1943 Bat suit paraphernalia

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Larry A.
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1943 Bat suit paraphernalia

Post by Larry A. »

Greetings to all!
Some ?s for You all: a.) Was the cape 2 layers thick?

b.)Was the boots laced up the side and covered with removable fabric? (that's the way it looks in stills)

c.) Were the gloves made of 2 different types of leather or just one? (I've seen them done both ways)



Thanks in advance fellow serial fans
Larry
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AndyFish
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Re: 1943 Bat suit paraphernalia

Post by AndyFish »

Hey Larry-
I know nothing about sewing so I'm sure Lynne Williams will chime in, but keep in mind there was a stunt suit and the suit Lewis Wilson wore. So there were some differences, but I do believe the boots laced up on the sides and I think the gloves were one material, but again, send in the experts. The '49 gloves were definitely two parts. You could see it when it was shot outside.
maniac cop 5
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Re: 1943 Bat suit paraphernalia

Post by maniac cop 5 »

Larry if this is any help the 43 cape Lynne made for me is two layers thick. It is the finest piece of costuming i have in my collection, surpassing even my 66 and 43 cowls. The amount of hand sewing that Lynne did was staggering and does not come cheap. But for me it was worth every penny.
The gloves Chuck made are 2 different types of leather. The hand portion being a little rougher leather than the cuff. I hope this helps.
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Larry A.
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Re: 1943 Bat suit paraphernalia

Post by Larry A. »

Thank You Andy and Maniac Cop! I agree with You both! In the picture repros that I have of the 43 suit, the gloves and glove cuffs DO look to be of one type of leather...rather rough side out.

I, too, would be interested in what Lady Lynne has to say about these items.

Thanks again, Guys,

Cheers.
Larry
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AndyFish
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Re: 1943 Bat suit paraphernalia

Post by AndyFish »

It goes without saying that Chuck and Lynne are master artists-- I have a tailor who makes my suits and sports jackets, I've been going to him for twenty years and he is really a master craftsman. But Chuck and Lynne take the process of fabricating to a whole new level. I once brought in their cowl pattern to my tailor with the idea of having him make a cowl with it in some wacky color scheme-- he was blown away by the quality of the pattern and the amount of research it must have taken to get the accuracy they have.

I've talked to Lynne at length about what materials a 1939 Batman costume would likely have been made from for a graphic novel project I was pitching. I'm curious if the Williams think the '43 costume was actually cheaply made as is so often inferred. I've always thought its an accurate representation of a 2D drawing converted to 3D-- the ears are always a tough thing but if you look at the earliest Batman drawings published you can see why devils horns might have been the right choice.
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Larry A.
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Re: 1943 Bat suit paraphernalia

Post by Larry A. »

I'm hitting my "I agree with Andy" button!!!!!!!!! The only way the Serial cowl got it wrong was that, for some reason, the production crew didn't pay attention to the side views of the cowl as it was drawn.

Why they did this, I don't know and I doubt there is anyone still alive who worked on the cowl, so......I'm throwing out an idea for everyone's consideration: to wit, the "ears" were made to look, in part like devil horns in order to frighten the "baddies"!

What say You fellow "Serialists"??????????????????????

Cheers!
Larry
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DrewMasie
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Re: 1943 Bat suit paraphernalia

Post by DrewMasie »

I always thought that the baddies would find the devil horns and whole poorly fitting flannel-like costume ridiculous, not to mention that it offers zero protection from blunt objects and other weapons. To your point, it is difficult to convert a 2D representation to 3D, and most comic-book costumes do look ridiculous in real life.

Still, characters like the Shadow were menacing, so maybe a 1939-style costume with a semi-rigid helmet would have been scarier. I'm sure something like this would be terrifying:
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DrewMasie
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Re: 1943 Bat suit paraphernalia

Post by DrewMasie »

I always thought that the baddies would find the devil horns and whole poorly fitting flannel-like costume ridiculous, not to mention that it offers zero protection from blunt objects and other weapons. To your point, it is difficult to convert a 2D representation to 3D, and most comic-book costumes do look ridiculous in real life.

Still, characters like the Shadow were menacing, so maybe a 1939-style costume with a semi-rigid helmet would have been scarier. I'm sure something like this would be terrifying:

Or here's another interpretation, also scary:
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AndyFish
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Re: 1943 Bat suit paraphernalia

Post by AndyFish »

I've never liked the look of the rubber cowls- '39 style or not.

As for the side view consideration...

BAT SIDE VIEW.jpg

I think they got it right, the '43 cowl's sharp nose angle is clearly inspired by the earlier Batman cowl. If you did the ears flat they'd disappear from certain angles so the horns worked better on film. I always thought the best thing about this version of Batman was he looked real.
maniac cop 5
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Re: 1943 Bat suit paraphernalia

Post by maniac cop 5 »

I know its all in good fun but i think sometimes its a little too easy to over analyze this stuff. Serials were made with two things in mind- FAST and CHEAP. They were nototious for takkng shortcuts in props and costuming. Arguably, out of all the costumed heroes adapted from the page to the screen, Batman's outfit would be the hardest to accurately replicate in 3D.

For instance, look at Doug Croft's Robin mask. The comic book Robin mask would be the easiest thing in the world to duplicate by any seamstress. Instead the director or head of costuming went an even EASIER route and used a commercial dime store Halloween mask instead that looked almost nothing like the comic book one. Back then they just wanted something that would pass as the charater. Heck they even took liberties with Adam's mask 20 years later and Keaton's 20 years after that.

I dont think Wilson's mask had devil horns by design. That was just their best way of translating 2D into 3D from all filming angles as Andy pointed out. We're all so jaded now but who knows- that outfit coming at you in the shadows during the 1940s might have been a formidable sight.

For me it will always be the most realistic and faithful intrerpretation of Batman's costume on screen and my favorite. Sure, i have to stifle a snicker when Wilson's cape turns upside down and his cigarettes start falling out one by one from a hidden cape pocket ( a feature Lynne thankfully left off of mine) or when Batman basically helps the zombies push him over the rooftop but it doesnt matter. This will always be my favorite Batman, bloopers and all.
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Lou Szabo
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Re: 1943 Bat suit paraphernalia

Post by Lou Szabo »

The biggest problem I had with the horns is they never seem symmetric. One is pointing this way and the other is over there somewhere. Even the audition cowl that Adam used is plagued by this point.

I can see a blade disappearing at certain angles. But is a serial, and I'll bet kids of the time were as thrilled to see their hero "live", just as we did in January 1966.

I also thought the eye holes weren't very functional, and while Adam's cowl appears more functional, it still limits peripheral vision.

But cheap and fast was the order of the day, so there it is. Still a fun serial with lots of action.
Some days you just can't get rid of a ... SHARK!
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Larry A.
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Re: 1943 Bat suit paraphernalia

Post by Larry A. »

After looking at the photos, I have come to the conclusion that everyone has a good p.o.v. However, I'm playing around with the basic shape of the
'39 cowl, BUT the ears are based on the ears as seen in Detective Comics Nov 1939, "The Bat Man Wars against the Dirigible of Doom" they appear, imho, to be a combination of flat ears from the side and the Serial "horns" from the front. The action figure head shown above appears, again, imho, to be too wide across the head side to side and tilted too far back.

I agree with Lou that cheap (especially) and fast was, (and still is) the order of the day :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: I'll keep You all up to date on my build on this.

Cheers, Bat-Fans
Larry
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