Script: FASHIONS IN CRIME, by Peggy Shaw

General goings on in the 1966 Batman World

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BATWINGED HORNET
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Re: Script: FASHIONS IN CRIME, by Peggy Shaw

Post by BATWINGED HORNET »

"Fashions in Crime"--interesting take on how this series could be played.

Again we have a writer who reveals what generation they come from with descriptions such as the following about a female prison guard:
She has a body like a Ram fullback, and a face like a broken chair.
The big, boxy female prison guard was such a routine staple of 1930s - 50s dramas or crime films, and it appears Shaw--like other early Batman writers--sort of leaned on a written and visual language that says they saw Batman not as a colorful comic character, but almost like a Dick Tracy type. The entire prison sequence is painted like an old movie--right down to the "Brunette" making a mocking reference to the guard as "angel face".

The Dick and Janie scene was something that should have played out in the series. Dick was--after all--a teenage boy, and although he has adult-like dedication to crime fighting, he was still a teen who would seek the company of a girlfriend. Another interesting part is Janie's reaction to Dick being distracted by the hushed signaling from Bruce; its the kind of scene that is not uncommon in comic books, but was noticeably absent from TV Bruce and Dick.

The climax--as Batman and Robin are surrounded by henchmen while Catwoman cheers on the violence--would have been fascinating and exciting to see with season one's production sensibilities. Its a brutal, unattractive fight, and if anything, shows just how dangerous the Dynamic Duo are when its time to get down to business.

Some do not like the idea of Batman sending screaming henchmen to their doom, but again, Shaw seems very influenced by older movies where the expression / tagline "Crime Does Not Pay" meant exactly that.

The script makes me wonder how the series--if following this tone--would have moved forward with such big screen crime drama influences, or if it would have avoided the "lets just turn the up the silly to 1000" directives that derailed most of season two.
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bat-rss
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Re: Script: FASHIONS IN CRIME, by Peggy Shaw

Post by bat-rss »

AndyFish wrote: Thu Jun 07, 2018 2:13 am Do we know when this was written? It reads like a Season One episode so its possible Ms Shaw wrote this BEFORE Julie had appeared in the role which would explain Cat Woman's (as she writes it) off behavior. I wouldn't be surprised if it was a second season pitch and Lee Meriwether was who she had in mind for the role, Lee brought a more sinister performance to the role that Julie only touched on in her premiere episodes.

Regardless, this was a good script and it's a shame it wasn't produced.
Kudos to you guys for finding and posting this.
What other unproduced scripts are out there?
There are two versions of this script at the American Heritage Center in Laramie. This one has no date on it, including on the online listing, but there's another, shorter version (probably a treatment -- only 22 pages) that the web page dates as November 3, 1965. So absolutely before Newmar had been cast, and before all the tropes of the show were set. Note that we still have onscreen titles doing Desmond Doomsday's job!

https://rmoa.unm.edu/docviewer.php?docI ... idm2379632
"I'm half-demented with whimsical outrage!"
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bat-rss
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Re: Script: FASHIONS IN CRIME, by Peggy Shaw

Post by bat-rss »

Jthree wrote: Fri Jun 08, 2018 6:23 pm

P.S. Can't wait for the last unpublished Catwoman script to come out. But then, there'll be nothing else.

--jthree
Thats what you think! 😉
"I'm half-demented with whimsical outrage!"
-- The Joker, in a line cut from "The Joker's Epitaph"
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Re: Script: FASHIONS IN CRIME, by Peggy Shaw

Post by Jthree »

bat-rss wrote: Thu Jun 28, 2018 1:40 am
Jthree wrote: Fri Jun 08, 2018 6:23 pm

P.S. Can't wait for the last unpublished Catwoman script to come out. But then, there'll be nothing else.

--jthree
Thats what you think! 😉
You mean there's more!

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Re: Script: FASHIONS IN CRIME, by Peggy Shaw

Post by bat-rss »

There are other unshot scripts.... That's all I'm saying for now ;)
"I'm half-demented with whimsical outrage!"
-- The Joker, in a line cut from "The Joker's Epitaph"
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