BATMAN TV SHOW PRESS BOOK

General goings on in the 1966 Batman World

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rsaffle
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BATMAN TV SHOW PRESS BOOK

Post by rsaffle »

Found this listing on Ebay. I've not heard of this book and thought I would share.
Is it really that rare?


BATMAN TV SHOW PRESS BOOK
20th CENTURY FOX - 1966-68
ORIGINAL ITEM
MINT CONDITION

Up for sale is an incredibly rare item from the 1960s BATMAN TV show. This is a 142-page press book created by 20th Century Fox that contains storylines, cast lists and descriptions of every episode of the BATMAN show that aired from 1966-68. This book contains a wealth of information for fans of the BATMAN TV show and collectors of Batman memorabilia.
The booklet is 8.5 x 11 inches in size and 1 inch thick. It is in mint condition (see photos) which is remarkable for an item that is this old.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/BATMAN-Incredi ... SwWaZdlzW8
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Batfanman
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Re: BATMAN TV SHOW PRESS BOOK

Post by Batfanman »

Looks like something that was assembled for syndication solicitation after the show ended. If it sat around in a file cabinet it's possible the condition would be this good.
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chrisbcritter
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Re: BATMAN TV SHOW PRESS BOOK

Post by chrisbcritter »

It's also available as a .pdf from Script City for less than a tenth of that price.
Note a couple errors: the Joker second half listed as "The Grisley (sic) Ghoul, He Meets His Match", and Michael Rennie listed - twice - as "Mr. Sandman", like the song by the Chordettes.
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Therin of Andor
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Re: BATMAN TV SHOW PRESS BOOK

Post by Therin of Andor »

I smiled at "The Egghead".

And the stray "?" in the cast list. They missed the chance to alphabetise Malachi Throne. ;)
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Ben Bentley
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Re: BATMAN TV SHOW PRESS BOOK

Post by Ben Bentley »

I've owned a repro copy of this for ten years or so, the only marked difference being that mine has a yellow cover page akin to scripts. I must say this original that is up for auction really is in great shape, a lot of people are quite generous and/or creative with the use of the word "mint", but in this instance it appears to be deserved.

The book is definitely a neat item to have in my collection but as to "wealth of information", I think most people who have watched the show and are capable of a Google search would be potentially underwhelmed given that the bulk of this book is predominantly episode synopis' and cast lists.

As what whether it is a rare item? Perhaps not in the true sense of the word, originals like this have appeared on ebay in varying conditions over time and like ChrisBCritter noted in this thread already, there are script-shop websites selling repros like the one I own. When we got around to talking about this in yesterday's Video Bat-Chat, someone asked the question of how many of these books do we suspect are out there? Based on what I understand, there were tens if not potentially hundreds of these produced and sent out, not just in North America but around the world to English speaking stations from 1968 onwards.

In terms of value, much like a lot of the contemporaneous materials from any of these classic TV shows or movies, it's worth as much as someone is willing to pay for it in order to have it in their collection and providing they're confident in what they're purchasing (aka nothing groundbreaking in terms of facts or context) then more power to them.

I also put it to the folks on Video Bat-Chat yesterday that in some ways this document is symbolic of the "finish line" Dozier was intent on reaching, as this document was compiled once the show was wrapped and heading into the next phase of it's life in syndication.
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