INITIAL IMPRESSIONS ON BATMAN (1943)

These are my initial impressions on the 1943 serial Batman which was the iconic super-hero's 1st ever appearance on the big screen.

-Batman was a tad pudgy in those days.
-Despite his aforementioned pudginess, the man was pretty fast on his feet.

-Batman clearly hadn't done too much training in his early days. At the end of chapter one, both Batman and Robin are soundly and rather easily defeated in a fist fight with three ordinary dudes. Yes, they're outnumbered three to two but this showing is pathetic. At one point, Robin merely gets pushed down and seems to collapse. Maybe he just decided to "stay down" to avoid more pummeling.

-This is a true cast of no-ones. Only J. Carrol Naish has ever been heard of and he's completely unrecognizable under really bad Asian make-up as the head heavy.

-Speaking of the bad Asian make-up, there's real unfortunate racism in the opening narration which informs us that "the wise government" has "rounded up" the Japanese.

-The 1st two chapters have the exact same cliff-hanger. In both, Batman falls. In one, he falls from a building (after his aforementioned fight with those 3 ordinary baddies who throw him off the building to kill him) and I've already blanked on what he fell out of in chapter 2. I hope he has some good falling insurance.

-Is this serial the origin of the "Batman is Gay" rumours? This actor often seems rather effeminate.

-I guess Batman can't afford a Batmobile. Alfred drives he and Robin around town in a Cadillac.

-There hasn't been much mention of just who Bruce Wayne is. His wealthy playboy status doesn't seem to have much bearing on this story.

 

From glancing at the Wikipedia entry, I see that this serial changed a few things in the comics. It introduced the Bat-cave and the method for entry and also changed the appearance of Alfred, who was now-after modeled on the actor portraying him here. I can hardly believe there's 13 more chapters to wade through. I look forward to this with both anticipation and dread.

Re-Assessing PERRY MASON

In early December, I had a really bad sinus infection. I had a non-stop headache for 6 straight days and it was very difficult to do anything - even watch TV. Now I had been watching 30 Rock but with that headache, I found it annoying and hard to concentrate. I felt the same way when I tried watching a few movies. I needed something that moved slowly, that was fairly predictable and wouldn't harm my head in any way. I saw Perry Mason Season 1 and decided this would probably work just fine.



Veteran Raymond Burr
brought Perry Mason to life

Now, of course, I am familiar with Perry Mason. As one of the most commonly syndicated television series in history, I had certainly seen entire episodes and parts of numerous other episodes. In fact, I thought I was so familiar with it, that there'd be no revelations in this viewing - just a series to get me through the next few nights until my headache went away and I started to feel better. In my estimation, Perry Mason was an enjoyable, but extremely formulaic series. All the episodes have many courtroom scenes and the majority end with a confession on the stand from the killer. Confession follows confession on the stand until the murderer finally reveals that he/she did it and often does so with an especially (melo)dramatic flourish. I always thought this familiarity brought a "comfort" factor that was a huge part of the show's success - and make no mistake. It was a huge success. It ran 9 seasons (1957-1966) and had 271 episodes. A 1985 comeback movie "Perry Mason Returns" brought Raymond Burr back to the part and led to over 20 tv movies. Raymond Burr became a star and his co-stars Barbara Hale and William Hopper became a beloved part of television history too. Even as I write this, a big screen comeback movie is in the works, reportedly starring Robert Downey Jr. in the lead role.




Barbara Hale was
Della Street

These were my assumptions going in. I have to admit, having now finished the DVD set, that I was rather wrong. These early episodes are extremely well written. Perhaps being based directly on the original Perry Mason novels helped but these episodes are far from formulaic. The courtroom barely makes an appearance in many of these episodes. Another factor to consider is that the versions airing on local television/cable stations are the cut syndicated versions. The episodes on the DVD set are complete and - as such - they often contain several more minutes that one doesn't see on television. Many of these moments are small character moments - exploring the relationships between Perry Mason, Della Street and Paul Drake. Plot-wise, they are not very significant and are easy to shave out for the syndicated versions. But in terms of the viewer getting to know these characters, they are very significant.


Hedda Hopper's son
William Hopper was
detective extraordinaire
Paul Drake

Another factor I noted was that Perry Mason is often bending the rules. He doesn't quite break them, but he bends them pretty far - in the interest of his client. I also discovered that Perry's two main antagonists - Lt. Tragg and District Attorney Hamilton Burger - are extremely obnoxious. They not only assume that Perry's client is guilty, they also assume that Perry is breaking the law left and right. Of course, they always have to eat crow at the end of the episode but they never do seem to admit they were wrong.

It's also established right from the start of the series that Perry Mason is an extremely famous attorney and that Paul Drake runs an extremely efficient detective service. Della is also pressed into service on a regular basis in these early episodes, occasionally even doing some quick covert work. There's also, of course, the on-screen flirtation between Paul and Della. Although they're the ones who flirt (in a rather gentle - more friendly way), it's pretty clear that Perry and Della are the couple on the show.

Another fun element of this series is the "spot the guest star" game. The series was famous for its stable of guest stars, some already famous, some not-so-much and certain actors who appeared again and again on Perry Mason playing a different character each time. (This was actually not that unusual in early television - Dragnet was another series that did it all the time too). The 1st 20 episodes of the show are on this DVD set and a quick round-up of guest stars include Barbara Eden, William Schallert, Joi Lansing, Frances Bavier and Darryl Hickman. If you're thinking that's not too impressive, well, I'd agree with you. I suspect future installments will up the guest star ante considerably.

The happy couple

So what does it all mean? Was I completely wrong? Was Perry Mason not quite as formulaic as I had mentally filed it away as being?
It was (I knew even before my recent re-appraisal) an extremely influential series. No television show (I'd add no movie or theater production either) could ever take place in a court room after this series without being influenced by it. So there's no doubt it was influential and important. But, based on these 1st 20 episodes, I'd add that it was also hugely enjoyable. Perhaps, at some point, as happens to so many television series, this show drifts off into formula and it becomes basically the same show episode after episode. After all, 271 episodes is a LOT of hours to fill.  Perhaps some of the inspiration left the production team. But based on these 1st 20 episodes, I can see why viewers took note in 1957 and bought into one of the biggest series of the time.


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dark Shadows Acting Favorites:Victoria Winters

Bella Heathcote

With the release of Tim Burton's Dark Shadows starring Johnny Depp, we now have 4 sets of actors who have portrayed the residents of Collinsport on screen. The original series (1966-1971), the Revival series (1991) the aborted WB pilot (2004) and, of course, the latest incarnation (2012). I realize there were two previous film versions - House of Dark Shadows (1970) and Night of Dark Shadows (1971) but these contained the same actors as the series so I don't feel any need to list these performances separately from the original show.

For the most part, all the incarnations have been marked by solid acting. Basically for fun, I am ranking all the characters that appear in each (or most) of the various incarnations.

VICTORIA WINTERS
3. Bella Heathcote (2012) TIE
3. Marley Shelton (2004) TIE

Marley Shelton & Alec Newman

We have a tie here for the 3rd and 4th place. Marley Shelton had a brief sojourn as Victoria playing her in only a 40+ minute pilot. However, she had the largest role in the pilot and carried it well. For some reason, some elements of fandom were horrified by a blonde Victoria Winters but she was both modern and retro at the same time, much as Dan Curtis had wanted when he dreamed up Victoria in 1966. Bella Heathcote, in the new Johnny Depp movie, is beautiful, but occasionally wooden. She does do well in some scenes though.

Alexandra Moltke

1. Alexandra Moltke (1966-1968) TIE
1. Joanna Going (1991) TIE

Another tie? Yes indeed!   It's impossible to vote against Alexandra Moltke! It was she who first welcomed us into Collinwood with the memorable words "My name is Victoria Winters. My journey is beginning...." and she basically carried the series before the arrival of Barnabas Collins. She was the right combination of naive and curious, though her character did seem "dumbed down" a bit after so many supernatural visitors were later roaming the halls of Collinwood. Meanwhile, Joanna Going was simply amazing in the 1991 series. She welcomed us into Collinwood in the same way as Alexandra had, but now her character was a little more aware. Dan Curtis romanticized the character even more by implying that Victoria was the actual re-incarnation of Josette and Joanna played it all wonderfully.

Dark Shadows Acting Favorites: Barnabas

With the release of Tim Burton's Dark Shadows starring Johnny Depp, we now have 4 sets of actors who have portrayed the residents of Collinsport on screen. The original series (1966-1971), the Revival series (1991) the aborted WB pilot (2004) and, of course, the latest incarnation (2012). I realize there were two previous film versions - House of Dark Shadows (1970) and Night of Dark Shadows (1971) but these contained the same actors as the series so I don't feel any need to list these performances separately from the original show.

For the most part, all the incarnations have been marked by solid acting. Basically for fun, I am ranking all the characters that appear in each (or most) of the various incarnations.

BARNABAS COLLINS
4. ALEC NEWMAN (2004) The most important character in the series is undeniably Barnabas Collins and we've been lucky to have 4 different actors, who each did a quality job. Newman's tenure was the briefest, with only one 40+ minute pilot to judge by, but this pilot illustrated that Newman would have been an excellent Barnabas.

3. BEN CROSS (1991) Some felt that Cross was too animalistic and didn't display enough sympathy. I will respectfully disagree. His Barnabas loved being in control and the script actually painted him as more blame-less than the original series (witness his willingness to be killed by Jeremiah in their famous duel). He had very tender scenes with Joanna Going and who can forget his wonderfully melodramatic scream "I CANNOT HELP MYSELF!!!"

2. JOHNNY DEPP (2012) Depp waited a really long time to play Barnabas Collins and he did a magnificent job. Unlike previous versions, there was a conscious attempt here to have Depp resemble the original, Jonathan Frid. From his hairstyle to his wardrobe (although the make-up and the fingernails were more vintage vampire than Dan Curtis) and Depp even said some of the exact lines that Jonathan Frid had in the original series. I honestly feel Depp is better than Cross only because he's so clearly loving the material and having the time of his life in the portrayal.

1. JONATHAN FRID (1967-1971) This placement was most likely extremely obvious to everyone reading this blog. Frid took what was meant to be a short-term villain and played him honestly, emphasizing his humanity. When speaking of the monster behind the kidnapping of Maggie Evans, Frid's Barnabas stated that he loathed the man (and Barnabas was that man!!). The writers wrote these lines and many other wonderful ones but if Frid hadn't been such an amazing actor, it's unlikely the audience would've caught on and Dark Shadows would've died a quiet death in 1967. It's not an overstatement to say that Jonathan Frid saved Dark Shadows and his tormented vampire provided the template for dozens of vampires ever since.

HONORABLE MENTION: Andrew Collins has done a great job on the Big Finish audio-dramas, though he always reminds me more of Ben Cross than Jonathan Frid. But this listing was for screen Barnabas' only!!

So what do you think? In what order would you rate the 4 actors who have graced us with their interpretations as Barnabas?