Photos of Bat Girl costume for projected 1940's Bat Man Movie serial

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TBolt
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Re: Photos of Bat Girl costume for projected 1940's Bat Man Movie serial

Post by TBolt »

yep, everything I've seen Naish in he had his thin moustache.
To the Bat-Elephant!!
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Larry A.
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Re: Photos of Bat Girl costume for projected 1940's Bat Man Movie serial

Post by Larry A. »

I must agree!
Larry
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BATWINGED HORNET
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Re: Photos of Bat Girl costume for projected 1940's Bat Man Movie serial

Post by BATWINGED HORNET »

AndyFish wrote: Captain America didn't even have Bucky in his 1944 serial.
Worse than that, he did not have a shield. Come on! repaint a prop house "ancient civilization" shield and there you have it! A cheap solution but...sigh...the serial missed out on so much.
Beneath Wayne Manor
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Gernot
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Re: Photos of Bat Girl costume for projected 1940's Bat Man Movie serial

Post by Gernot »

Or do like MOST of us did as kids when we saw the old Marvel cartoons on TV: grab the trash can lid, and use THAT as Captain America! ;)
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AndyFish
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Re: Photos of Bat Girl costume for projected 1940's Bat Man Movie serial

Post by AndyFish »

CAPTAIN AMERICA (1944) didn't have Steve Rogers, or the Army, or The Red Skull or even a hint of a WAR on-- all the things that made Cap interesting at the time.

Its not a bad serial by any means, but you have to just imagine this is some guy who just happens to be a crusading District Attorney who likes to dress in costumes and shoot people.

I think for all it's faults, Batfans are lucky Columbia ended up with Batman.
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Jim Akin
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Re: Photos of Bat Girl costume for projected 1940's Bat Man Movie serial

Post by Jim Akin »

Great info, Andy, and the blog posts are terrific.

FWIW, if the screenwriters had any plans for a Batgirl character, they would have been more than a decade ahead of comic book creators in bringing a female member to the "Bat-family." Batwoman (aka socialite Kathy Kane) was introduced in the comics in 1956. Her niece, Betty, wouldn't emerge as "Bat-Girl" until 1961. Both had been phased out by the time Barbara Gordon Batgirl appeared in the comics, just a few months before her first TV appearance.


Cheers,

QQ
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AndyFish
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Re: Photos of Bat Girl costume for projected 1940's Bat Man Movie serial

Post by AndyFish »

A discussion of the '43 Batman is relevant to the '66 Batman in that there was a direct line of inspiration from the first to the second. The Cliffhanger aspect, the camp, it's all there in the original serial. Even the screentest costume resembles the Lew Wilson costume.
I personally think we should have a section devoted to the serial here on the ol' boards, but I'm biased.
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Larry A.
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Re: Photos of Bat Girl costume for projected 1940's Bat Man Movie serial

Post by Larry A. »

I'll sing the "Three fold Amen" to that Andy. To all the parts You mention, Andy. The other thing about Capt. A was that, unlike the comic version and the one briefly seen in the "new" movie, He didn't have the wings on his helmet. For all of its faults, the Columbia Batman serials were actually decent for its time.
Quick ?, Andy: what type of fabric was the banner printed on ?
Given the aircraft that we have seen in the serials, one would think the propeller less "Bat Plane" wouldn't have been a stretch. I look forward to hearing back from You all on this.

Cheers.......
Larry
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AndyFish
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Re: Photos of Bat Girl costume for projected 1940's Bat Man Movie serial

Post by AndyFish »

The original banner was printed on paper-- the repros I have are canvas.
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clavierankh
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Re: Photos of Bat Girl costume for projected 1940's Bat Man Movie serial

Post by clavierankh »

Both serials can be found at Internet Archive
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Larry A.
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Re: Photos of Bat Girl costume for projected 1940's Bat Man Movie serial

Post by Larry A. »

Hi folks,
Thanks for the info Andy. Having been a movie theater manager in my dark past, I remember finding very old HUGE paper goods like the banner You found AND a literal room full of silver nitrate films that had been locked away in a manner befitting Batman himself: The room was in the old movie Palace I was running at the time and the store room was behind a panel hidden at the back of a broom closet!!!!! I was just exploring the old theater which dated back to before Vaudeville ( It still had the old dressing rooms in the basement) and I literally bumped against the panel after tripping over an old piece of rope! When I found those films, I called my boss the District Manager. He in turn called the local Fire department and they got those critters out of there!!!! Thank God, no fire from it. (Old degrading silver nitrate film can spontaneously combust for those of You folks who have never hear of such. Movies were originally printed on Silver Nitrate film before "Saftey Film was developed ( Cellophane original). Behind those were the posters of up to 25 sheet in size! I had a 10 sheet that went on the front of the theater in 1935 or so that advertised "Live and Undead! Frankenstein's Monster and Count Dracula!!!!!!!" Beyond the poster, I don't know how that worked out! The District manager copped all of the posters and sold them. Suffice it to say, He left his job not long after. Don't ask me why as I don't know!!!

Cheers and Thanks
Larry
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Lord Death Man
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Re: Photos of Bat Girl costume for projected 1940's Bat Man Movie serial

Post by Lord Death Man »

I believe Mr. Naish had no mustache in 1944's "House of Frankenstein" in his role as Daniel the Hunchback (except in early scenes dealing with his escape from the asylum and its aftermath), just a year after the Lewis Wilson Batman. So no "Cesar Romero" thing going on there.
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Purity and virtue-BATMAN!
Cowards run away!
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Gernot
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Re: Photos of Bat Girl costume for projected 1940's Bat Man Movie serial

Post by Gernot »

Regarding the Batman and Captain America serials, I always thought the two heroes were EACH in the wrong serial. I think Batman would have been far more suited to straight street crime, and Captain America could have had the American Flag flying higher if they'd done both right. I love both serials, but never felt Batman was really a "patriotic" hero. :)
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AndyFish
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Re: Photos of Bat Girl costume for projected 1940's Bat Man Movie serial

Post by AndyFish »

I think BATMAN is more a horror serial with patriotic elements, with the cave of horrors, the zombies, etc-- and that fits the character in his earliest years.

Larry-- that District Manager likely pocketed about $50K from a 10 sheet for the Dracula/Frankenstein double bill, which was done nationally after the success of Bride of Frankenstein. I was at Metropolis Comics Gallery in NYC and they had a Frankenstein 10 sheet which was valued today at close to $1Mil.

Nice catch on HOUSE OF DRACULA LDM, it would appear Naish would shave his mustache if required. The Joker in the early 1940s was a much more somber often brooding character, so his portrayal by any actor would be much less flamboyant than Cesar's. Swinging it back to the Cap/Bat switch-- Lionel Atwill would have made an interesting Joker, albeit a portly one.
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Larry A.
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Re: Photos of Bat Girl costume for projected 1940's Bat Man Movie serial

Post by Larry A. »

Hi all, LDM, Svenggoolie, nationally know Horror Host on Me-TV, ran that very film last Saturday Night, and I thought something didn't look right. GREAT catch!.
I don't doubt Your word for a minute Andy as I got years ago a complete set of the small Lobby cards from the 1st release of "@001: A Space Odyssey" that I later had to sell and got (1979 money) $700.00 for the set, complete in their envelope.

Gernot, my fellow St. Louisian, I think that You have some interesting thoughts on the matter.

Getting back to Naish and the movie, The Joker was a much more brooding, bitter character who hadn't "gone round the bend" so much yet. I could see Naish playing the Joker very easily. IMHO, the Joker on the Banner DOES appear to resemble Naish quite a bit. I was surprised to see just how youthful he looked in HoF. I think that as the Joker, Mr. Naish could very well have been a (PUN ALERT!!!!! WAIT FOR IT!!)....KILLER Joker!!
(Sound of Brickbats being thrown at the writer)
Sorry, folks. I just couldn't resist the pun.

Cheers.....
Larry
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