The 60th Anniversary of the Movie Batman (1966)

It was sixty years ago today that the feature film Batman (1966), based on the TV show of the same name and starring Adam West and Burt Ward, premiered at the Paramount Theatre in Austin, Texas. At the time, it was not unusual for television shows to be adapted as movies with most of their original cast intact. Dragnet, The Lineup, Our Miss Brooks, and The Munsters had all seen big screen adaptations. What separated Batman from these movies was that it was the smash hit of the 1965-1966 season. It would have perhaps been more surprising if Batman had not made it to the big screen. The origins of the movie Batman ;(1966)go back to before the television series debuted. Originally, producer William Dozier wanted to make a feature film to promote the television show. In the end, the movie would be put on hold. Foremost among the reasons for this is that 20th Century Fox would have to shoulder the entire burden for the budget of the feature film, while ABC would help with the costs of the…