DC Comics Movie Serials of the Forties Part One

While superhero movies have dominated the box office for the past decade, there was a time when superheroes were largely absent from the big screen. From the Fifties to the Eighties, there were few superhero movies made. This was not the case with the Forties, when  movie serials were a part of the typical Saturday morning matinee. Comic books of the era (known as the Golden Age of Comic Books) provided fodder for many movie serials. As might be expected some of these movie serials were based on characters published by the companies that would become DC Comics. They published many of the most popular comic book characters during the era, including Superman and Batman.

As to DC Comics, it emerged from three interrelated companies: National Allied Publications; Detective Comics, Inc.; and All-American Publications. The three companies shared owners in common and all three bore the "DC" bullet on their covers (hence the then informal name "DC Comics"). A good deal of cross-promotion took pace among the companies. Characters from all three companies appeared as members of the Justice Society of America in All-American Publications' title All-Star Comics. The three companies would be merged in 1946, creating a new company called National Comics Publications and still later National Periodical Publications and finally, in 1977, DC Comics.

It was what would become DC Comics that kicked off the Golden Age of Comics, not to mention the superhero craze of the Forties, with the publication of Action Comics no. 1, cover dated June 1938, featuring the first appearance of Superman. Superman would prove to be phenomenally popular in the late Thirties into the Forties. While he would be the first comic book superhero to ever appear on the big screen, he would not be the first comic book superhero to appear in a movie serial. It was not long after Superman's first appearance that Republic Pictures optioned the rights for a Superman serial. The serial never came into being as Detective Comics, Inc. demanded more creative control over the production than Republic Pictures was willing to cede. Republic Pictures ultimately used what would have been the script for the Superman serial for the serial  Mysterious Dr. Satan (1940), simply changing the names and particulars of the characters.

In the meantime, Superman would find his way to the big screen by way of Paramount Pictures and Fleischer Studios Noting the popularity of Superman, Paramount Pictures approached Max and Dave Fleischer about producing a series of Superman cartoons. Not eager to do Superman cartoons, they quoted Paramount the then astronomical sum (for theatrical cartoons anyway) of $100,000 for the series. To their shock, Paramount accepted. Fleischer Studios then produced and Paramount Pictures distributed a highly successful series of Superman animated shorts. As to Republic Pictures, in 1941 they once more made an attempt at a Superman serial. The project was even announced in a promotional book for movie distributors, Republic Pictures Advance Serial Promotion Book, that year, complete with drawings of proposed scenes for the serial. Unfortunately, it turned out Paramount Pictures had exclusive movie rights to Superman and so Republic Pictures could not make their proposed Superman serial.

Republic Pictures then turned to Fawcett Publications and their character Captain Marvel, whose sales rivalled that of the Man of Steel. This did not sit well with Detective Comics, Inc., who even named Republic Pictures alongside Fawcett Publications in their famous lawsuit alleging that Captain Marvel infringed on their copyright for Superman. Regardless, Captain Marvel would then become the first comic book superhero to appear in live-action.

Ultimately, despite being their most popular character, Superman would not be the first character from "DC Comics" that would be seen in a live-action film. Instead that honour would go to Batman. Batman first appeared in Detective Comics no. 27 (May 1939) and quickly became one of their most popular characters. He was joined by his sidekick, Robin, in Detective Comics no. 38 (April 1940). Given the character's popularity, it should have come as no surprise when Columbia Pictures licensed Batman for a movie serial. This may well have been unfortunate, as Columbia Pictures' serials were made on the cheap and not well known for their high quality. Since 1943 their serials were made by Larry Darmour Productions, which sought to make them as inexpensively as possible.

The Batman (1943) starred  Lewis Wilson as Batman (and his alter ego Bruce Wayne) and Douglas Croft as Robin (and his alter ego Dick Grayson). William Austen played Bruce Wayne's butler Alfred. Shirley Patterson played Batman's love interest, Linda Page. Although forgotten today, Linda Page had originated in the comic books, appearing from 1941 to 1943. For whatever reason, Commissioner Gordon did not appear in the serial, although the character of Police Captain Arnold (Charles C. Wilson) largely played the same role. It was directed by Lambert Hillyer, who had previously directed the Universal horror movies The Invisible Ray (1936) and Dracula's Daughter (1936).

Today The Batman is not highly regarded. Batman and Robin's costumes were poorly made and did not fit well. The Batmobile is nothing more than an ordinary Cadillac. There are several continuity errors throughout the serial.  In one fight scene Batman's cape is torn off, only to reappear back on the Caped Crusader moments later. Apparently its budget was so low that they could not afford to reshoot scenes even if a mistake was made.

Admittedly, some modern viewers might forgive The Batman its poor productions values, but they may not forgive the blatant racism in the serial. Made during World War II, wartime propaganda found its way into the serial, much of it racist in nature. The villain is a Japanese scientist and secret agent named Dr. Daka, played by J. Carrol Naish. Narration in the serial actually refers to the United States government as "wise" for interning Japanese Americans during the war. Phrases such as "shifty eyed Japs" and "Jap" devil actually appear in the serial. Even for the era, The Batman is xenophobic in the extreme. It seems likely that the filmmakers were to blame for the racism and propaganda in The Batman. Wartime propaganda played very little role in the comic books during World War II, with Batman and Robin continuing to battle supervillains and gangsters.

While The Batman was not a very poorly made (and by modern standards offensive) serial, it would have a lasting impact on the comic books. In his book Batman: the Complete History, Les Daniels writes that evidence suggests the character of Bruce Wayne's butler (and hence Batman's butler) Alfred was created for the movie serial and that Detective Comics, Inc. asked comic book writer Don Cameron to write Alfred into the comic books with Alfred's first comic book appearance in Batman no. 16 (April 1943). Even if Alfred wasn't created for the serial, the serial was certainly responsible for establishing Alfred's appearance ever since. Originally in the comic books Alfred was portly and clean shaven. Following the serial he was drawn more to conform with actor William Austen's appearance, slender and bearing a thin moustache.

While Alfred may or may not have been created for the movie serial. the Batcave most certainly was. In the beginning in the comic books there was only a hidden tunnel that led to a barn where the Batmobile was housed. In Batman no. 12 (August-September 1942) writer and Batman co-creator Bill Finger makes reference to secret underground hangars. It is in The Batman that the idea of an underground headquarters for Batman was introduced. Called "the Bat's Cave," it is first seen in the second chapter of the serial, also called "The Bat's Cave." It was then in Detective Comics no. 83 (January 1944) that the Batcave first appeared in comic books.

The next character published by the companies that would become DC Companies to be adapted to a movie serial is largely forgotten today. Hop Harrigan was an aviator hero of the sort popular during the Thirties and Forties. Hop Harrigan first appeared in All-American Comics no. 1 (April 1939). He was a heroic pilot who, with his friend Tank Tinker, runs the All-American Aviation Company. With the beginning of World War II, Hop became a pilot in the U.S. Army Air Corps. Although only a back-up feature in All-American Comics, Hop Harrigan proved popular. He eventually appeared in such titles as All-Flash, All-Star Comics, Comic Cavalcade, and Green Lantern. In 1942 Hop Harrigan received his own radio show on the Blue Network. With air adventure a popular genre for movie serials and Hop Harrigan a popular comic book character who was also the star of a popular radio show, it was perhaps natural that Columbia Pictures would license Hop Harrigan for a movie serial.

By the time that the movie serial Hop Harrigan was made, Larry Darmour Productions was no longer making Columbia's serials. It was in 1945 that legendary producer Sam Katzman signed a contract with Columbia Pictures to make serials and B-movies for the studio. Known as "Jungle Sam" due to the sheer number of jungle adventure movies he had made, Mr. Katzman was known for making movies with very little money that would make a whole lot of money at the box office.

Hop Harrigan (1946) starred William Blakewell in the title role, with Jennifer Holt playing Hop's girlfriend Gail Nolan. Sumner Getchell played Hop's firend Tank Tinker. It was directed by  Derwin Abrahams, who directed several B-Westerns in his career. The screenplay was by Ande Lamb and George H. Plympton. Ande Lamb's first screenplay was Police Bullets in 1942 and he would continue to work up into the Seventies, writing scripts for such television shows as The Lone Ranger and The Cisco Kid. George H. Plympton's career went back to the Silent Era and over the years he worked on several serials. In fact, he would work on every remaining serial based on a DC Comics characters. He was nothing if not prolific.

The first chapter of Hop Harrigan was released on March 28 1946. Both the books The Great Movie Serials by Jim Harmon and Donald F. Blut and In the Nick of Time by Andrew C. Cline are fairly complimentary when it comes to the serial. Unfortunately, neither the serial nor the highly successful radio show would guarantee Hop Harrigan's survival. Hop Harrigan last appeared in All-American Comics no. 99 (July 1948) and has not been seen in DC Comics much since.

The late Forties would see yet more serials based on DC Comics characters. Indeed, it would only be two years after Hop Harrigan that Superman would finally be seen in live action.