Batman and Robin (1949)

Director:

Spencer Gordon Bennet

Writers:

Bob Kane (comics)
George H. Plympton (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

26 May 1949 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Crime | Drama | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Based On The Well-Known Batman Comic Magazine Feature appearing in "Detective Comics" and "Batman" Magazines

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Batman | Convertible | Photographer | Hooded Villain | Cave

Cast

Robert Lowery	...	Batman / Bruce Wayne
Johnny Duncan	...	Robin / Dick Grayson (as John Duncan)
Jane Adams	...	Vicki Vale
Lyle Talbot	...	Commissioner Jim Gordon
Ralph Graves	...	Winslow Harrison [Chs. 7-8]
Don C. Harvey	...	Henchman Nolan [Chs. 1-6] (as Don Harvey)
William Fawcett	...	Prof. Hammil
Leonard Penn	...	Carter - Hammil's valet
Rick Vallin	...	Barry Brown
Michael Whalen	...	Private Investigator Dunne [Chs. 2, 9, 12]
Greg McClure	...	Henchman Evans [Chs. 1-6]
House Peters Jr.	...	Henchman Earl [Chs. 7-15]
Jim Diehl	...	Henchman Jason [Chs. 3-15]
Rusty Wescoatt	...	Henchman Ives [Chs. 3-13]
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Phil Arnold	...	Doctor [Ch. 4] (uncredited)
Marshall Bradford	...	Wesley Morton [Chs. 3-4] (uncredited)
Jack Chefe	...	Plant guard in hallway [Chs. 13-14] (uncredited)
George Cisar	...	Policeman in alley [Ch. 1] (uncredited)
Richard Cramer	...	Newspaper office worker [Ch. 7] (archive footage) (uncredited)
James Craven	...	Norwood [Chs. 1, 3, 12-14] (uncredited)
John Doucette	...	Henchman [Ch. 2, 3, 6, 10-12, 15] (uncredited)
Frank Ellis	...	Policeman assigned to set up Jason's escape [Ch. 10] (uncredited)
Frank Hagney	...	Plant Guard [Ch. 14] (uncredited)
John Hart	...	John Hench / Mechanic [Ch. 2] (uncredited)
Myron Healey	...	Walker, Policeman [Ch. 7] (uncredited)
Harold Landon	...	Henchman Jimmy Vale [Chs. 1-2, 5, 8-11] (uncredited)
Knox Manning	...	Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
Frank O'Connor	...	Plant Gate Guard [Chs. 13-14] (uncredited)
Eddie Parker	...	Holt [Chs. 1, 5-8, 12, 15] (uncredited)
Allan Ray	...	Mac Lacey [Ch. 5] (uncredited)
Lee Roberts	...	Henchman Neal [Chs. 7-15] (uncredited)
George Robotham	...	Car 4 Henchman-Driver [Chs. 2-6, 11-12] (uncredited)
Guy Teague	...	Factory Guard [Ch. 1] / Aircraft Maintenance Man [Ch. 2] (uncredited)
Emmett Vogan	...	Mr. Williams [Chs. 1, 3, 12-14] (uncredited)
Wally West	...	Pursuit Cop [Ch. 15] (uncredited)
Eric Wilton	...	Alfred Pennyworth (uncredited)

Directed by
Spencer Gordon Bennet		(as Spencer Bennet)

Writing credits
Bob Kane		(comics)
George H. Plympton		(screenplay) &
Joseph F. Poland		(screenplay) &
Royal K. Cole		(screenplay)

Produced by
Sam Katzman	....	producer

Cinematography by
Ira H. Morgan		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Dwight Caldwell
Earl Turner

Art Direction by
Paul Palmentola

Set Decoration by
Sidney Clifford

Production Management
Herbert B. Leonard	....	production manager (as Herbert Leonard)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
R.M. Andrews	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Stunts
Frank Ellis	....	stunts (uncredited)
Frank Hagney	....	stunts (uncredited)
Eddie Parker	....	stunt double: House Peters, Jr. (uncredited)
George Robotham	....	stunts (uncredited)
Guy Teague	....	stunts (uncredited)
Wally West	....	stunts (uncredited)

Music Department
Mischa Bakaleinikoff	....	musical director
Mischa Bakaleinikoff	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
R.H. Bassett	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Gerard Carbonara	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Sidney Cutner	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Ross DiMaggio	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
George Duning	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Hugo Friedhofer	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Louis Gruenberg	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Earl E. Lawrence	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
John Leipold	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Ben Oakland	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
George Parrish	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Paul Sawtell	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Marlin Skiles	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Columbia Pictures Corporation

Distributors

• Columbia Pictures (1949) (USA) (theatrical)
• National Periodicals Productions (1966) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (1997) (USA) (VHS)
• Sony Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Comet Video (????) (USA) (DVD)
• Comet Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• GoodTimes Home Video (????) (USA) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Columbia Scoring Stage  music recording facility (uncredited)
• Columbia Studio Orchestra  score played by (uncredited)

Also Known As:

The Adventures of Batman and Robin
The New Adventures of Batman and Robin

Runtime:

263 min (15 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono | Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #13671-13685)

Filming Locations:

George Lewis Mansion - Benedict Canyon Drive, Bel Air, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Vicki Vale would become a common character in the Batman comics after this film. Bob Kane based her on Marilyn Monroe, whom he met during the film's banquet.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Wires can be seen when The Wizard is supposed to be invisible, most notably in the telephone booth when The Wizard is on the run and calls his headquarters.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Narrator: Crime, striking our city night and day, is on the increase. Our undermanned police force is helpless to cope with the situation, but they have an ally - Batman - who with the faithful Robin, wages unending war against all criminals!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Hill Street Blues: Ratman and Bobbin (#4.11)" (1984)

My reminiscences

I remember this being shown in serial version as a black & white fill-in for a 70s youth culture show in Australia. It was actually a music and pop culture show, and this was done as a novelty bit; but I thoroughly loved it; and avidly followed the adventure every week. I wish some younger kids shows of today had the guts to try something like that, and reinvent the classic stories.

I especially remember the submarine going to the hidden lair of the villain.

And also Batman and Robin riding around in the standard convertible. For a while, I started to doubt this version existed, since it never got mentioned in any discussion of Batman.

It's this version that caused me to be rather dismissive of the more campy over-the-top TV series (starring Adam West and Burt Ward) that everyone is so fond of now.