Batman (1966) a.k.a. Batman the Movie

As most anyone agrees, this theatrical release was just an extended version of a Batman TV series episode, released in summer just after the first season of the TV show ended. The only extra punch to this was the inclusion of all four major villains, teamed up to cause trouble - The Joker (Cesar Romero), The Penguin (Burgess Meredith), the Riddler (Frank Gorshin) and Catwoman (Lee Meriwether, 1st time in the role previously played by Julie Newmar). Adam West still played Batman/Bruce Wayne and Burt Ward was Robin/Dick Grayson. The rest of the supporting cast was also all here (though, no Batgirl as yet).

In the plot, the villains use a dehydrator gun to dehydrate the members of a security council - basically turning people into small piles of dust. Highlights of the adventure include Batman getting a shark attached to his leg and Catwoman disguising herself as "Miss Kitka," fooling Bruce Wayne. As in the TV episodes, action scenes are shot at severe Dutch angles and there are animated sound effects, bringing a comic book to life on screen. It's high on camp and genuinely funny in some scenes. It also severely divides the fan base; this is, after all, very different from the 1989 Batman film, though there is some similarity to Batman & Robin (1997). BoG's Score: 4 out of 10