Batman (serial)
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| Directed by | Lambert Hillyer |
| Produced by | Rudolph C. Flothow |
| Written by |
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| Based on | Characters by Bob Kane Bill Finger |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Lee Zahler |
| Cinematography | James S. Brown Jr. |
| Edited by |
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| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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15 chapters (260 minutes) |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Batman is a 1943 black-and-white 15-chapter theatrical serial from Columbia Pictures, produced by Rudolph C. Flothow and directed by Lambert Hillyer. The serial starred Lewis Wilson as Batman and Douglas Croft as Robin. J. Carrol Naish played the villain, an original character named Dr. Daka, a secret agent of the Japanese Imperial government. Rounding out the cast were Shirley Patterson as Linda Page, Bruce Wayne's love interest, and William Austin as Alfred the butler.
The serial is based on the DC Comics character Batman, first published in Detective Comics #27, the May 1939 issue.
The serial's story line involves the Batman, a secret U. S. government agent, attempting to defeat the sabotage schemes of Japanese agent Dr. Daka operating in Gotham City at the height of World War II. Serving Daka are his traitorous American henchmen.
Batman is notable for being the first appearance on film of Batman and for debuting serial story details that quickly became permanent parts of the Batman comic's mythos: the Bat's Cave and its secret entrance through a grandfather clock inside Wayne Manor. The serial also changed the course of how Alfred Pennyworth's physical appearance was depicted in Batman stories. At the time Batman was released in theaters, Alfred was overweight in the comics. Subsequent issues suddenly portrayed Alfred as trim and sporting a thin mustache, following actor William Austin's portrayal.
The serial was commercially successful and in 1949 spawned another Columbia chapter serial, Batman and Robin. The entire Batman serial was re-released theatrically in 1965 as An Evening with Batman and Robin, and proved very popular. Its success inspired the action-comedy lampoon series Batman (and its 1966 theatrical feature film spin-off) starring Adam West and Burt Ward.
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