Batman 1943 - a young fans reaction in Thrills and Chills Forum

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Batman 1943 - a young fans reaction

Author	Comment
cabmangray	Batman 1943 - a young fans reaction	Lead	[-]
Mar 5 08 12:46 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I have a friend who is heavily into superheroes, but has never seen the original Batman serial, or the follow-up, Batman and Robin. So I decided to correct this problem by giving him the first Batman serial for Christmas. I was talking to him about this the other day and he said he was enjoying it mightily, as a comedy! He proceded to pick the series apart with abandon; how Batman could'nt throw a decent punch without getting his right arm tangled up in his cape, how badly Batman is beat up by the various thugs, and how incredibly racist the tone of the whole film is. I tried to explain to him that this is a 1943 Batman, not a 2008 Batman; the movie is for kids and audiences were nowhere near as savvy as to how the films were made. Plus, I told him, it was made right after Pearl Harbor and the Japanese were our mortal enemies at the time, so the racism was deemed as perfectly alright. Society was not concerned with being "politically correct" at the time. I also tried to enlighten him about the differences between a Columbia serial and a Republic serial. But it all fell on deaf ears. This young turk will continue to enjoy the rest of the serial as a comedy. Perhaps I'll try Captain Marvel on him next!
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Oliver Klozoff		#1	[-]
Mar 5 08 12:52 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Yeah, it sounds like he'd get a good chuckle out of the scenes where Captain Marvel uses the machine gun on the thugs, or when he chucks that one guy off the roof. Perhaps that sort of thing will fit better into his narrow frame of reference.
Wich2		#2	[-]
Mar 5 08 2:04 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	cabman- You're both right - you, about the setting of the film (wartime; mainly for kids)... ... and your friend, about its overall quality (ever hear Bob Kane's on-set story? "Where's the Batmobile?" "You're standing next to it!") MARVEL is a much better film; the sets, locations, and photography are nice - and Tom Tyler has the right build, in a costume not thrown together from what was lying around the shop one weekend. Best, -Craig W.
captainmarvel1957		#3	[-]
Mar 5 08 5:31 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	How young is this young fan? I saw the Batman serial during its theatrical re-release in 1966 when I was eight years old. I thought it was great! The only thing that I couldn't get over was Robin's curly permed looking hair.
LCranston		#4	[-]
Mar 5 08 6:47 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I haven't seen either Batman serial in years, but will buy them on DVD before too long. Regarding Robin, what I never liked was the cheap store-bought mask they used on him. A narrow strip of black felt would have worked better and looked more faithful. I'd often wished that there hadn't been a second Batman serial, and instead was a "World's Finest", teaming up Superman & Batman. They had been teamed up on radio fairly often, and it would have been neat to see them in action in that era. "I live the unknown, I love the unknown... I AM the unknown."
Ardley Remlap		#5	[-]
Mar 6 08 11:31 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Hey, the kid got an education in public perception and pop culture history. What more could you ask for? ...And they used Bon Ami!
blackbiped		#6	[-]
Mar 6 08 4:53 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	At least he's enjoying it. It's always been highly comical to me, too. Legend, oh legend, the third wheel legend...always in the way. Porfle's Secret Blog HK and Cult Film News Andersonvision.com
Sanguinaire E		#7	[-]
Mar 6 08 5:31 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I saw the second Batman serial when I was about ten years of age (1990) and took it quite seriously. This was one of the many VHS re-releases attempting to cash in on the Batmania phenomenon spawned by Burton's film. I admittedly did find it somewhat drab and laconic compared to the Adam West series, but never, ever did I regard vintage material with a mocking eye. .'. Earl Roesel .'.
killer meteor		#8	[-]
Mar 7 08 1:17 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I found the 1949 serial quite scary when I saw it at the age of 7. These days: it's rather bland. The 1943 serial is better thanks to J. Carrol Naish chewing the scenery
Lawrence Fechtenberger		#9	[-]
Mar 7 08 12:14 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	cabmangray wrote: so the racism was deemed as perfectly alright. Society was not concerned with being "politically correct" at the time. Is putting thousands of people into prison merely because of their ethnicity a question of "correctness"--as opposed to, say, morality or legality?
cabmangray		#10	[-]
Mar 7 08 12:35 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	This young fan is.........are you sitting down?............32 years old. He's a major Star Wars / Star Trek / Lord of the Rings / comic book fan who has no conception of what has come before. He does'nt like to watch black and white movies because they are not "realistic enough" for him.He's a product of the Star Wars generation, no question about it. I got him to watch Batman because it's a guy running around in the costume. I realize this is going to be a major challenge, but I am determined to broaden his cultural horizons even if it takes a bulldozer to do it. He's lucky I did'nt give him the Captain America serial instead!
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Ardley Remlap		#11	[-]
Mar 7 08 5:56 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Oh...then there's no hope for him. Honestly, you're wasting your time. ...And they used Bon Ami!
captainmarvel1957		#12	[-]
Mar 7 08 11:22 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	A favorite college professor of mine had a saying that tickled his fancy, "Never try to teach a pig to sing, it just wastes your time and annoys the pig."
Wich2		#13	[-]
Mar 8 08 11:39 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	A variation, concerning arguing with hopeless cases (gee... glad that could never happen HERE...) "Never wrestle with a pig - you just get dirty, and the pig enjoys it!" Best, -Craig W.
Danmean		#14	[-]
Mar 9 08 10:18 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	This 32 yr old considers, Star Wars, Star Trek, Lord of The Rings, realistic? Hopeless!
Wich2		#15	[-]
Mar 9 08 4:25 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Then again, never give up - I'm screening DeMille's KING OF KINGS for a (partly young) Church group, next Palm Sunday. Best, -Craig W.
Sanguinaire E		#16	[-]
Mar 9 08 5:03 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I must say it surprises me to see this sort of reaction in a 32 year old. I'd initially assumed this gentleman to be circa 16 or 17 (even though I've had the good fortune to meet a good many 16 or 17 year olds who love vintage films), but such mocking disdain in someone actually older than myself is somewhat inexcusable. I grew up with movies of all eras trough the magic of home video and learned to love them all. I wonder if he also scorns the Adam West series and Hanna-Barbera/Filmation cartoons with such "old stuff sucks" zeal...despite those no doubt being the vehicles through which he discovered Batman in the first place. .'. Earl Roesel .'.
HalLane		#17	[-]
Mar 9 08 5:07 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Wich2 wrote: Then again, never give up - I'm screening DeMille's KING OF KINGS for a (partly young) Church group, next Palm Sunday. Best, -Craig W. Are you gonna tell 'em about the steps, Craig?
Wich2		#18	[-]
Mar 10 08 11:13 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Yep, and the Big Doors; also, that "Mr. Gower" is our Saviour (a bit to esoteric, to tell them that Simon Peter was also "Moriarity...") BUT - that stuff is for AFTER the movie! For you folks interested, the recent 40 minute longer restoration of DeMille's own favorite of his 70 flicks is indeed a better movie; though I miss the early talkie sync score, with sfx & Hugo Riesenfeld's music. Happy Easter to thems that has one, -Craig W. Last Edited By: Wich2 Mar 10 08 11:42 AM. Edited 1 times.
Whatsallthis		#19	[-]
Mar 20 08 12:45 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Before ComedyCentral is what it is now, it was Comedy Channel- they ran both the 1943 and the 1949 serials as if they were supposed to be "comedies"! Go figure.
captainmarvel1957		#20	[-]
Mar 20 08 4:36 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I've been watching quite a few serials over the past couple of months and the two Batman and the Superman serials are on my list and will be coming up shortly. I have seen the first Batman serial and believe I also saw the second. I do have one regret about these serials, however. They were made at Columbia. Jack Theakston and I were discussing serials a couple of months ago and he mentioned off handedly something about Columbia serials and, since I hadn't watched any back to back, I didn't realize that it was a bit of a criticism. I regret that the Batman serials hadn't been made at Rebublic or Universal. Their serials are far superior to any of the Columbia titles I've watched.
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Batman 1943 - a young fans reaction

Batman 1943 - a young fans reaction