Batman

Four of the world's great criminals, the Joker, the Penguin, the Riddler and Catwoman, join forces as the United Underworld. Their plan involves a dehydrating device that reduces the delegates of the United Nations Security Council to dust. Batman and Robin pursue them by submarine and then by air and sea. In the finale Batman builds a Super Molecular Dust Separator to bring the delegates back. Leslie H. Martinson directed. Adam West plays Batman and Burt Ward plays Robin. Most of the television cast returned, the exception being Catwoman: Julie Newmar was unavailable with a back injury and Lee Meriwether took the part. Burgess Meredith plays the Penguin, Frank Gorshin the Riddler and Cesar Romero the Joker. It opened on 30 July 1966, between the first and second seasons of the series. The producer William Dozier had trouble convincing 20th Century Fox; the studio only agreed to finance it after interest revived following a screening of the 1943 Batman serial and the enormous success of the show. Its most quoted scene has Batman fending off a shark in the water with bat-shark repellent. The film needed 3.2 million dollars in rentals to break even and took 3.9 million. Rotten Tomatoes sits at 80 percent, with reviews praising a cast that embraces the inherent insanity of the roles with real enthusiasm. Two side details make it stranger still. The Batboat was built by Glastron, a company based in Austin, and in exchange the film's premiere was held in their home town, an early piece of product placement. The shark repellent does not sit alone either: the shelf in the Batcopter holds a full Oceanic Repellent kit with separate canisters for barracuda, manta ray and whale. Who it is for: viewers who like sixties camp and superhero films that are absurd on purpose. Who it is not for: anyone looking for a dark Batman. This film takes the joke seriously, not the hero.