TO THE BATPOLES #146: An Early Batman '66 Fan Film, Revealed!

General goings on in the 1966 Batman World

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TO THE BATPOLES #146: An Early Batman '66 Fan Film, Revealed!

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Breaking bat-news! The earliest-known Batman ’66 fan film has been revealed! It was made by students at Washburn High School in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in the spring of 1966. As Batmania raged nationally, these kids decided to celebrate their school by making a Batman film in and around their school, with the cooperation of the school, including screen appearances by the principal, Carl W. Anderson, and two teachers! In this episode, we meet collector Mitchell Kaba, who found the film on Goodwill’s auction site and was able to track down many of the students involved in the film - including John Powers, who also joins us. We discuss how the film was made, where it’s been all these years, and the historical significance.

ALSO: “Holy Deja Vu” takes us to Dallas, Colie Brice rocks out with “Batman Blues in G Major, and your response to episode 143’s talk with Jeff Bond blows us away!

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Re: TO THE BATPOLES #146: An Early Batman '66 Fan Film, Revealed!

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I am just now settling in to listen to the show, but I skipped ahead to the coming attractions and I am very, very intrigued by the Stanford Sherman correspondence, especially considering I've never read or heard any interviews with him. I would be very interested to hear what his intentions were with the Nora Clavicle script. I realize that statement itself is the setup to a punchline, but still, I would like to know what he was thinking and if perhaps he had something better in mind than what we actually got. We know he could do contemporary satire well when he put his mind to it.
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Re: TO THE BATPOLES #146: An Early Batman '66 Fan Film, Revealed!

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Interesting. Have the films transferred to dvd. Love to see it.
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Re: TO THE BATPOLES #146: An Early Batman '66 Fan Film, Revealed!

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Great fun! Although the narrator sounds more like Tom Lehrer than Desmond Doomsday :lol:
I dug into the 1966 Washburn High School yearbook, and found no info on the fanfilm - not surprising since it probably went to press just before the film was shot.

- However! -

Batmania had already taken hold at the school - as witnessed by the annual variety show:
batman washburn-44.jpg
And your special guest:
batman washburn john powers-46.jpg
batman washburn john powers-46.jpg (33.08 KiB) Viewed 20449 times
ETA: Maybe a couple references here?
batman washburn-48.jpg
batman washburn-48.jpg (147.08 KiB) Viewed 20443 times
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Re: TO THE BATPOLES #146: An Early Batman '66 Fan Film, Revealed!

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Wow, Chris, how on earth did you find this??
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Re: TO THE BATPOLES #146: An Early Batman '66 Fan Film, Revealed!

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JOHNPLAYSTRUMPET.JPG
By the way, here's where you can see John in the film!
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Re: TO THE BATPOLES #146: An Early Batman '66 Fan Film, Revealed!

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bat-rss wrote: Fri Nov 13, 2020 3:03 am Wow, Chris, how on earth did you find this??
High school yearbook section of that Classmates site. Several 1966 annuals from various schools have had photos of Batman sketches in various pep assemblies or variety shows, including my alma mater Glenbrook South (eight years before my freshman year):
gbs66-31.jpg
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Re: TO THE BATPOLES #146: An Early Batman '66 Fan Film, Revealed!

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Outstanding job. Kudos to everyone involved, the To The Batpoles podcast that is not affiliated with the To The Batpoles blog (I think), and to Mitchell for unearthing this (and sharing it as opposed to hoarding it) and to John for shedding a lot of light on how it was made and on some of the participants. It really shows what Batmania was like for those who were on the ground in 1966 and experienced it first-hand and the inspiration it provided.

I especially liked, as noted, the 'poor misguided girl' narration and also the signage, particularly 'TYPICAL WASHBURN CLASSROOM.' The Washburn students certainly had a lot of the Semplian tropes down pat.

I also would note the 'Washburn newsreel' in between seemed to be an homage to the 1940s serials. Just a thought.

Again, thanks to everyone.
'I thought Siren was perfect for Joan.'--Stanley Ralph Ross, writer of 'The Wail of the Siren'

My hobbies include gazing at the Siren and doing her bidding, evil or otherwise.

'She had a devastating, hypnotic effect on all the men.'--A schoolmate describing Joan Collins at age 17
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Re: TO THE BATPOLES #146: An Early Batman '66 Fan Film, Revealed!

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Remember, if you have any questions for the cast members, we're planning to have some of the major players on and we'll get answers from them! Please submit your questions! Right here on the board is fine.
"I'm half-demented with whimsical outrage!"
-- The Joker, in a line cut from "The Joker's Epitaph"
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Re: TO THE BATPOLES #146: An Early Batman '66 Fan Film, Revealed!

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We're going to be recording with the actors who played Batman and Professor Sin this coming Sunday night, the 22nd. Please submit your questions before then!
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-- The Joker, in a line cut from "The Joker's Epitaph"
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Re: TO THE BATPOLES #146: An Early Batman '66 Fan Film, Revealed!

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Could you ask if there's any connection between the movie and the Millwheels show sketch? Who were "Landin, Fogel & Co."?
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Re: TO THE BATPOLES #146: An Early Batman '66 Fan Film, Revealed!

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I have these questions:

1--What was it about the show that motivated them to do all this? What did they enjoy so much about it?

2--Did they 'get it,' the vibe of the show, right away? I mean, was the idea for their own film there pretty soon after the premiere or was it a gradual momentum after the first few weeks?

3--Was the 'Washburn Newsreel' a nod to the serials?
'I thought Siren was perfect for Joan.'--Stanley Ralph Ross, writer of 'The Wail of the Siren'

My hobbies include gazing at the Siren and doing her bidding, evil or otherwise.

'She had a devastating, hypnotic effect on all the men.'--A schoolmate describing Joan Collins at age 17
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Re: TO THE BATPOLES #146: An Early Batman '66 Fan Film, Revealed!

Post by Ben Bentley »

I want to a say a heartfelt thanks for this episode, I genuinely really enjoyed it. Telling the story of this fan-film, (which is without doubt a social/hostorical time-capsule) has genuinely added something to the "fandom" of our beloved TV show, which is no small feat. Kudos to you gents!
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Re: TO THE BATPOLES #146: An Early Batman '66 Fan Film, Revealed!

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chrisbcritter wrote: Wed Nov 18, 2020 6:30 am Could you ask if there's any connection between the movie and the Millwheels show sketch? Who were "Landin, Fogel & Co."?
Sorry, I'm not sure what you mean by "Millwheels show sketch". And, where in the film did you see "Landin, Fogel, & co."? I didn't notice it.
"I'm half-demented with whimsical outrage!"
-- The Joker, in a line cut from "The Joker's Epitaph"
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Re: TO THE BATPOLES #146: An Early Batman '66 Fan Film, Revealed!

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High C wrote: Wed Nov 18, 2020 4:53 pm I have these questions:

1--What was it about the show that motivated them to do all this? What did they enjoy so much about it?

2--Did they 'get it,' the vibe of the show, right away? I mean, was the idea for their own film there pretty soon after the premiere or was it a gradual momentum after the first few weeks?

3--Was the 'Washburn Newsreel' a nod to the serials?
Noted!
"I'm half-demented with whimsical outrage!"
-- The Joker, in a line cut from "The Joker's Epitaph"
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