The origins of the movie Batman ;(1966)go back to before the television series debuted. Originally, producer William Dozier wanted to make a feature film to promote the television show. In the end, the movie would be put on hold. Foremost among the reasons for this is that 20th Century Fox would have to shoulder the entire burden for the budget of the feature film, while ABC would help with the costs of the television show. 20th Century Fox wanted to know for certain that they had a hit on their hands before they even considered a Batman movie.
Yet another reason may have been the fact that ABC moved up the debut of the TV series Batman. It was originally set to debut in the fall of 1966. This changed when it became obvious that the start of the fall 1965 season was catastrophic as far as the ratings were concerned. . In the 1964/1965 season ABC closely followed CBS and NBC in the ratings. In the early months of the 1965/1966 season, ABC was a distant third. ABC then did a drastic revamp of their schedule at mid-season, promoting it as "the Second Season." To do this, ABC needed shows. This meant that Batman would have to debut a whole nine months earlier, in either late December or early January. It simply would not have been possible to produce and release a movie in that time.
Batman proved not only to be a smash hit, but an outright fad during the winter and spring of 1966. Batman merchandise filled store shelves across the nation. It probably surprised no one when 20th Century Fox decided to go forward with a Batman movie. Of course, much of the reason 20th Century Fox decided to go forward with the movie was to promote the series overseas. s. While already airing in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, Batman had yet to air in Europe, Japan, or Asia, places where people might not be familiar with the original characters from the comic books. 20th Century Fox then saw the film as a tool with which they could introduce the characters to foreign markets.
The movie Batman (1966) saw four of Batman's archenemies united in a plot involving the kidnapping of dehydrated members of the United World's Security Council. sar Romero, Burgess Meredith, and Frank Gorshin reprised their roles as The Joker, The Penguin, and The Riddler respectively. Julie Newmar had other commitments that prevented her from doing the movie, so Lee Meriwether took over the role of Catwoman.
Like the TV series, the movie Batman featured big name actors beyond the villains. In fact, it would be Reginald Denny's last film. He played Commodore Schmidlapp. Milton Fromme appeared as Vice Admiral Fangschliester. The voice of the President of the United States went uncredited, although it was provided by another big name. Van Williams, set to appear as the Green Hornet in the fall, provided the voice.
The Batman movie was made for a budget of $1, 377, 800, much larger than that of the TV series. Because of the shooting schedule of the show, it had to be filmed in between the end of shooting for the first season and the start of filming for the second season. It introduced the Batcycle, the Batboat, and the Batcopter. An often overlooked fact is that it was the first Batman feature film ever made. It also marked the feature film debut of The Joker, The Penguin, Catwoman, and The Riddler.
Contrary to popular belief, 20th Century Fox did a good deal of promotion for the film in the United States. The studio also took every precaution to insure that viewers knew this was not a compilation of episodes from the series (as was the case with The Man From U.N.C.L.E. movies), but an all original movie. Ads for the film boasted that it was "All New, Made Especially for the Giant Motion Picture Screen!" Unfortunately, the film opened to mixed reviews. And despite the promotion the movie received, it only did moderately well at the box office. For another film, this might be seen as a success, but this was a film based on the hit television series of 1966. That the Batman movie only did moderate business at the box office was perhaps a sign that Batmania was winding down.
The movie Batman (1966) aired on the very network that had cancelled the original series, ABC, on The ABC Sunday Night Movie on July 5, 1971. It aired again on The ABC Sunday Night Movie on September 5, 1971. The movie would enter syndication so that it would show up on local television stations throughout the Seventies and into the Eighties.
The Batman (1966) feature film would prove to have a lasting impact. The Bat Shark Repellent that appears in the movie has become something of a running joke ever since, Curiously, it was not invented for the movie, but first appeared in Batman no. 117 (August, 1958). It has since been referenced in the video game Batman: Arkham City, The Lego Batman Movie (2017), the animated series Harley Quinn, and the animated series Batman: The Brave and the Bold. Another memorable scene, in which Batman tries to get rid of a bomb with the line "Some days you just can't get rid of a bomb," has become something of an internet meme.
In the end, while the movie Batman movie saw only modest success upon its release, it has become a lasting part of Batman's history and popular culture. Other movies based on TV shows from Dragnet (1954) to Munster, Go Home! (1966), may only be remembered by TV historians and fans, but the movie Batman (1966) remains popular to his day, even having aired on Turner Classic Movies and having been shown at the TCM Classic Film Festival.
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