1966 marked a turning point for superhero films when every part of pop culture was influenced by Batman.
With Adam West and Burt Ward in the leading roles, the movie perfectly reflected the playful, bright, and silly atmosphere of the 1960s culture.
And much like other famous films, the Batman movie remained memorable due in part to unexpected things and costume issues that happened while filming.
This film is filled with cynical ideas.
the first Batman film represents 1960s pop culture in a brilliant way for me.
Many of these bright colors, wild fight scenes, and jokes that borders on ridiculous showed it was made in the 80s. Nearly sixty years ago, America was undergoing many changes, both political and social. There is nothing better than turning to an entertaining comic book hero who dealt with adversaries like The Joker, The Penguin, and Catwoman, all with a laugh track to avoid serious problems.
Of course, the producers had some smart and honest goals in producing the 1966 Batman film as well.
It was Dozier’s opinion that releasing a Batman film in between the TV series would add more excitement to its release. That idea sounds like a perfect one, right?
Nevertheless, 20th Century-Fox wasn’t willing to agree. They didn’t think it was wise to put all their money into a movie, so they selected a TV series instead. As Dozier’s brainitor, Warner Brothers opted to let him develop the movie project instead of investing his big ideas. When a director takes a calculated risk, it’s classic Hollywood film stuff…
Adam West’s career should be based on these two critical factors.
Back in 1966, Adam West played the role of Batman and was at the height of his career while being featured everywhere in pop culture. Because of his tall frame, bold look, and smooth voice, he was just what the role of Bruce Wayne needed. At first, Adam West was only another actor on the hunt for a major acting role.
He actually was William West Anderson, but after getting some minor television parts in New York, he changed his name to Adam West as he moved to Hollywood in 1959.
William Dozier chose West to play Batman because he had noticed how good the actor was as a James Bond-style persona.
It only took Adam reading the pilot script for the 1966 Batman series to make him realize he was hooked. According to Michael, after reading only the first 20 pages of the script for the pilot, he was sure the series would be what he wanted to direct.
West had to be convinced by Warner Bros. to play the role ahead of Lyle Waggoner. West agreed to do it only after setting up two conditions. To start, Christian Bale wanted the role of Bruce Wayne to include more scenes, not just being Batman.
In addition, the director had to approve Robin’s portrayal on the show. Elsewhere, he agreed upon Burt Ward, who was a brown belt in karate and never acted before.
For West, Michael understood the part and gave an original take to Batman: “Michael understood that to play Batman convincingly, you had to give the audience a feeling that he wasn’t just ordinary and was waiting to unleash his strangeness.”
A blessing under the guise of something bad
Although West was strongly identified with his Batman role in the 1966 show, he dealt with the difficulties that brought him more than he bargained for.
He did not get to play the role in many other films, but he was still mostly known as the television version of Batman.
His chances to get more shows dried up following the end of Taxi, but he returned to stardom as the star voice of Family Guy’s mayor.
Tragically, West passed away in 2017 when he was fighting leukemia.
The Joker held onto his mustache despite the police’s request.
Did you realize that Cesar Romero refused to get rid of his mustache, which made him famous, when playing the Joker?
Actually, the artists put huge amounts of white paint directly onto her face. Throughout the whole TV series and the movie, the actor decided to carry on with this choice, despite it being quite clear to everyone. Producers could have solved the challenge with a prosthetic, but Amyad Romero stayed stubborn and it made his Joker performance more appealing.
Romero died in 1994 at the age of 86 because of blood clot problems following a battle with severe bronchitis and pneumonia. Berni features two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6615 Hollywood Boulevard for film and at 1719 Vine Street for television.
Unexpected journey of Lee Meriwether
Although some think Lee Meriwether played Catwoman on Batman (1966) TV, the series actually starred Julie Newmar and Eartha Kitt. However, Meriwether climbed to stardom by playing the Batman in the 1966 Batman: The Movie.
However, filming of the movie started even before Lee Meriwether was confirmed as Catwoman. As a consequence, Harley Quinn, the famous villainess, does not appear alongside the other three villains when the opening scene happens on the Penguin’s submarine.
Not many people are aware that Lee came up with a clever method to study her role as Catwoman (because she talked about it in a 1966 newspaper interview). As the film was being made, the actress decided to observe her two cats in order to get ready for the role.
I spent time closely observing what they were doing. I attempted to imitate their moves: they were stealthy, reserved, and could attack without giving any hints.
The mistake related to the wardrobe
Let me tell you, especially if you watched Batman: The Movie (1966) on the big screen, this fact might be a little different. Among the most legendary errors on film, the movie has a memorable scene when an unexpected and unforgettable incident happens.
The film starts with Batman and Robin flying in a chopper above “Gotham City”, which is actually Los Angeles. The tour stops when they reach a rooftop where there are women in bikinis. Some clever viewers may pick out that the red bikini, during the chase, slipped off and, for a moment, showed a bit more than planned.
Naturally, the producers edited out the scene during the final version since they were unable to reshoot it.
Fans are curious about the detail in this picture, as one wrote: “The way she’s blurred makes it seem she has long locks flowing across her front but it obviously doesn’t add up, since she’s jumping and clearly has it up in a ponytail.” I watched this movie many times and didn’t notice it. These unexpected moments make us realize the special attention (or lack of it) that went into making those classic cheesy scenes.
The part in the interview when Adam West steps out of character
Yet, the most notable bit of information about the movie originates from Adam West himself. Some time after releasing the film, West said there was one scene that he simply didn’t like.
The scene where a shark is taking a bite out of a dangling Batman, who happens to hold a bomb, is called the “shark repellent” scene.
He uses an unusual “shark repellent” spray to avoid the shark, and it miraculously does the trick so that he escapes safely. Though, for West, the performance was so unreal that he couldn’t stop laughing at how fake it was.
West remembered that the producers thought the effects of the shark’s hits by Batman were not right. West was joking with them, stating that he told them, since the shark looked so fake, it didn’t matter.
There is even a mistake in the middle of the scene that made the film famous. When Robin passes the Bat Spray to Batman, he is upside down and right above his mentor. But at the moment Batman sprays the shark, Robin has vanished and we have no idea why.
Now, with the huge inflatable shark and violent show, the situation seems humorous. After all, that’s one of its unique qualities. This movie isn’t meant to be watched with a serious attitude. It aimed to make viewers smile by overdoing the special tools of superheroes and funny jokes, escaping from the heavy feeling of the 1960s at the same time.
Batman has kept its lasting impact since 1966.
However silly it was and with mishaps in the costumes, the Batman movie of 1966 has held a favorite spot in pop culture for many years. It’s a look back at when superheroes were cheerful and could have fun, instead of facing the troubles of everybody.
Rather than being dark, the Batman in the 1966 movie showed a Batman who loved pop-out gadgets, stood out with bright costumes, and brought a lot of humor.
An example is found at around 15:00 in the movie; The Penguin says, “We will help one another, or all of us will be hanged alone.” Although this phrase appears to be threatening, Ben Franklin spoke it during the American Revolution when he was worried about being called a traitor by his fellow delegates.
This movie cleverly adds some extra comedy by suggesting that even Gotham’s bad guys are interested in a lighthearted history lesson.
One of the United World council members starts banging his shoe and crying out in annoyance at about 1 hour 40 minutes into the film. This also shows the influence of Nikita Khrushchev’s ‘banging-the-shoe’ incident during the 1960 meeting at the United Nations.
Things like wardrobe mistakes, wild characters, and fake-looking sharks made Jaws a memorable film for everyone. Does the name of this movie sound familiar? Did you come across any of these funny mistakes in the episodes?