TO THE BATPOLES #148: Washburn II: Meet the Stars!

General goings on in the 1966 Batman World

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bat-rss
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TO THE BATPOLES #148: Washburn II: Meet the Stars!

Post by bat-rss »

Image

You know about the 1966 Batman at Washburn fan film, made by students at Minneapolis' Washburn High School. (If you missed it, listen to episode 146!) But questions remained unanswered. How did the students get the school to let them shoot the film at school? How did they come up with the idea, and determine the casting? Why did they go with original villains? Why is there no Batcave? And...what's with that funky orange wash on some of the shots?

In this episode, we meet some of the stars of the film -- Tim Olson (Batman), Mike Smith (Professor Sin), and Ross Olson (the narrator) -- who fill us in on the answers to these and other questions. Tim even found a trove of documentation ( https://www.dropbox.com/s/aae6pnklw1n7d ... s.pdf?dl=0 ) of the planning of the film and news reports about its making! And we get to hear about the world premiere of the film on June 3, 1966, and more details on what happened to the film between then and its finding its way to collector Mitch Kaba!

ALSO: Jan and Dean's Batman theme (and some other details of Jan and Dean Meet Batman that we missed back in episode 28), and your mail about episode 145, our discussion of director Leslie Martinson's input on Batman: The Movie!

"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 #148: Washburn II: Meet the Stars!

Post by Kamdan »

Could someone point me in the direction of High C’s post detailing a rewrite of the movie mentioned in Bat Mail segment?
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High C
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Re: TO THE BATPOLES #148: Washburn II: Meet the Stars!

Post by High C »

Kamdan wrote: Sun Dec 13, 2020 12:34 pm Could someone point me in the direction of High C’s post detailing a rewrite of the movie mentioned in Bat Mail segment?
Here is the thread:

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=7607
'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 #148: Washburn II: Meet the Stars!

Post by bat-rss »

After the show went up, Ross sent us one more historic document - his handwritten plan for the narration and music cues!

https://www.dropbox.com/s/qsw5tlrdj3d25 ... g.pdf?dl=0
"I'm half-demented with whimsical outrage!"
-- The Joker, in a line cut from "The Joker's Epitaph"
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BATWINGED HORNET
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Re: TO THE BATPOLES #148: Washburn II: Meet the Stars!

Post by BATWINGED HORNET »

Thanks to the "Washburn Three" for sharing their stories about the student film. Its interesting that Tim Olson, Mike Smith and Ross Olson recall thinking of the TV series as more of a sitcom, as its a far different recollection than friends who watched it first run as teenagers and thought it was an adventure series with a few tongue-in-cheek moments..at least in the first season.

It was also interesting to learn they were not comic collectors, so their exposure to Batman was from the TV series--that shaped their opinion of who Batman was..something a very vocal part of Bat-comic fanbase resented at the time. The existence of the Washburn film makes me wonder if anyone else (in the 60s) attempted to produce their own.

A couple of extras...
The posted images are ads for two entertainer photo dealers; Jeri of Hollywood (top) and Studio Photo Library, both found in 1967 issues of Archie.

Image

In the Jeri ad, I've highlighted the names of two actors you might be familiar with. The curious thing about their listing is that their characters ' photos were offered as head shots, instead of the men behind the masks. I point this out because all other actor photos are--I assume--the person as they appeared in real life, since they were not listed as a character. For example, Sean Connery was not listed as "James Bond (Sean Connery)" or Mark Goddard as "Major Don West (Mark Goddard)" in the way West and Ward were. Perhaps the Batman and Robin fan club offer (lower right) meant the company was only interested in the characters more than the actors.

I'm not sure if West or Ward were concerned about being known only as those characters by the time 1967 rolled around, but if either saw this ad (run in too many magazines to list here), I would imagine it would be irritating to think they were not considered "star" enough to have head shots of their real faces sold to the masses.

...but here's the kicker. Take a look a the highlighted name (lower right side) on the Studio Photo Library ad.

Image

{Desmond Doomsday voice]What's this??[/Desmond Doomsday voice]

Remember, both ads were from 1967, but a certain actor was listed by his name, without being tied to his then-well known role, so we can assume the offered photo was the (presumably) smiling face of you know who.

Hmm...
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Re: TO THE BATPOLES #148: Washburn II: Meet the Stars!

Post by High C »

This was a fun listen. You could hear in the guys' voices how much fun they had talking about all this. Good for them. They deserve the second victory lap, no matter how long they had to wait for it. I'll admit it was sobering to hear about the Washburn actors no longer with us. It was especially jarring to hear that the young man who played the Boy Wonder died only three years later. Tragic.

As for the interview, it was great to have them fill in some of the blanks. It would be funny if the teachers/admins indeed said they couldn't have Bad Brownie give a kiss while delivering the 'poor misguided girl' knockout.

Tim, thanks for sharing Ross' notes, and thanks to Ross for letting us see them. Of course, I couldn't help noticing it seems he misspelled serenity as 'sirenity,' a feeling I've often had. :lol:
'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 #148: Washburn II: Meet the Stars!

Post by High C »

A note about your Bat-inbox--my reference to season 3 being helped by the addition of 'one or TWO (emphasis mine)' females was a reference not only to my personal 'favourite,' but also to Yvonne, as well. Just wanted to clear that up.
'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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bat-rss
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Re: TO THE BATPOLES #148: Washburn II: Meet the Stars!

Post by bat-rss »

BATWINGED HORNET wrote: Wed Dec 16, 2020 9:27 am The existence of the Washburn film makes me wonder if anyone else (in the 60s) attempted to produce their own.
I'm sure there was plenty of interest in doing so at the time, but getting ahold of the equipment to do it wasn't the easiest thing in the world. Imagine how many bat-videos there would be on YouTube today...
"I'm half-demented with whimsical outrage!"
-- The Joker, in a line cut from "The Joker's Epitaph"
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