But apparently filming on the film began before Lee Meriweather was officially confirmed for the role of Catwoman. As a result, the iconic villainess is absent from the opening scene aboard Penguin’s submarine, where the other three villains appear.
An amusing detail that few people know about (perhaps because Lee shared it in a 1966 newspaper interview) is that Lee had a brilliant way of preparing for the role of Catwoman. The former Miss America star had two cats living at home and decided to study them closely before shooting the film.
‘I watched them closely. I tried to move the same way they do – funky, silent, but also able to pounce viciously without warning,’ she says.
Wardrobe malfunction
Here’s a little fun fact for you, especially if you’ve seen Batman: The Movie (1966) on the big screen! There is an unexpected and unforgettable moment in the film that is arguably one of the most iconic moments in television and film history.
At the beginning of the film, Batman and Robin are hovering over Gotham City (actually Los Angeles) in a helicopter. They fly past a group of women in bikinis on a rooftop. If you’re observant, you might notice that one of the bikinis (the red one) doesn’t stay in place, exposing a bit more than intended.
Of course, the film’s producers quickly blacked it out in the final version because they couldn’t reshoot the scene.
This little detail delighted and surprised many fans, including one Reddit user who wrote, ‘The blurring makes it look like she has long hair in the front, but it doesn’t make sense since it jumps up and down and it looks like it’s in her ponytail. I used to watch this film all the time and never noticed it.’ It’s one of those quirky moments that makes you appreciate how much attention (or lack thereof) has been paid to these classic details.
Adam West’s ‘fake it’ moment
But perhaps the most interesting bit of trivia from the 1966 Batman film comes from none other than Adam West himself. In an interview given a few years after the film’s release, West revealed that there was one scene in the film that he just couldn’t take seriously.
It’s the iconic ‘shark repellent’ scene, where Batman is hanging from a helicopter with a bomb in his hands and is attacked by a shark.
To escape, he uses shark repellent spray, which miraculously works and he manages to escape unharmed. However, the scene was so unusual for West that he couldn’t help but laugh at how fake it all looked.
West also recalled how the producers were unhappy with the sound effects Batman made when he crashed into the shark. West chuckled and said it didn’t matter considering how fake the shark looked.
Also, there is a gaffe in the middle of this iconic scene. When Robin holds out the Shark Repellent Bat Spray to Batman, he’s hanging upside down right above Batman. But when Batman uses the spray on the shark, Robin is mysteriously nowhere to be seen.
If you look at this scene today, with its huge plastic shark and overly theatrical fights, it seems almost absurd. But that’s part of the charm. The Batman film wasn’t trying to be taken seriously. It was a playful satire on the superhero genre, using exaggerated props and absurdist humour to entertain audiences who needed a break from the harsh realities of the 1960s.
The enduring legacy of the 1966 ‘Batman’ film
Despite its vulgarity and occasional wardrobe malfunctions, the 1966 Batman film has retained a nostalgic and beloved place in pop culture. It’s a time capsule capturing a moment in history when superheroes were fun, lighthearted and didn’t carry the weight of the world on their shoulders.
While we know Batman as a dark, brooding figure, the 1966 film gave us a Batman who was all gadgets, colour and humour.
For example, at about 3:00 p.m., Penguin utters the phrase, ‘We will hang together, or, most assuredly, we will all hang separately.’ This joking phrase, which sounds like a villainous threat, was actually uttered by Benjamin Franklin during the American Revolution when he was afraid of being accused of treason by his fellow lawmakers.
It’s a fun twist in the film, showing that even the villains of Gotham can’t resist a little history lesson – all in a lighthearted and playful way.
And at about 1:40:00, one of the United World delegates starts banging his shoe on the table and screaming. It’s a reference to Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev’s famous boot-kicking during a debate at the UN General Assembly in 1960
Wardrobe malfunctions, supervillains, and even fake sharks all formed the basis of an unforgettable cinematic story. Do you remember this film? And did you notice any of the hilarious bloopers?