Robert Lowery, Johnny Duncan, Jane Adams

The caped crusaders versus The Wizard, black-hooded mastermind.

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52% liked it

744 ratings

Unrated

Directed by: Spencer Gordon Bennet

Release Date: May 26, 1949

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Flixster Reviews (37)


  • August 19, 2009
    They had Batman back in the late 40's? WoW!
  • May 30, 2009
    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 th...( read more)e 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.

    By the way this movie is NOT aniamted because some people think it is and its not
  • April 27, 2009
    Holy classic Batman!
  • January 24, 2009
    my dad gave me this on a 2 tape set 15 years ago with all 15 episodes of the series.it's pretty good for it's times.i didn't like the fact that the batmobile was just a normal car and i thought it was funny that they kept there costumes in a file cabinet but other then that it wa...( read more)s good and worth watching.
  • April 29, 2008
    The 1949 Batman And Robin serial starring Robert Lowrey as Batman and John Duncan as Robin sets the style of the 1966 Batman TV series but is in a more serious tone.
  • March 4, 2008
    I saw this movie when I was younger... nothing much to tell about it now though.

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Batman and Robin Trivia


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