Batman Humor I Did Not Get as a Child

George Sanders as Mr. Freeze #1

Batman (1966-8) was my favorite TV series when I was a kid. But I thought it was a serious action-adventure thriller. Turns out it was a campy spoof. In rewatching several episodes, I've discovered so many jokes and pop culture references that went over my head.

Instant Freeze/Rats Like Cheese--In the cliffhanger, the Dynamic Duo are frozen solid by the cool, cruel Mr. Freeze (George Sanders, one of the few Oscar winners to play a Special Guest Villain, and the first of three actors to play this role on the series). The second segment starts with Batman and Robin in a "de-icing chamber" where the temperature must be raised slowly to save them. The delicate operation is performed by a doctor referred to by Chief O'Hara as Vince who over-emotes. I now know this was a reference to the highly dramatic Vince Edwards who played the lead on Ben Casey, a popular medical drama which was just finishing a five-season run.

The Bookworm Turns--Jerry Lewis pops out of a window as Batman and Robin are scaling an abandoned factory. What is Jerry Lewis doing living in a factory? 

The Clock King's Crazy Crimes--In yet another window cameo, Sammy Davis, Jr. appears in yet another abandoned factory. But unlike Jerry Lewis, he at least has an explanation for being there--he's rehearsing his act and begins "Birth of the Blues" as he closes his window. A rehearsal studio in a closed-down factory that makes watches? (Clock King's hideout). Also in the episode Batman and Robin go on a wild goose chase seeking a female accomplice of Clock King--Thelma Timepiece--at a drive-in where they munch on Bat-burgers. 

The Dynamic Duo with Samantha's Dad

The Puzzles Are Coming/The Duo Is Slumming--This time the window cameo made a bit more sense. The Dynamic Duo are scaling an apartment building rather than an abandoned factory, so it makes sense someone would pop out of a window to see what weirdoes were climbing up their building. But it's Santa Claus (the episode aired on Dec. 22, 1966) played by an uncredited Andy Devine, veteran comic actor who appeared in everything from John Wayne films like Stagecoach to Jack Benny's radio show. Santa promises to bring the caped crusaders a present if they'll reveal the location of the Batcave. Adam West looks right at the camera and says, "If you can't trust Santa, how can you trust" and then promises to call St. Nick at the North Pole with the secret spot. 

Also in this episode the villain was the Puzzler, played by Maurice Evans, best known at the time for playing Samantha's father on Bewitched. But he was a Shakespearean actor (winning an Emmy for playing Macbeth opposite Dame Judith Anderson) and he constantly quoted the Bard. Now at least I recognize the quotes. This was originally going to be a Riddler episode, but Frank Gorshin was tired of playing the role, so they rewrote his part as the Puzzler. How ironic this great British stage star is remembered for his appearances on American TV sitcoms and as Dr. Zaius on Planet of the Apes.

The Sandman Cometh/The Catwoman Goeth--Spring Byington (MGM's Pride and Prejudice) guest starred as noodle heiress J. Pauline Spaghetti whom the Sandman (Michael Rennie of The Day the Earth Stood Still) is planning to marry and fleece. I did not realize until years later her name was a play on J. Paul Getty. James Brolin (before Marcus Welby, MD) also pops up as a clueless rookie Gotham City cop who has no idea who Batman or Robin are and threatens to give the Dark Knight a parking ticket for the Batmobile.

Tallulah Bankhead as Black Widow
confronts Batdoll.

The Black Widow Strikes Again/Caught in the Spider's Den--Batman has rigged up a Bat-Brain Wave Analyzer which is just a 1960s beauty-salon hair-dryer with a few extra switches. Bank Manager Irving Cash (played by movie character actor Grady Sutton of White Christmas, Since You Went Away and Anchors Aweigh) who has been brainwashed by Black Widow (Tallullah Bankhead), is reluctant to put his noggin underneath the bizarre device. Commissioner Gordon reassures him, "You can be sure if it's Batman" which is a play on the TV commercial slogan "You can be sure if it's Westinghouse." (All the bank managers are named Irving for some reason.) Also in this episode, movie tough guy George Raft makes a brief cameo. 

Bankhead deliberately avoids using her signature "Dahling" instead calling everyone "Doll." Even Batman is referred to as "Bat-Doll." In the episode's tag, another commercial slogan allusion is worked in. Black Widow and her minions are all in prison, evidently getting their hair done. But as Batman informs Chief O'Hara, he is using the Bat Brainwave Analyzer in place of hairdryers to re-program the spidery crooks to reform. When her treatment is through, Tallulah checks out her coiffure and states "Only Batman knows for sure." The commercial had a happy Clairol user stating "Only my hairdresser knows for sure." I wonder if Black Widow could sue Batman for cruel and unusual punishment for trying to brainwash her.

Another sequence with adult implications occurs when Black Widow disguises herself as Robin to rob another bank. Burt Ward had to lip-synch Bankhead's lines and "act" like her. It was a riot and super-campy. Also this was not the first time Ward had to perform in a transgender role. In the very first two-episode arc, Robin is kidnapped by the Riddler and his moll, played by Jill St. John, impersonates the Boy Wonder in order to get into the Batcave. Ward is very swishy and feminine as he pretends to be St. John.

The Unkindest Tut of All--Barbara Gordon and Bruce Wayne are on a date and just returning from a concert of accordion music, where Lady of Spain was played five times in a row.

Sidenote: Future and past Oscar winners who played Special Guest Villains--Anne Baxter (Zelda and Olga); George Sanders (Mr. Freeze #1); Cliff Robertson (Shame); Art Carney (Archer); Shelley Winters (Ma Parker).

The show's ratings slipped in the third season and they were cut down from two episodes a week to one. Even the presence of Batgirl couldn't save Batman from cancellation. As noted in a previous blog, NBC might have saved the series but they didn't want to build a new Batcave. Adam West and Burt Ward donned their costumes only a few more times--in a particularly awful NBC comedy special which combined a silly comic-book plot with a Friars Roast. By the last season, it was clear the writers were running out of ideas and the humor was strained. Unless the producers hired new creative talent, a fourth season would have been pretty execrable. I must be content with the three seasons and the 1966 movie. More blogs on missed Bat-humor to follow.