill...a scientist and "wheelchair invalid" (with a nicer house than Bruce Wayne) who frequently, albeit temporarily, regains the use of his legs through the use of a hidden "electric chair" device. We see this process time and again, and Hamill is clearly keeping both the device, and whatever the hell her does whilst mobile, completely secret, even from his servant, Carter. He maintains at all times the illusion of being permanently disabled, for whatever reasons, and would, I guess, prefer to dance the cha-cha by himself (or whatever one secretly does with their legs) than benefit mankind, win a Nobel prize, and make an inestimable fortune with his incredible machine. All of which is incredibly goofy, but nothing compared to the fact that Hamill spends the penultimate chapter openly walking around...in full view of not only Carter, but also Commissioner Gordon, Batman, and Robin. And not one of them notices that he isn't in a wheelchair. Nor, in the final chapter, when he returns to his wheelchair, is it ever remarked upon that, hey, that guy can sometimes walk. Not only does Batman - the world's greatest detective! - fail to notice a wheelchair-bound man, walking...he and Robin also spend a lot of time out of costume, basically doing the same routine as when they're in costume. Including consulting with Commissioner Gordon as Bruce and Dick, in a manner indistinguishable from their consultations as Batman and Robin, except that they spend a lot of time saying things like "Batman asked us to give you this, " rather than just wearing the damn costumes. Considering the fact that Batman also drives Bruce Wayne's car, the guy seems pretty cavalier about the whole secret identity thing.Sure, the action is poorly staged and the acting variously hammy/anemic, but I cannot overstress the degree to which virtually nothing about the plot or character actions makes a lick of sense. In one early scene, the fact that diamonds are stolen, and that diamonds power the "remote control machine" that is the villainous Wizard's primary weapon (see, don't I sound like I'm having a stroke at this point?), is taken as instant and conclusive proof that the robbery was committed by the Wizard's gang, for the sake of powering the machine in question. It never even occurs to Batman - or indeed, to anyone - that diamonds might be stolen for any other purpose.But most of all, above and beyond all else, never let it be forgotten...BATMAN DIDN'T NOTICE A DISABLED MAN WALKING.

I saw this at the neighborhood movie house, as one continuous movie, but since I was probably about 10 years old, 1960 or so?, they must have edited it down from the 260 minutes listed here. Couldn't have sat for 4+ hours. Typical of these serials, each chapter ended with the one or more of the heroes being "killed" in some clearly inescapable crash, explosion , cave-in, etc. But in the next chapter, the sequence of events was altered just enough to let them escape from the danger. They probably counted on folks seeing these chapters a week apart, so they wouldn't notice the switcheroo. "Batman" had some reasonably clever gadgets, for a 1949 movie.Check out William Fawcett actor on Wikipedia, the actor who played Professor Hammil, if you're my age you will recognize him as a character actor who appeared in many movies and TV shows

This serial is essentially the prototype for the Adam West TV series. Robert Lowery plays a nondescript Bruce Wayne and a business like Batman who is a deputized officer of the law, and pulls some of the most unlikely things out of his cheap looking, plain belt, such as a gas mask that looks like it was made out of a drinking straw, and a full size blow torch. Ironically, Adam West, in his autobiography, said plans were made to bring Lowery on the show as Bruce's often mentioned (but never seen) uncle, but the concept never came to pass.John Duncan's Dick Grayson and Robin are both far more mature that either Burt Ward or Douglas Croft, and he's also a lot more dull. Lyle Talbot's Commissioner Gordon is flat and one-dimensional. Jane Adams plays a very forgettable Vicki Vale, and Eric Wilton plays an Alfred who looks very much like the TV show's Alan Napier, but has little to do except wear a spare Batman costume when required to, much like a few episodes of the TV series.The villain is a masked mystery man called the Wizard who has some outlandish scientific devices. Presumably, the plot is a mystery to figure out who the Wizard is, but the detective work leaves a lot to be desired.The costumes and budget are worse than the 1943 serial, with Batman's cowl looking like a Halloween devil mask, but it is cool to see that huge bat across Batman's shirt a la "Batman Year One". The only advantage either serials' Robin costume has over the TV series is the longer (and in John Duncan's case, dark - presumably green) cape vs. Burt Ward's short, almost feminine cape, and the boots vs. Ward's elf shoes.There is no Batmobile, as both Bruce and Batman drive the same plain gray Mercury convertible, and the Bat-Signal appears to be the size of a portable TV set.The serial has some good moments, and you can really see how the TV series was a camped up version of it, but its just not nearly as fun or entertaining as the 1943 serial.

This is a 15 episode serial based on the Bob Kane comic. It wasn't the first version of Batman brought to the big screen. In 1943, there was another serial that had Japanese villains. This one is pretty innocuous, and also pretty forgettable. I am almost completely ignorant of the medium of serials. The only other one I've seen is Feuillade's Les Vampires, which is strikingly similar in form, even though made much earlier and in France. American serials are generally known for their cheesiness, their quick pacing and their cliffhangers. If I've gotten that stereotype correctly, Batman and Robin is a perfect example of the form. Some of the cheapness is a lot of fun. Like you notice the one bat that is perpetually flying around in circles in the bat cave. You think he'd die of exhaustion after a while. Vicki Vale appears. While she was in the comic books before this, Bob Kane only incorporated her as a main character after this serial (though he based his design on Marilyn Monroe). Vale here feels a lot like Superman's Lois Lane (I can't say which character in this form was first; I don't know enough about their relative histories to say for sure). It's fun how difficult a time Batman and Robin have at keeping their identities. Half the time Batman is visiting Commissioner Gordon as Bruce Wayne, and he keeps having to tell people that Batman wants him to convey certain information. The best moment in the series comes when Vicki Vale pulls up behind Bruce Wayne's car (the Batmobile does not exist in this version) and Batman and Robin pop out. "Does Bruce Wayne know you're driving his car?" Vicki asks. Without a pause, Batman replies: "Of course he does." Their capes and costumes always get in the way when they're fighting. One time Batman's cape almost pulls him down, and he's often shifting his mask so he can see better. I wish the villain had been one of the familiar faces from the Rogues Gallery (which literally appears in the serial as a filing cabinet). Instead we have "the Wizard", a dull guy in a black hood and cloak. The serial as a whole is amusing, but hardly worth spending four and a half hours watching.