With The Lego Batman Movie flying into theaters today, we thought we’d look back at the first film to play the Dark Knight’s adventure for laughs: 1966’s Batman: The Movie. In this hilarious effort, the Dynamic Duo must battle a cabal of their most sinister foes in a movie that features all the BIFF! BAM! POW! fun of the TV series. The Catwoman, the Joker, the Penguin, and the Riddler have joined forces and concocted a plan to use a high-tech gadget to reduce the world’s leaders to dust, and only Batman and Robin stand in their way. Adam West, Burt Ward, Lee Meriwether, Cesar Romero, Burgess Meredith, Frank Gorshin star. This was not the first time Batman and Robin hit the silver screen — that honor goes to the movie serials of the 1940s — but it was the feature-length debut for these characters. At one point in the movie, Batman famously utters “some days you just can’t get rid of a bomb.” Not that movie theater owners had that problem — the film was a huge success, and is still beloved across the globe despite the campiness of the Caped Crusader. If it’s been awhile since you’ve seen it, we recommend you grab your Bat Goggles and Bat Shark Repellent and give it a rewatch. And if you haven’t voted in this week’s superhero movie-themed poll yet, take some time to do that today as well!
