1940's Batman Movie Serials Goofs and Facts

Go back to the 1940's and find out amazing facts and see interesting goofs from the 40's Batman Movie Serials. See the movie actors and their baggy early costumes from 1943 and 1949. Watch as an invisible man visibly drives a car in one goof and Robin changes changes into his civilian clothes so he can change right back in the next shot for some unknown reason. Batman loses his cape in a fight that magically re-appears back on his shoulders.
The 1943 Batman movie serial starred Lewis Wilson and Douglas Croft as Batman and Robin. In 1949, Robert Lowery and Johnny Duncan took over the roles. Coincidentally, Lyle Talbot played Batman's friend Commissioner Gordon in 1949 and in 1950 he played Superman arch nemesis Lex Luthor in 1950's Atom Man vs Superman.
See how the 1943 Batman movie serial affected the comics books from the Batcave to Alfred the butler's appearance. Also, find out what Batman drove and it wasn't the Batmobile.
#batman #superheroes #superhero #1940s
0:00 Intro
0:35 Batcave origin
1:24 Alfred the butler gets new look
1:38 No Batmobile
2:32 Batman and Robin Costumes
4:20 Invisible Man goof
6:00 Actors

[@gabevee3]

They're looking for the batmobile. "Robin, where'd we park the car?"

[@57buickcentury]

Biggest goof: In Chapter 6 of the 1943 serial, a whole bunch of cigarettes fall out of Batman's cape, followed by the empty pack!

[@SJHFoto]

I am so glad you brought up this show. I remember telling a friend that Adam West wasn't the first actor to play Batman, and he told people I was lying (This is when we were kids)

[@LolliPop2000]

According to RiffTraxx, they're "totally trapped by credits!"

[@bigdaddigaming]

I didn't even know there was a batman before the 70s, I'm too young to remember these, my Batman and Robin is Addam West and Burt Ward so it was interesting to find out about earlier renditions, thank you

[@sethmanrockandroll]

The suit may not be perfect but I love all of the organic Batman action

[@tvcrazyman]

I hope you all enjoy this look back at 1940's Batman movie serials. I think I liked the second movie serial the best from 1949.

[@WCWFanForever]

I agree nothing wrong the 43 Batman serial but I prefer the 49 with Lowery and Duncan. This serial and 66 Batman is why I am a Batman fan today.

[@demetriusdillard2863]

Thank you! I most certainly did! Keep up the good work, bro!

[@docsavage-8616]

The 1943 Batman Serial is Infamous for It's Blatant Hatred of the Japanese(The Narrator Praises the Wise Government that Imprisoned the Japs in Prison Camps During the War) and Batman Calls the Villain Dr. Daka(played by J Carol Naish) A Dirty Jap.

[@thepayne7862]

The 1949 one wasn't quite as anti-Japanese as the 1943 one. I understand why the 43 one was it was the middle of WWII and the U.S was still fight the Japanese. It was enjoyable to watch, however it was hard to watch sometime. I did enjoy the 1949 one more..

[@demetriusdillard2863]

I couldn't agree with you more. The '43 serial is filled with racial stereotypes, while the '49 serial was much more lighthearted and more kid-friendly. Thanks for commenting, @@thepayne7862.

[@stanzelko5243]

Robert Lowery could be mistaken for Superman. Wink wink.

[@Superlad9494]

No...he played some guy named Garry Allen with Reeves...that's a rather bulky relative of the Flash right?

[@Pratman]

Very well dressed criminals in those days lol 🤣🤣🤣

[@tvcrazyman]

Must have been hard running and fighting in those slick dress shoes I bet back then.😀😀

[@ianwilliams5866]

I’m sure you know this, and if someone’s already have mentioned it, I apologise, but Lewis Wilson was the father of James Bond producer Michael G Wilson. In one of the cliffhangers for the first serial Batman is seen to fall out of a building and plummet to his doom, and they reuse the same plummet in the second serial for another cliffhanger, although the outcomes for different. In one, it was a crook in disguise who dies, and in the other Batman lands on a window, cleaners, platform and survives.

[@barryallenflash1]

Another great video, thanks! I think they are looking for the BAT signal...ya know, the one that's NOT there!

[@tvcrazyman]

Could be. Thanks! 😀

[@hawleybarrows2357]

I think batman and robin are just stuck in the title. they are looking in confusion kinda breaking the 4th wall.

[@jessejohnson3.24]

Batman first appearance 1939 in his comic book

[@pandarush.]

Approx at the 4:03ish mark when Batman and Robin are at the filing cabinet, doesn't batman look just like Raymond Burr (Perry Mason)?

[@tvcrazyman]

You're right he does in that scene. 😀

[@philbrown9764]

Batman and Robin are looking for bats and/or the bat signal! OR…bad guys up to no good, as they might say back then.

[@michaelhughes8057]

Maybe @ the beginning of the 2nd Batman movie serial, it was just showing Batman and Robin looking around because that was their way of being ready to face danger.

[@colincofield3747]

2:08 Batman: "That's absurd, my name is Clark Kent, I mean Batman". As far as, Batman's costume, Alfred sent them to the wrong cleaners. TCM plays these cereals a lot, mostly in the evening or early morning.

[@thomassutherland2647]

Lyle was also in Plan 9 from Outer Space. He was also in just about Every TV Show including both versions of Leave it to Beaver. He played Senator Lyle Talbot on Green Acres.

[@user-nr3ut7xf8g]

I used to read those Famous Monsters of Filmland magazines and every time Robert Lowery's name was mentioined (he did make some serials as well as one of the Mummy films) he was billed as Robert "Batman" Lowery. Although he did appear on TV;s Circus Boy and Pistols and Petticoats, he was usually a character actor playing villians. I commented that if it wasnt for the Batman serial, he would have been forgotten. I repeated a story I had read about Bob Kane meeting Lowery for the first time and Lowery commented that Kane was the guy who ruined his career. Obviously it was the Batman serial that Lowery is best remembered for. Boy, did I get a heat from that comment!

[@MariofromNY]

Yeah the ears are not in the right location. The entrance to the batcave in that clock is really wacky.

[@MrMedictom]

I got my first 8mm film projector in 1982 when I was 11 (inherited from my then recently deceased great-uncle) and started checking films out from my local library. One of them was a condensed, one-reel version of 'Poison Peril', a chapter from the 1943 series. It was obviously old and out-dated, even by 1980s standards, but I loved it. I tried to find other chapters, but no luck. Then, around 2010, I found the complete 1943 series on DVD. I spent an entire afternoon binge-watching it and felt like a kid again. As far as the goofs and Batman's lack of a proper Bat-mobile...well, it was made by Columbia Pictures, the same studio that habitually recycled classic Three Stooges shorts into third-rate remakes throughout the '50s. So none of the lackluster elements of the Batman serial comes as any surprise.

[@willrodgers2436]

I enjoy both Batman serials. But I have to be in the right mood in order to watch them. I have to point out some interesting observations. Douglas Croft, when he's Dick Grayson reminds me of David Faustino from Married With Children. Robert Lowery, as Bruce Wayne, reminds me of Ben Affleck. And whenever I watch Robin (Dick Grayson) on Batman The Animated Series, he reminds me of Johnny Duncan's Robin, I guess because both of those versions of Robin have black capes, plus their shapes as well. In The New Batman Adventures episode Beware The Creeper, they showed a reenactment of Batman knocking a crook into the vat of chemicals that turned the latter into the Joker. That version of Batman looked like an animated version of the Robert Lowery Batman. I know with the 1949 Batman and Robin serial, I love the music from it. That's because that music makes me think of my parents and my grandparents because I was raised by older parents who were born during the Great Depression, and the music from those serials makes me think of the homes and areas where my parents were raised by their parents.

[@bobbuethe1477]

If you think they were careless about secret identities here, listen to the "Adventures of Superman" radio show story, "Batman's Great Mystery." At one point, Clark Kent and Inspector Henderson go to "Batman's house" and talk to "Batman's butler Alfred." Henderson mentions that Batman's fingerprints are on file with the police. And a key part of the story involves a recording made by Bruce Wayne, which near the end of the story Clark refers to as "that recording of Batman's voice."

[@docsavage-8616]

Robert Lowery Guest Starred on an episode of The Adventures of Superman.

[@tvcrazyman]

You are right. Wish I knew that before. I would have added it to the video. He was on the episode, "The Deadly Rock" in season 4. I looked it up on imdb. Very cool.

[@demetriusdillard2863]

This was a highly entertaining compilation of goofs and errors from both of the live-action "Batman" film serials from the 1940s! It's painfully obvious that Columbia Pictures slashed the budgets for both of those rather mediocre serials, as well as for the two live-action "Superman" film serials (released in 1948 and 1950, respectively); had Republic Pictures--who produced the groundbreaking 1941 film serial "The Adventures Of Captain Marvel"--owned the motion picture rights to Batman, we would've seen the Dark Knight's rogues gallery (such as the Joker and Two-Face) successfully translated to screen...hell, we would've gotten a comic book accurate Batmobile. All in all, I enjoyed watching it very much! Thanks for sharing, and keep up the good work, bro!

[@tvcrazyman]

Thanks. My biggest disappointment is probably the lack of a comic book accurate Batmobile. That would have been cool to see a 1940's Batmobile in action.

[@stanzelko5243]

In the 1940s Green Hornet series,they had an appropriate super hero car. Not sure if it had a name.

[@demetriusdillard2863]

You're very welcome, @@tvcrazyman! I agree with you completely--I would've given anything in the world to see a live-action, comic book-inspired, Dick Sprang-esque Batmobile on the silver screen way back when! Thanks for commenting, bro!

[@demetriusdillard2863]

I've never seen the 1940s live-action Green Hornet serial, but regardless of whatever vehicle was used, it sure as hell couldn't hold a candle to the 1966 Chrysler Imperial that appeared on the 1960s live-action "Green Hornet" television series starring Van Williams and Bruce Lee. Thanks for commenting, @@stanzelko5243.

[@bobbova8708]

Thanks for another fun to watch video. Before I saw the 1949 Batman seriel I remembered Robert Lowery from an episode of the adventures of Superman ,where every time he was near kryptonite he would black out and was seemingly invulnerable, being mistaken for Superman in his secret identity

[@3dartistguy]

thank God for the Batman 1966 tv series!

[@Donathon-qx8kq]

Adam West was Batman with Michael Keaton a distant second..... that is just my opinion

[@garfieldsmith332]

I like both Batman serials. In fact a lot of the serials from the golden age. They are still great today. Lots of action and a cliff hanger at the end of the episodes. And they are a hoot. These old serials are still better than a lot of crap that "Follywood" puts out today. Mistakes, fluffs, missed lines, stock footage,.. who cares. Just get a big bowl of popcorn, a large soda, squish yourself into a comfy chair and enjoy the show. Of all the serials from this bygone era The Adventures of Captain Marvel is the best. The two Batman serials are second and third.

[@neilgodwin6531]

"Captain Marvel is better than Batman". Not a phrase you hear often in 2023

[@garfieldsmith332]

@@neilgodwin6531 Ture. Back in the 1940s batman was better than Captain Marvel in the comics. However more money and thought was out into the CM serial and thus it was better than BM.

[@paulbookwood6410]

No Batmobile? Well George Barris was still a teenager in 1943....

[@Mysticinvestigations]

Batman and Robin were looking for Batgirl in the dark.🦇

[@patrickhaag]

Lyle Talbot is the father of Steven Talbert who played Gilbert leave it to Beaver

[@scotttrammell3913]

I like 1943's cape cowl/half-mask and 1949's bodysuit.

[@superharry484]

Robert Lowery's page on Find-A-Grave has a link to his son, 'Robert Lowery Hanks', or at least it did when I decided to speak to him on-line, about a decade ago. Starlog Magazine had called his dad 'the forgotten Batman', & I assured him that was far from correct. The son said Mr. Lowery 'never talked about the Batman role'. Also, the first 'New Look' Detective Comic in 1964 featuring the story 'Mystery Of The Menacing Mask' has one panel drawn by Carmine Infantino of Bruce Wayne that looks exactly like Robery Lowery's profile in the first chapter while he is looking through the Microscope in the Batcave.

[@tvcrazyman]

Interesting. Thanks!

[@someoneelseentirely3452]

Did you ever wonder if any valuable comic books ever passed thru your grubby paws as a kid? Wish I'd held onto some of mine.

[@tvcrazyman]

I know of a few. I try not to think about it much.😀 Its too sad.

[@neilgodwin6531]

Daredevil number 1, with the yellow and red costume. Well, he was blind.... X-Men #1, Avengers #1 At one stage, I literally had a comic book for every day of the year. Not so many #1 from DC, as their characters were long established like Bats and Supes, or 50's reboots like Green Lantern and the Flash, before I was born

[@barrywray6869]

My favorite Batman is the first one with Lewis Wilson and Douglas Croft. This one was released after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Otherwise, the first villain might have been the Joker as opposed to Dr. Daka. You forgot to mention that co-creator Bob Kane makes an appearance in chapter one as the newsboy. You also forgot to mention that Lewis Wilson has a connection to James Bond. In the second serial Robert Lowery complained that he had trouble with the eye slits that made it hard to see with the hood on.

[@tdon39]

Lewis Wilson is the father of Michael G Wilson, producer of the James Bond franchise.

[@lorirose3765]

I love this. So many funny goofs 😂

[@cadeevans4623]

I have this Batman serial on dvd it's as cheesy as it gets but classic love this cheesy classic Batman

[@tonymitchellltennessee]

I like both serials for what they were.

[@user-er9ns8sx9i]

all serials were ridiculous, but fun, the stunt men were great and many of the actors reappeared in many srerials, like meetin old friends

[@G-POWER.46-lx9hi]

I GOT THIS ON DVD SET. IT'S FUN TO C. I WISH THEY HAD HIM HAD A TOOL BELT&HIS BAT CAR. NOTHING FANCY. I KNOW IT'S WAS THE 40'S.

[@missmeme3946]

robert lowery look like bruce wayne more than any batman live action actors 😮😮 he may the original face model for bruce😮😮😮

[@charlesking4621]

BTman is original Mr highpants

[@BIGJXXX]

Batman did use his own personal (Bruce Wayne) car back in the golden age. He just change the license plate.

[@user-om8jz8cc2o]

Batman costume was really bad because the ears on the cowl look like horns like the devils horns instead of pointy and I like 1st Batman costume from 1943 before they made the final one in 1949 and it has been 74 years since the last time Batman was in black and white and until the 1960's version was released in 1966

[@mikeburkhart8336]

Those two serials were goofy anyway. Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson changed into Batman and Robin in the back seat of Bruce Wayne's car

[@michaelhughes8057]

I liked both Batman Movie Serials. But like Adam West's Batman on the 1966 tv show, both Batman's costumes in both movie Serials, were kind of baggy and ill fitting looking.

[@WytZox1]

* Despite being low budget/cheesy the 1940's Batman & Robin were way better than the campy 1966 TV version! 😃

[@neilgodwin6531]

Is that an acetylene cutting torch in your tights or are you just pleased to see me?

[@user-om8jz8cc2o]

Batman's costume looks weird in the end of the 1940's and the ears were too pointy for me because It reminded me of devil's horns and I think i have seen the electric brain but it was in color instead of black and white and it's on you tube now

[@ElmoUnk1953]

Good Job 👍

[@tvcrazyman]

Thanks 😁

[@davidcarrol110]

Thank goodness WW2 came to end or there may never have been another Batman or any superheroes.

[@kennethwilson9970]

Batman or Devilman?

[@calvinwalker553]

Even with All it's CAMPINESS, SILLINESS, GOOFS etc it's STILL Fun and Wonderful to Watch and Beats the Heck Out of Alot the PURE CRAP On Television Today!

[@montoyag76]

No fkn shit. It’s the 40s