Reinhart - The Batman Filmography

McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Jefferson, North Carolina, and London

The rst-ever screen BatmanLewis Wilson as Batman inBatman(1943).

Also by Mark S. Reinhart

Abraham Lincoln on Screen: Fictional and Documentary Portrayals on Film and Television, 2d ed.
(McFarland 2009; paperback 2012)

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGUING DATA ARE AVAILABLE

BRITISH LIBRARY CATALOGUING DATA ARE AVAILABLE

e-ISBN: 978-1-4766-0632-3

2013 Mark S. Reinhart. All rights reserved

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Front cover images 2013 Shutterstock

McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Box 611, Jefferson, North Carolina 28640
www.mcfarlandpub.com

For Jill, Taylor, Keaton and Jenna
all of the heroes in my Batcave

As a lifelong Batman fan, writing the rst edition and now the second edition of this book has fullled my dream of making a small contribution to the history of this wonderful character. Though this book is primarily about Batmans big screen adventures, it is important to recognize the fact that Batman was born on the comics page. So rst and foremost, I would like to thank the talented artists, writers and editors at DC Comics who have created Batman comic stories since 1939so many of you have entertained, amazed and inspired me, both as a little boy and as a grown man.

I would particularly like to thank the late Bob Kane, Batmans creator. Like so many other Batman fans, I have often been ippant about Kane. History shows that Bill Finger was so instrumental in helping Kane to develop Batman that he probably should have been given an equal byline in the characters creation. History also shows that Kane came across as ungenerous by keeping that byline all for himself for so many years.

That said, however, as I really studied the history of Batmans creation, it struck me that Kane was the one who initially undertook the task to create a new costumed comic hero in the wake of Supermans success. Finger helped Kane esh out all of the costume and character details that made Batman so memorable, and of course a huge number of subsequent artists and writers created works that made Batman the icon he is todaybut it all started with Bob Kane. Batman is indisputably a product of his ambition. Thank you for bringing Batman into our world, Mr. Kane.

I also need to specically thank another legend in the history of the Batman character as well. Michael Uslan decided to take on the task of producing a serious live-action Batman big screen work in the late 1970s, a time when most everyone in the world could only see the character as a washed-up camp craze. It took Uslan a decade of hard work to realize his goal through the release of the 1989 lm Batman.

When Batman took the world by storm, the way the general public viewed Batman was totally changed. The movie introduced millions upon millions of people to our Batman, the dark hero we serious Batman fans loved. This incredible shift in the general publics perception of Batman would not have happened had the lm never been madeand the lm never would have been made without Uslans vision and tenacity. Thank you for giving us the 1989 Batman, Mr. Uslan.

I would also like to thank a few Batman scholars who are personal friends of mine. Bill Ramey, creator of the wonderful Batman website Batman-on-Film, has been a great help to my research over the years. And Ross Bagby was very kind to provide me with information and insight regarding Batmans 1940s radio adventures.

I would like to thank my parents, Larry and Sally Reinhart, who have said on more than one occasion that I was practically born with a cape tied around my neck. They bought me so many great Batman books and toys when I was a child, and when I grew up they patiently waited for me to grow out of my Batman obsession like most all other kids did. Well, I never did, but they didnt seem to mind and they still loved me anywaythanks, Mom and Dad.

My biggest thank you goes out to my wife Jill, our sons Taylor and Keaton, and our daughter Jenna for always sharing in my enthusiasm for Batman and his world. Many times over the years as Halloween rolled around they were good sports, donning capes and masks with me and running out into the autumn night by my side. And I have especially treasured the opportunity to witness Taylor, Keaton and Jenna become knowledgeable Batman fans in their own right. We have shared countless Batman adventures together, and getting the chance to see the character through their eyes as well as my own has been one of the greatest joys of my life. Thanks Jill, Taylor, Keaton and Jennayou truly are my Batman Family.

When I started writing the rst edition of this book in 2003 (published by McFarland in 2005), the history of Batman feature lms was not a particularly rich one. Even though the Batman character had been so successful for so many years, there simply had been very few Batman big screen works ever madeeight, to be exact. And the rst two of these lms, the 1943 serial Batman and the 1949 serial Batman and Robin, were not even ofcially available to the home video market on any high-quality format. And most depressing of all, Warner Bros. Studios had yet to release a new Batman lm to erase the bad memory of director Joel Schumachers almost universally-despised 1997 movie Batman and Robin.

Here we are a decade later, and the history of Batman feature lms is so much richer than it was back in 2003. Warner re-imagined their Batman lm franchise with three hugely successful lms by director Christopher Nolan: Batman Begins (2005), The Dark Knight (2008), and The Dark Knight Rises (2012). Also, the 1943 Batman and the 1949 Batman and Robin were released on DVD in 2005, ensuring that every Batman feature lm could be obtained on high-quality home video format.

There was even more good news relating to Batman feature lms during this timemany of them were released in vastly upgraded home video versions. Batman (1966), Batman (1989), Batman Returns (1992), Batman Forever (1995), Batman and Robin (1997), and Batman Begins (2005) were all released on Blu-ray between mid2008 and early 2009. Each of these Blu-rays boasted fabulous picture quality, and were loaded with special features that detailed their particular lms creation. (Of course, The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises never had to be upgraded in this fashion because they were rolled out in lavish Blu-ray packages upon their initial home video release.)

The history of Batman feature lms may have changed for the better, but the reason I rst wanted to write a book about these lms has stayed much the same. Many lm critics tend to be very dismissive of the Batman characters overall history when they review Batman feature lms. This observation is not meant to be an insult to lm criticsI am simply noting the fact that they generally write reviews of Batman feature lms that are intended for general moviegoers, not serious Batman fans. Most critics and moviegoers view Batman solely as a big screen property, and have little connection to the character other than these major motion picture events that bring them to the theater every few years. Only serious Batman fans tend to give much thought as to how Batman feature lms might have been inspired by the characters comic adventures, or how these lms might t into the characters history as a whole.