DAVID BIANCULLI

Founder / Editor

ERIC GOULD

Associate Editor

LINDA DONOVAN

Assistant Editor

Contributors

ALEX STRACHAN

MIKE HUGHES

KIM AKASS

MONIQUE NAZARETH

ROGER CATLIN

GARY EDGERTON

TOM BRINKMOELLER

GERALD JORDAN

NOEL HOLSTON

 
 
 
 
 
BATMAN
March 23, 2016  | By David Bianculli

TCM, 8:00 p.m. ET

 

Tied to Friday’s release of Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, which puts those two DC Comics superheroes and Wonder Woman all in the same movie, TCM devotes tonight’s entire lineup, from prime time through late night, to early films inspired by comic books and newspaper comic strips. First up are some serials, sampled in double doses, starting at 8 p.m. ET with 1943’s Batman. The action sequences may be laughable (well, let’s be honest: they are), and the anti-Asian sentiment is embarrassing (this was filmed in mid-WWII, with J. Carroll Naish playing the mind-controlling Japanese villain Dr. Daka. Lewis Wilson’s Batman is flabby, and Douglas Croft’s Robin looks…well, ridiculous. But this is a fun film intro to the Dynamic Duo anyway – and fans of the campy 1960s TV Batman may be startled to learn that this 1943 serial was the source of the cartoon bat logo in the TV show’s opening credits.

 
 
 
 
 
Leave a Comment: (No HTML, 1000 chars max)
 
 Name (required)
 
 Email (required) (will not be published)
 
AUEGY
Type in the verification word shown on the image.