Every Batman Movie Ranked Worst To Best
13. Batman And Robin (1949)
Like the earlier, slightly superior serial from 1943, Robert Lowery's Batman & Robin serials from 1949 are inescapably tied to a completely different time and while they've aged poorly, they've moved into artefact territory and they are still extremely charming.
The editing is quick (too quick in places, actually), but it suits the approach to action, even if the approach to the material didn't make a fan of Bob Kane. Perhaps it's because it's all a little too funny in hindsight: Lowery's Batman is a little paunchy (though he tries to suck it in a little too obviously, and the way he delivers his lines is a little like a bad Adam West impression.
The series itself has some issues too, even if the idea of a Batman imagined as a noirish detective is something that would actually still be welcome now. It's just a shame the story-telling and plot are so light-weight and the costume looks like it doesn't actually fit...