Batman At The Movies!

Today is a special day and we're going to spend it looking at Batman! Batman is undoubtedly the greatest super hero ever. What red blooded boy wouldn't want to be the wealthy Bruce Wayne, playing with amazing toys and fighting crime as the coolest alter-ego ever- Batman? Aside from the dead parents, Bruce has the ideal life!

Quickly outpacing Superman, Batman was a natural for the big screen. His first appearance was in a weekly serial. He may have looked a bit different, but the basic elements were there, including the boy wonder.

After taking a side trip on television, Batman would next hit the big screen in 1989's Batman, as envisioned by Tim Burton. This dark gothic take on the caped crusader would serve the world well in two amazing outings that would make people forget about the campy 1960's version.

The darker take of Batman Returns was not appreciated by the various toy and souvenir licensees. Warner Brothers responded by requesting a lighter, campier outing, so Tim Burton was out and Joel Schumacher was in. The follow-up Batman Forever wasn't too bad, but Batman and Robin was a travesty that made the 1960's version look staid in comparison.

It would take almost ten years for Batman to return to the big screen. This time, Christopher Nolan was directing and it was more than enough to make audiences forget about Batman and Robin.

Nobody, not even Joel Schumacher can keep Batman down. Superman is a Boy Scout. Batman is a badass!

Patty Duke!

Patty Duke left behind an amazingly diverse body of work. An overachiever, she hit a home run with her first film- The Miracle Worker, becoming the youngest winner of the Supporting Actress Oscar at that time, playing Helen Keller.

The interest generated by her success resulted in her iconic television show The Patty Duke Show. After her television show concluded, she chose to break her childhood image by taking a role in The Valley of the Dolls, a trashy adult film based on the trashy novel. It succeeded in breaking her squeaky clean image despite being a hellish film to make due to the difficult director. Patty became close friends with her co-stars due to their mutual hardship. Her friendship with Sharon Tate would prove to be tragic. Patty had planned to sell her house to Sharon Tate, but pulled out of the deal when she chose to temporarily reconcile with her then husband. The decision would lead to Sharon Tate choosing to rent a different house- the one in which she was tragically murdered. Ms. Duke spoke of the guilt she felt for years afterwards.

Universal's Show Boat!

The film rights to the novel Show Boat were purchased by Carl Laemmle in 1927 as a possible movie property. He quickly began production on a silent version of the film, though the movie world was seemingly changing around him. The sound era ushered in new possibilities and the novel had been adapted into a popular musical on Broadway. Laemmle realized that he couldn't get away with releasing a silent version of the film, so he decided to re-film 30 minutes of the film in sound. When the film finally hit theaters, it was a mish-mash of sound and silence, which irritated Mr. Laemmle, who felt that the full promise of the property had not been fulfilled.

So just seven years later, Mr. Laemmle staked his fortune and reputation on a sound remake of the film. This time, he bought the rights to the hit songs from the musical and made what promised to be a huge hit for the studio. While he was right about the success of the film, he wouldn't get to enjoy the spoils. Facing huge debts, his board of directors ousted him from the studio he had founded. Mr. Laemmle could only watch as his passion project made millions for his studio, but nothing for him.

While the film brought much needed cash into the studio, it wasn't enough. The Universal board of directors sought quick ways to make money and MGM had a proposition for them; it wanted to make its own version of Show Boat; after all, it was the king of musicals at the time. It offered to buy not just the theatrical rights from Universal, but also the 1936 version of the film. (It didn't want Universal to cash in on MGM's version of the musical by releasing the old one. Several years and stalled starts later, MGM released its version, which became the one most people think of when they picture the film.

The Universal version of the film would languish in MGM's vaults until the advent of cable television when it would finally see the light of day as part of Ted Turner's legendary movie catalog. It has currently made it to DVD under Warner Brothers' Archive Collection.

"Manos: The Hands of Fate" Fun Facts

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The legendarily bad film Manos: The Hands of Fate was the result of a chance encounter between Academy Award winning writer Stirling Silliphant and Manos director Harold P. Warren. Mr. Silliphant allegedly bet Mr. Warren that he couldn't make a movie.

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Manos director Harold P. Warren had no prior experience making a film- and it showed. As a matter of fact, Mr. Warren's day job was fertilizer salesman. Oddly enough, both jobs produced the same quality product.

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The film was poorly received by critics- and one angry old lady. Offended by the scene where a little girl joins up with the cult leader, she repeatedly hit Mr. Warren with her purse after the preview screening.

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One of the film's biggest fans is Quentin Tarantino, who owns an original copy of the film on 35MM. He considers the film a comedy.

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