Mystery Of The Bat-Man!" (1939) serial

[The Boss]

Has anybody seen this? It is being presented as a recently discovered authentic "lost" film (although it clearly is not seeing as how some of the characters were not even yet created in 1939) with an impressive attempt to create the look and feel of the real McCoy even to the point of making the type of costuming errors one might have seen in those days. It seems that creating the accuracy of the look of the day took precedence over recreating the actual look of the comics of the day which - IMO at least - is a plus on their part.

While I have only had the chance to watch a couple of minutes before work I am already hooked. It's going to be a long day waiting to come home and watch more. Even though it is not a perfect replication - for instance, the film is a little too perfect where they should have put some scratches and shakes to make it more authentic (although there are plenty of sound "pops") - I do love the attempt at old scool acting. The cast is clearly not trained in the golden age style of acting yet there are some really good attempt such as the incrediblly hammy way that Bruce kisses Barbara's hand while ensuring to keep his face on camera. LMAO!

Only two chapters have been released thus far by I understand that they are working on the rest as we speak. So if you are a fan of old school serials like I am then this is for you! ENJOY!

Chapter 1 - "The Case of the Chemical Syndicate":
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fqEQ6wkjQt8

Chapter 2 - "The Man Behind the Red Hood!":
https://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=FJNDnortf7k

[AndyFish]

The lobby cards and the one sheet he did for it are great too-- very evocative of the period. I'd give this a solid B+ and that's saying something as I think most fan films are painful to watch. This was fun.
Thanks for posting it.

[John Mack]

I found these compelling because it was not made in 1939 and the thought of something popping up visually or being said incorrectly was almost certain. I won't spoil anything for anyone right now, but maybe we could discuss things more in depth later. I am wondering why we haven't heard of this sooner.
I really enjoyed this. Thank you for posting!

[AndyFish]

I'd love to get into spoilers.
Its really good if you watch it in the context it's intended-- as if a studio like PRC made a serial. I am a passionate old film fan so I agree with you, I spot a lot of techniques that wouldn't have been used by the smaller studios including dutch angles and a lot of closeups, but for a fan film this is really well done.

I didn't mean by B+ to sound harsh, keep in mind I'd give the '49 Batman serial a C-.

[PDpuck16]

Enjoyed since I stumbled upon it on Facebook

[AndyFish]

I spoke to the film maker-- he's a real fan of the old Batman.
I think two chapters is all they ever planned to do-- in the introduction they say that only "six" were made by the studio before it went belly up and the 2nd chapter closes pretty much the storyline they were telling, although it's got a neat little twist.

[Dan E Kool]

Aw man! No more?

[The Boss]

Only two? Not even the six mentioned? That stinks.

[BigJohnCreations]

Hey, guys,

Ryan Bijan here. Just want to say thank you for your interest and support of Mystery of the Bat-Man!

We've recently released our third episode. It's kind of a standalone compared to the last two, so you don't necessarily have to be caught up.

Here is our Mexican one-sheet-inspired poster:



And here is a link to the actual chapter:


I hope you enjoy!

[Blue Meanie]

Hi Ryan,

Welcome. I enjoy your work and look forward to more.

Cheers.

[wally wingert]

Batman's love handles are very authentic to the period.

[AndyFish]

Batman's love handles are very authentic to the period.

One of the few times I disagree with you old chum-- I think he looks pretty fit and it's nice to see a Batman not in a rubber suit.

[Batman65]

This is actually very well done and in the spirit of the old serials. You gotta love the raw look of the cowl.

[TBolt]

Love the whole design of the Bat-Man in this. The cowl works sooo much better than what was in the actual serials.

[BigJohnCreations]

Hey, Bat-chums! With Christmas just around the corner, and The Caped Crusader’s 80th anniversary only months away, here’s a brand new trailer for the next batch of chapters:



Facebook.com/Mysteryofthebatman