BATMAN: CHAPTER 2: THE BAT'S CAVE

Batman (or The Batman) is a 1943 black-and-white 15-chapter theatrical serial from Columbia Pictures, produced by Rudolph C. Flothow, directed by Lambert Hillyer, that stars Lewis Wilson as Batman and Douglas Croft as his sidekick Robin.

The serial is based on the DC Comics character Batman, who first appeared in Detective Comics #27 in May 1939. The villain is an original character named Dr. Daka, a secret agent of the Japanese Imperial government, played by J. Carrol Naish. Rounding out the cast are Shirley Patterson as Linda Page, Bruce Wayne's love interest, and William Austin as Alfred, the Wayne Manor butler.

The serial's storyline involves the Batman, a secret U. S. government agent, attempting to defeat the sabotage schemes of Japanese agent Dr. Daka operating in Gotham City at the height of World War II. Serving Daka are his traitorous American henchmen. Batman is notable for being the first appearance on film of Batman and for debuting serial story details that quickly became permanent parts of the Batman comic's mythos: the Bat's Cave and its secret entrance through a grandfather clock inside Wayne Manor. The serial also changed the course of how Alfred Pennyworth's physical appearance was depicted in Batman stories. At the time Batman was released in theaters, Alfred was a portly gentleman in the comics. Subsequent issues suddenly portrayed Alfred as trim and sporting a thin mustache, following actor William Austin's portrayal. The Batman/Bruce Wayne (Lewis Wilson), and his ward, Robin/Dick Grayson (Douglas Croft), secret government agents following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, become aware of a Japanese sabotage ring operating in Gotham City.

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