How high was the Batpole drop in reality?

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batbelfry
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Re: How high was the Batpole drop in reality?

Post by batbelfry »

Guys, thank you for all of this! I was wondering the exact same question not all that long ago, never remembered to post it, and I now that you've all answered different parts of the puzzle, I'm loving it!
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SaintsPreserveUs
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Re: How high was the Batpole drop in reality?

Post by SaintsPreserveUs »

Great post! Switching gears... What would the real height need to be for a working batpole and how would it work? E.g. does the pole from the study go to a changing room with egress on a separate pole to the bat cave? If a single pole drop how is the wardrobe change perform while staying in contact with the pole?
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dell
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Re: How high was the Batpole drop in reality?

Post by dell »

There is supposed to be some special mechanism that changes their clothes as they go down the poles. As with many things on this show it is never really explained and seems highly suspect.

Remember there is an episode (don't recall which it is) where Bruce and Dick slide down the poles, but Bruce turns off the auto clothes changing mechanism for himself. Bruce and Robin reach the bottom at the same time, so one is supposed to assume that the change takes place on the poles.
dell
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Mr. Glee
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Re: How high was the Batpole drop in reality?

Post by Mr. Glee »

The pilot script called for "a series of quick, sharply-angled cuts" to depict "Bruce and Dick sliding down poles inside an enormously deep burnished metal shaft." Per the script: "They seem to grab now and then at bright-colored whatnots suspended from cylinder wall, and we hear odd zipping sounds."

I would love to see the unused footage someday, assuming they actually did try to film these scenes.
FLOYDLEWIS
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Re: How high was the Batpole drop in reality?

Post by FLOYDLEWIS »

my ANIMATED guess
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SprangFan
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Re: How high was the Batpole drop in reality?

Post by SprangFan »

SaintsPreserveUs wrote: Mon Feb 17, 2020 10:56 am Great post! Switching gears... What would the real height need to be for a working batpole and how would it work? E.g. does the pole from the study go to a changing room with egress on a separate pole to the bat cave? If a single pole drop how is the wardrobe change perform while staying in contact with the pole?
This is how I always chose to imagine it happening (a changing room part way down), despite the in-canon references to a magical machine that changes their clothes for them, which as you point out is physically impossible when you're clinging to a pole.

Most of the time I can stubbornly hold to my preferred intepretation, because the change usually happens during the opening credits and first commercial break; plenty of time to get into the suits. But now and then -- and in the movie -- we see the slide is uninterrupted and the change instantaneous. Which is deeply unfortunate.

I rather enjoy a bit of whimsy in my Batman, but the "automatic change" goes well beyond science fiction into cartoon fantasy, and I can do without it. Once you let magic in the door, you might as well add Bat-Mite to the cast.
"You were right again, Batman. We might have been killed."
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Batfanman
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Re: How high was the Batpole drop in reality?

Post by Batfanman »

Calvin seems to have it down pat! :)
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