In 1966 Batmania was sweeping the country. In January Batman debuted on ABC and audiences were tuning in to see Adam West and Burt Ward defeat the colorful rogues gallery of villains that threatened Gotham City each week.
The campy, silly tone delighted kids and amused adults. It was pretty clear that Batman was a huge hit and to capitalize on the show’s popularity, Batman was sent to theaters for his first full-length motion picture….in color!
West and Ward bring their popular dynamic duo to the big screen to stop the Joker (Caesar Romero), the Riddler (Frank Gorshin), the Penguin (Burgess Meredith) and Catwoman (Lee Meriwether) from turning members of the United Nations to dust! Can this possibly be more serious and less camp than the television show? …..not very likely.
This article originally appeared on John’s site Haphazard Stuff. For more original content, also check out his bloghere.