For the first two of our features rounding up bizarre unofficial Batman films (here and here) we concentrated solely on the Philippines where the Caped Crusader's unauthorised cinematic adventures have flourished, but this time we're widening the net. The world is our Batcave, and licensing is not a word uttered within its dark dank confines.
Kicking off proceedings back in 1964 with Batman Dracula (not to be confused with Batman Fights Dracula, the Filipino masterpiece we looked at here). This one is a black and white American film produced and directed by none other than Andy Warhol, without, of course, the permission of DC Comics...
Arriving two years before the Adam West TV series, this equally campy film was screened only at Andy Warhol's art exhibits. A fan of the Batman comic series, Warhol made the movie as an "homage" with Jack Smith (acclaimed founding father of American performance art) appearing as both Batman and his nemesis, Count Dracula.
The film itself was thought to be lost until scenes from it were shown at some length in the 2006 documentary Jack Smith and the Destruction of Atlantis...
The popularity of the 1960s Batman television series, gave director Jerry Warren the idea to make his own superhero bat-film. Arriving in 1966, the same year the official TV series premiered, The Wild World of Batwoman stared Katherine Victor in the titular role.
In a bizarre plot, Batwoman employs the services of several young female agents known as "Batgirls", in her pursuit of justice against her archenemy, the masked villain named "Rat Fink". Added to the mix is the President and Vice-President of the "Ayjax Development Corporation", who, using plutonium as its fuel source, has created a powerful listening device called "the Atomic Hearing Aid", which allows for limitless eavesdropping.
Yes, a plutonium fueled Atomic Hearing Aid!
Unsurprisingly, Warren was sued by DC Comics for copyright infringement. Quite surprisingly he won! But the ongoing lawsuit meant the film was withdrawn from circulation for a period of time, and when it was settled the popularity of the TV series had died down so Warren re-released the film under the title "She Was a Hippy Vampire".
Now we go south of the border for another adventure for Batwoman, the 1968 Mexican film La Mujer Murcielago (which translates as “The Bat Woman”) and stared actress Maura Monti in the titular role...
Holy Bat-sploitation! Clearly the budget wasn't spent on the wardrobe department. Although Batwoman, who when she's not stripping of to fight crime goes by the name of Gloria (!), could've afforded to buy her own costume as she's...
“...a wonderful and very rich lady who lives in the capital city and uses her vast fortune to fight against the forces of evil.”The forces of evil in La Mujer Murcielago is primarily a mad scientist who is capturing wrestlers and using their spinal fluid to create a Gill Man! And you thought an Automic Hearing Aid was weird!!
But the Batwoman is perfectly suited for this case because...
“...behind the mask, she’s become a great wrestler.”Naturally.
A tad of sexploitation on display here, much like our next Bat-feature from Turkey...
Yarasa Adam: Bedman, the 1973 Turkish Batman movie, is essentially a soft-core porn movie with Batman, Robin and a whole host of strippers! There's also a cat-petting bad-guy who resembles Blofeld and the James Bond Theme by John Barry featured in the soundtrack (what is it with Batman and James Bond being mixed up together?). Oh, and the sound recordist working on the film is called...
...indeed!
Bedman, or Betman as he seems to sometimes be called, smokes, drinks, uses a gun, strangles people and spend an awful lot of time in the company of topless women! Poor young Robin (or Bedrobin as he is called here) does not know where to look...
Moving on, and after something for the dads we now have something firmly for the kids. It's the 1990 South Korean Super Batman VS Mazinger V...
Copyright infringement be damned! Super Batman (or Super Betaman as he is sometimes referred to) was seemingly knocked-up in someone's shed as it includes cuts of footage from Transformers, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, various Japanese anime titles, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. And the bad-guys seem to have preempted that dreadful Cats movie by thirty years...
Super Batman himself is adept at karate and can fire lasers from his hands. The whole production is just so colourful, with kids in shellsuits and Super Batman in bright yellow spandex...
It's screams early 1990s and is only riviled in its lack of budget by a Spanish production called La Verdadera Historia de Barman y Droguin, which translates as The True Story Of Barman and Droguin, that came out around the same time.
This is another film like Yarasa Adam: Bedman in that there is absolutely no way DC Comics would've granted a license for it even if they'd bothered trying to get it. Which, of course, they didn't.
La Verdadera Historia de Barman y Droguin is the story of two compadres, Bruno, owner of a bar called "La Baticueva" (see what they did there?) and Ricardo, an alcoholic inventor with money problems. Aafter watching their favourite film multiple times the friends decide to follow the example set by the on-screen crime fighter the "Executor", and team-up, suit-up, take on alias' of Barman (get it?) and Droguin and fight evil. And just to hammer home the Barman aspect, Bruno has a Bacardi logo on his Barsuit...
La Verdadera Historia de Barman y Droguin also includes a character based on the Penguin, here called Pingüino who is little more than a used car salesman that dresses up like the Penguin for seemingly no reason, and a character based on the Joker who is known as the Clown Prince of Kidnapping.
Talking of the Joker...
Let's finish this retrospective of bizarre and unauthorised Batman films back where we started two features ago, in the Philippines!
Biokids is a 1990 unofficial Filipino rip-off of the Power Rangers, but for reasons known to no-one whatsoever the main villain is the Clown Prince of Crime...
This Filipino Jack Nicholson knock-off might just be the best part of Biokids. The budget's low, the effects are poor, the acting's dreadful and, of course, the licensing's non-existent...
During it's 1hr32min run time, a full minute is spent with one of our heroes sat on the toilet constipated...
And on that bombshell, we wrap up this retrospective of bizarre and unauthorised Batman films from around the world. But if you've enjoyed any of these features then stay tuned! We're taking to the skies next time for a round-up of equally bizarre and equally unauthorised Superman adventures.
Same Bat-time. Same Bat-channel...
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