I recently came across a fascinating intellectual property hearing from last year. It concerns replicas of the Batmobile, and provides an interesting perspective as to what constitutes the character of a car. This extended piece begins with some excerpts from the appeal ruling.
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
No. 13-55484
D.C. No. 2:11-cv-03934-
RSWL-OP
OPINION
DC COMICS, Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
MARK TOWLE, an individual, DBA Garage Gotham,
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Central District of California
Ronald S.W. Lew, Senior District Judge, Presiding
Argued and Submitted February 5, 2015—Pasadena, California
Filed September 23, 2015
Defendant-Appellant.
Before: Michael J. Melloy, Jay S. Bybee, and Sandra S. Ikuta, Circuit Judges.
Opinion by Judge Ikuta
‘Defendant Mark Towle produces replicas of the Batmobile as it appeared in both the 1966 television show and 1989 motion picture as part of his business at Gotham Garage, where he manufactures and sells replicas of automobiles featured in motion pictures or television programs.
‘Towle concedes that these replicas copy the designs of the Batmobile as depicted on television and in the motion picture, though they do not copy every feature. Towle then sells these vehicles for approximately $90,000 to “avid car collectors” who “know the entire history of the Batmobile.” Towle also sells kits that allow customers to modify their cars to look like the Batmobile, as it appeared in the 1966 television show and the 1989 motion picture.’ (p.7)
‘The Batmobile also has consistent character traits and attributes. No matter its specific physical appearance, the Batmobile is a “crime-fighting” car with sleek and powerful characteristics that allow Batman to maneuver quickly while he fights villains. In the comic books, the Batmobile is described as waiting “[l]ike an impatient steed straining at the reins . . . shiver[ing] as its super-charged motor throbs with energy” before it “tears after the fleeing hoodlums” an instant later. Elsewhere, the Batmobile “leaps away and tears up the street like a cyclone,” and at one point “twin jets of flame flash out with thunderclap force, and the miracle car of the dynamic duo literally flies through the air!”’ (p.16)
‘The design of the Batmobile did not directly copy any iterations of the Batmobile as it appeared in the comic books. As in the comic books, however, the Batmobile in the 1966 television show maintained a bat-like appearance and was equipped with state-of-the-art weaponry and technology.’ (p.5)
‘… the Batmobile is almost always bat-like in appearance, with a bat-themed front end, bat wings extending from the top or back of the car, exaggerated fenders, a curved windshield, and bat emblems on the vehicle.’ (p.16)
‘Furthermore, the Batmobile has an ability to maneuver that far exceeds that of an ordinary car. In the 1966 television series, the Batmobile can perform an “emergency bat turn” via reverse thrust rockets.’ (p.17)
‘Courts have recognized that copyright protection extends not only to an original work as a whole, but also to “sufficiently distinctive” elements, like comic book characters, contained within the work. Halicki Films, LLC v. Sanderson Sales & Mktg., 547 F.3d 1213, 1224 (9th Cir. 2008).’ (p.11)
‘In Halicki, we considered whether “Eleanor,” a car that appeared in both the original 1971 and 2000 remake motion picture Gone in 60 Seconds, could be entitled to copyright protection as a character.
‘Considering Eleanor’s persistent attributes in both the original and remake of Gone in 60 Seconds, we concluded that Eleanor met some of the key factors necessary to qualify for copyright protection. We first noted that Eleanor was more like a comic book character than a literary character given Eleanor’s “physical as well as conceptual qualities.”’ (p.13)
‘We also stated that Eleanor “displays consistent, widely identifiable traits and is especially distinctive.”
‘First, we noted that “in both films, the thefts of the other cars go largely as planned, but whenever the main human character tries to steal Eleanor, circumstances invariably become complicated.” Second, we noted that in the original, “the main character says ‘I’m getting tired of stealing this Eleanor car,’” and in the remake “the main character refers to his history with Eleanor.” (p.13)
‘Eleanor’s ability to consistently disrupt heists by her presence was more pertinent to our analysis of whether the car should qualify as a sufficiently distinctive character than Eleanor’s make and model. Indeed, Halicki put no weight on the fact that Eleanor was a customized yellow 1971 Fastback Ford Mustang in one film, and a silver 1967 Shelby GT-500 in another.’ (p.14)
‘The panel affirmed the district court’s summary judgment in a copyright and trademark infringement action brought by DC Comics against a maker of Batmobile replicas.
‘The panel held that the Batmobile, as it appeared in the Batman comic books, television series, and motion picture, was entitled to copyright protection because this automotive character was a sufficiently distinctive element of the works.
‘The panel held that DC Comics owned a copyright interest in the Batmobile character, as expressed in the 1966 television series and the 1989 motion picture, because it did not transfer its underlying rights to the character when it licensed rights to produce derivative works.
‘The panel held that the defendant’s replica cars infringed on DC Comics’ copyrights.’ (p. 2)
Nowhere in the above opinion is reference to the 1955 Lincoln Futura showcar. It was mentioned by the defendant in their initial motion, but for the summary judgment and this appeal ruling it’s an irrelevancy.
The judges relied on the characteristics of the Batmobile, and not the specific form.
George Barris is not mentioned in the appeal ruling either and he had even held a patent on the Batmobile’s design.
In September 1965, Barris entered into an agreement to construct the Batmobile. With a scant three weeks to produce the car for the TV series pilot, Barris suggested modifying an old Lincoln showcar he had sitting outside his showroom.
What follows are excerpts from that contract.
‘It is hereby agreed on this 1st day of September, 1965, TWENTIETH CENTURY-FOX TELEVISION, INC., and GREENWAY PRODUCTIONS, INC. thereinafter referred to as “Producer”, and LESTER E. TOMPKINS, IRVIN KUNS and GEORGE BARRIS, individuals doing business as Barris Kustom City (a partnership), hereinafter referred to as “Owner”, as follows:
1. Owner shall mechanically and structurally construct and modify the interior and exterior of its proto-Lincoln Chassis pursuant to and in accordance with:
(a) Those three (3) certain drawings of the “Batmobile” motor vehicle (hereinafter referred to as “Batmobile I”) prepared by Owner at the request and direction of Producer and heretofore delivered to Producer,
(b) Those three (3) certain sketches and one (1) working drawing subsequently prepared by Producer and delivered to Owner which alter and modify said drawings prepared by Owner, and
(c) That certain list of requirements heretofore delivered to Owner by Producer which are to be included in Batmobile I.’
‘3. Producer shall pay to Owner the following sums:
(a) Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) upon execution of this agreement by Owner.
(b) Four Thousand Dollars ($4,000.00) if merchandising rights are obtained as provided for in Article 8 hereof prior to the commencement of the pilot motion picture tentatively entitled “BATMAN” (hereinafter referred to as the “Pilot”), or Nine Thousand Dollars ($9,000.00) upon completion of principal photography of the Pilot if said merchandising rights have not been obtained prior thereto.
Upon completion of the Pilot, Producer will deliver Batmobile I to Owner at Producer’s place of business
6. Owner grants to Producer the alternative options to (i) either rent Batmobile I from Owner at the rental rate of One-Hundred Fifty Dollars ($150.00) per day (during which rental time Producer shall retain possession of Batmobile I) or, (ii) to require Owner to construct and sell to Producer a motor vehicle (hereinafter referred to as “Batmobile II”)’
‘8. Subject to the approval first and obtained in writing from National Periodical, Producer shall have the right to acquire and own all or any part of the merchandising rights in and to Batmobile I and II. Merchandising rights are defined herein as the right to license the use of the design of Batmobile I and II in connection with such items as clothing, toys, games, jewelry and replicas thereof.
‘Out of one hundred per cent (100%) of the gross profits received from such merchandising rights in and to Batmobile I and II Producer shall deduct and pay all costs and expenses incurred in connection therewith and thereafter the net profits from said merchandising rights shall be divided and distributed as follows:
‘(a) A sum equal to twenty-five per cent (25%) shall be paid to Greenway Productions, Inc.
(b) A sum equal to twenty-five per cent (25%) shall be paid to Twentieth Century-Fox Television, Inc.
(c) A sum equal to twenty-five per cent (25%) shall be paid to Owner.
(d) A sum equal to twenty-five per cent (25%) shall be paid to American Broadcasting Company.
‘Not withstanding the foregoing division of net profits, if National Periodical demands a percentage of the net profits from the aforesaid merchandising rights, then such percentage shall be deducted pari passu from the shares of Greenway Productions, Inc., Twentieth Century-Fox Television, Inc., Owner and American Broadcasting Company.’
‘EXHIBIT “E”
BATMOBILE REQUIREMENTS
Owner shall either provide and install or provide for the installation of the following items:
1. The Switches and Hand-throttle knob for the Turbo-electric Drive.
2. The Bing-Bong Warning Bell and Bat-Light Flasher.
3. The Mobile Phone between the seats with Beeper and Flashing Light.
4. The Batscope, with TV-like Viewing Screen on the dash with control buttons and Radar-like Antenna with aimable parabolic Reflector outside, with cockpit controls.
5. Anti-theft System- Flashing Red Lights- Piercing Whistle- Little rockets built into tubes at the back of the cockpit that fire straight up with a fiery whoosh.
6. Anti-fire Control System- Flood of Foam from Secret Nozzle.
7. Turn-off switch for Protection Systems.
8. Radar-like screen that Beeps and Blips and points an arrow as it picks up Robin’s directional signal.
9. Mechanics for Emergency Bat Turn- Red Lever so named on Dash- Reverse Thrust Rockets beneath headlights- Ejection Parachute Mechanism at rear.
10. Bat-Ray Projector Mechanism- Lever on Dash so names- Hood Hydraulic Projector Device. (With possibility of ray coming from Bat-Eyes).
11. Portable Fire-Extinguisher.
12. Receiver and Sender Computer to be installed in trunk of Batmobile.
13. Bat symbols on hubcaps.
14. The color of the Batmobile and the Bat Symbols to be placed thereon shall be mutually agreed upon between Owner and Producer prior to the completion of the Batmobile.
15. Special luminescent paint to define Bat outline at night, the placement of which shall be mutually agreed upon between Owner and Producer prior to the completion of the Batmobile.’
‘7. Any and all right, title and interest in and to the design of Batmobile I resulting from the application of the required Batmobile features in and to Owner’s proto-type Lincoln chassis, save and except the name “Batmobile” and the Batmobile features set forth in Article 10 hereof and in the drawings and exhibits attached hereto, and of the completed Batmobile I provided for in Article 2 hereof, shall forever be vested in and owned jointly by Owner and Producer, subject only to any and all right, title and interest of National Periodical Publications, Inc. (herein referred to as “National Periodical”) in and to said Batmobile features in said design.’
Throughout the contract with the ‘Producer’ Fox/Greenway, Barris Kustom City is referred to as the ‘Owner’ of the ‘Batmobile I’ artifact itself, with the ‘Producer’ renting ‘Batmobile I’ beginning with some initial lump payments. Fox/Greenway didn’t require physical ownership of the vehicle, they just needed use of it. Note that the contract attempts to offset some upfront costs against later royalty streams.
The proposed merchandising royalty split appears to give Fox, Barris, Greenway and ABC an equal share after National Periodical’s share had been determined and deducted.
It would appear that Fox/Greenway and Barris together had contractual ownership of the design minus the bat elements, but not so.
What’s interesting is that the Lincoln was purchased by Barris from Ford (for $1) in December 1965, after the agreement to build the Batmobile had been fulfilled.
What’s more interesting is this May 1966 response to a query from Emmett Lavery, Director of Business Affairs at 20th Century Fox Television. Maybe Mr Lavery’s query concerned Barris’ patent over the vehicle.
In March 1966, four months after the first Batmobile was delivered, Barris applied for a patent on the car’s shape. This patent covered the ‘ornamental design for an automotive vehicle or similar article’. There are two vehicles depicted, the lower set featuring missile launchers and rear parachute pods (which were actually specified in the list of Batmobile requirements in the contract with Fox/Greenway).
This patent appears to co-opt the design minus (most) bat elements into Barris’ possession.
Daniel Strohl at Hemmings relates this story;
‘Dean Jeffries told Tom Cotter that he was originally tapped to build the Batmobile and had proceeded to cut up a Cadillac to do so, but the studio moved up the timetable on him, thus giving Barris the opportunity to provide the car. “The producers didn’t like working with Barris, but they were locked into him because he had the rights to the car,” Jeffries said. “They said, ‘We’re not going to deal with him again,’ so that’s how I ended up building the Green Hornet car and Wonder Woman’s car.”’
In August 1966, Barris was commissioned to build replicas of the Batmobile by Fox/Greenway to meet publicity needs.
A cast was taken of the Futura-based ‘Batmobile I’ shooting car and three fibreglass bodies were prepared over 1965/66 Ford Galaxie platforms with one to become the 427 Dragster. The vehicles were completed in November 1966.
The three replicas came with their own fender-affixed legal notice. The construction contract dated August 15 stated;
‘BARRIS agrees to affix permanently upon each vehicle produced hereunder appropriate copyright and trademark notices and supplied by NATIONAL PERIODICALS in the following form…’
‘“Batmobile”–The Barris Kustom Insignia–“Powered by…” The Ford Oval Insignia–“Greenway Productions…Mr. W. Dozier”–“Filmed at “20th” Century T.V.”–“National Periodicals Inc. “67”–“Design Patent…George Barris”–“ABC-Television…Batman”’
In October 1966, a synopsis of an Exhibition Agreement and Side Agreement with Barris was drafted by Fox/Greenway.
‘In this side agreement, Fox and Greenway waive the right to recoup from merchandising income accruing from this specific design of the Batmobile, the cost of the first car and rental in excess of $10,000 before any participation by Barris.
‘It is questionable, however as to whether Barris would be entitled to any a share of merchandising income in the first place, as the original Batmobile Agreement was deliberately worded to make Barris’ participation conditional on Fox and Greenway acquiring and handling merchandising rights, which, of course, they never have. However, even if he were to be adjudged entitled to share in merchandising income accruing from National Periodicals owning and handling merchandising rights, the amount waived is small by comparison to the saving on rent and the elimination of the “headaches” of the past year, – with the offset, also, of whatever new income share Fox and Greenway get from exhibition royalty.’
The exasperation with Barris is palpable, but neither party saw any royalties from merchandise because National Periodicals had arranged the merchandising themselves. Barris’ patent covered an automotive vehicle, and not a toy, so I’m not sure if he saw a cent from the merchandising revenue.
Barris’ patent lapsed in 1980. Given that he was not recognised as a rights holder in the Batmobile in both the initial summary judgment and subsequent appeal ruling for the recent case against Mark Towle, it would appear the rights for this vehicle have now been subsumed by DC Comics.
But as the legal notice on this current Hot Wheels Elite model listing shows, George Barris (who died late last year) presently receives a design ‘credit’ for its shape. How that credit is structured legally I don’t know.
In 2013 Barris sold the original ‘Batmobile I’ shooting car for $4.62m.
The Futura had cost $250,000 to build in 1955, but back then its value to the Ford Motor Company had been priceless. It was a strident and very visible manifestation of their future view; confident, wondrous and imaginative.
Maybe not so imaginative.
Ford’s showcars of the 1950s experienced little of the cultural resonance enjoyed by the ‘Dream Cars’ of GM and Chryco. As you can see above, some were just variations on a ‘semi-fastback bubbletop canopy and tailfins’ theme that had no real place in the world of tomorrow.
It has to be said, though, that the Futura was probably the most cohesive and accomplished of this bunch.
Where it most excelled was in previewing the look of the 1956 Lincolns for the public.
Before the grotesque 1958 and sublime 1961 Lincolns, the 1956 range was a handsome effort – probably the best from the decade. Those distinctive headlight cowlings were introduced that year, to be overstuffed with stacked twinsets in 1957. They had been suggested on the attractive Lincoln XL-500 showcar of 1954, and the Futura had clarified their scale and positioning as they were to be applied to the passenger models.
After a few years on the show and dealer circuit, the Futura was old news in the automotive world.
It found its way to Hollywood, where it was painted red and used in the 1959 movie ‘It Started With a Kiss’ with Debbie Reynolds. Eventually it found its way into storage with Barris, who had been involved with Ford on the showcar circuit.
From there it seemed to fall into that quagmire known as the law of unintended consequences.
The Futura was the brainchild of Lincoln/Mercury Division head stylist Bill Schmidt. It was apparently inspired by a fishing trip he took in the Bahamas with his friend Bill Mitchell, the same fishing trip that also inspired the shark-like 1959 Corvette XP-755.
The showcar was completed under Schmidt’s aegis, with Roy Brown working on styling details and Ghia of Turin building the actual functioning vehicle.
As a high-level ‘creative’ in the automobile industry, Schmidt would have been paid well; ample recompense for the fact that any rights over his output were contractually transferred to his employer. He had no ownership of his work for Ford, nor should he have – really. He was there to help build and sell cars, not to create Art.
There’s one thing that can never be denied him, however – authorship credit for the original Futura shape. A credit shared with others certainly, but his contribution the most substantive and his name first.
Comic artist Bob Kane was the co-author (along with writer Bill Fingers) of Batman. This excerpt from Mark Waid explains how thing operated in the comic world;
‘From the beginnings of American comics in the mid-1930s right up until the early 1980s, comics artists and writers were what we call today “work-for-hire”–they were paid a per-page rate by publishers, nothing else, and had no ownership stake in or claim to their creations. There were exceptions: though Siegel and Shuster were unquestionably undercompensated for Superman, they at least shared heavily in the royalties of his lucrative newspaper strip.
‘Bob Kane cut a hell of a deal with DC on his co-creation Batman in the late 1940s by threatening to throw his weight behind Siegel and Shuster when they sued for Superman ownership unless DC renegotiated with him–consequently earning a hefty gross percentage on all things Batman until he relinquished most of his rights in the late 1960s for a reported million dollars.’
That’s a happy Kane with his arm around Barris.
In the eyes of the law, the Batmobile has become a generic type of vehicle – by necessity all examples of which sharing similar characteristics.
So what is it that makes the 1966 Batmobile so special?
Strip away all the generic Batman legal definition stuff.
And its true character is revealed.
Further Reading:
Summary Judgment: DC Comics v. Towle
Appeal Ruling: DC Comics v. Towle
The Fox/Greenway/Barris agreements, FoMoCo letters and Barris patent
were sourced from 1966Batmobile.com,
a fantastic trove of all things related to this vehicle.
Daniel Strohl’s piece at Hemmings
on the then-forthcoming auction of ‘Batmobile I’
Mark Waid’s article on DC Comics contracts at Thrillbent.com
‘History of the Batmobile’ infographic
sourced from Comicbookresources.com
My piece follows observations made by
the esteemed and learned Paul Niedermeyer
Wow, Don Andreina!–I think that was everything I ever knew about the Batmobile plus __countless__ things new to me.
I’m old enough to have, like a baby bird, “imprinted” on the 1966 car (and I’ve never seen the recent-ish movies) so the Batmobile tale is Futura-Barris in my mind. Thanks for the hat-tip to Bill Schmidt, whose name I’d never connected with the story.
In case you hadn’t see it, Don: this super-detailed 1955 “how-to” article that yielded a 1/12-size Futura: http://blog.modernmechanix.com/build-this-model-of-the-lincoln-futura/3/#mmGal
Nice. I imagine that canopy would be a handful to form.
The Futura did get its own model back then…
Although a fifties kit, that still builds up into a decent model.
Blather, blather, legal blather. The only feelings I’ve ever had on the Batmobile saga is that Barris took one of the three or four best looking 50’s dream cars and hacked it into camp kitsch. The Futura, the Pontiac Club de Mer, and the Chevrolet Biscayne were instrumental into further turning a 5 year old raised in a Chevy dealership into a lifelong car addict.
At least the Biscayne has been restored to its original beauty. The Club de Mer I’m not sure of. Screw you, George Barris.
And no, I was never much of a fan of the Batman show. John Steed and Mrs. Peel were more my style.
Mmmmmmm… Mrs. Peel!
Legalese: the ultimate sedative.
I was introduced to Diana Rigg via ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’ and never rated her as delectable as other Bond ‘girls’ (I cringe as I write this now – objectifying them like this but I’ll continue).
I never saw the original Avengers series, but my preference is for Honor Blackman from the very early years. Overall, though, I prefer Joanna Lumley with her bobcut from the 70s reboot ‘New Avengers’. Coincidently all three also being Bond girls – Lumley having a bit part as one of the Piz Gloria girls in OHMSS.
Beautiful portrait, posed up against “the three most legendarily unreliable film cars in history.” Read up on it if you haven’t. The problems they had with the cars that British Leyland supplied are an incredible story.
hehehe… why am I not surprised? I was more of a ‘The Professionals’ kind of guy. Those Fords proved a tad more durable I suspect. How weird are the poses in this still?
I’ve been watching a lot of Emma Peel-era Avengers on Hulu, but they pulled it last month! What a drag.
Yeah, now I know why I never really pursued law. I can talk almost anyone in circles, but would have no attention span for the documents. Ugh! I commend you, Don, for wading through them!
I think the 1966 Barris/Futura Batmobile is by far the best looking of all the versions.
And Don did a great job of researching, writing, and finding photos of the cars for this article.
Too bad the original series was so lame, even to my 10 year old self at the time.
In the late 1970’s (?) there was a pop radio contest where they gave away a non running Batmobile….
I thought it foolish in the extreme and was concerned it’d wind up scrapped .
I wonder what ever happened to it .
Such _was_ the life of old Custom jobs until fairly recently .
-Nate
Apparently Barris tried to sell the fibreglass replicas in the early 1970s, but wasn’t happy with the money being offered. I’m not sure if the radio station was offering one of those.
Very enjoyable article – great research. I wonder how many other current 60 year-olds had a Corgi Batmobile (and a Aston Martin DB5)……
Not 60 yet, but had the DB5 and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. My brother had the Batmobile.
For trainspotters, the early Corgi Batmobile had narrow wheels with bat symbols. The catalogue page above features a later series version with wider plastic wheels.
The original Corgi DB5 was actually painted gold and was a crude modification of the Corgi DB4, you can see where the die was modified around the headlights for the DB5’s cowled versions. The next DB5, shown in the catalogue page in the article, is the most collectible. It was a completely new die and had rotating number plates and wheel shredders added, but these two features were soon deleted and the wheels became wider plastic versions as per the later Batmobiles. Then Corgi made another slightly larger die in the mid 1970s…
How do I know? I was a collector tragic who not only had the rotating plate DB5, I had it in the rarer blister pack. Plus I had the moonbuggy and red Mustang. All gone now except for a large tinplate DB5, the Corgi Toyota 2000GT and a small Esprit.
Never had a Batmobile. Or the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
My family’s tv did not get but 1 tv channel when I was a kid (we lived in the mountains of rural Pennsylvania), so I never saw the tv Bat-man in it’s first run…..nor did we get Green Hornet.
To me, the movie Bat-mobiles are borderline “cartoonish”. I can understand why the movie producers didn’t want to use a car that resembles the tv car, as that would have served as an “anchor”, and not in a good way. But I tend to believe Bat-man would have used a car more “period correct” and not just a vehicle that was WAAAY larger than life.
Could almost see myself owning a replica of the Green Hornet car.
“Quick, to the Batcave; the lawyers are after us!”
Holy Bat-subpoena, Batman!
Robin: Atomic batteries to power. Turbines to speed!
Batman: Ready to move out!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sBe3QzVW5_8
I’m trying to imagine a team of lawyers and clerks carefully processing the List Of Requirements, applying their usual word-by-word precision to
1. The Switches and Hand-throttle knob for the Turbo-electric Drive.
2. The Bing-Bong Warning Bell and Bat-Light Flasher.
Did they understand that all of this stuff was fictional? That there wasn’t really a Turbo-electric Drive? Did they argue over the correct punctuation of Bing-Bong in the same humorless way that they would normally argue over the commas in Heirs, Legatees, and/or Assignees?
Don’t forget the ” Little rockets built into tubes at the back of the cockpit that fire straight up with a fiery whoosh ” !!!
Fantastic piece, thank you.
I was at the right age for the ’66 TV show, so exciting to a small fry, as was STINGRAY, THUNDERBIRDS etc…..
Loved the AVENGERS too, but a bit too young to fully appreciate Emma Peel. I’d like to think I’ve made amends on that in subsequent years….
Was there ever a more appropriate car for a character than John Steed and his 20s/30s Bentley ??
Heh, we must be close in age. I was a little kid (4 y.o.) when the show came on the air. My oldest brother was a teenager at the time, he was in love with the Avengers. Really not so much the show, just Diana Rigg.
I can see why…
Oooohhh she looks good there. Lee Meriwether played Catwoman in the spinoff Batman movie. Sends me into similar paroxysms of joy.
That Emma Peel still is from “The Hellfire Club” episode, which was never shown in the US during the original run. If my memory is working, its from Ms. Rigg’s first season in the role. I finally got to see it in the early 1980’s, having another collector duplicating me a Betamax copy. Nowadays, I believe all available “Avengers” are on DVD, but back then nothing was commercially available, so you hunted thru video collector networks. Organized thru monthly fanzines (pre-internet).
Yes, this is what we did in the first five years of VCR’s, before there were rental stores, or all the old catalogs put on to tape, or, for that matter, the legal formalities to release the stuff for general viewing. I did a lot of taping and copying. Steven King’s original set of “The Outer Limits” came from one of my machines.
I was fifteen when the show came out. Made it home every Friday night in time for the latest episode.
Including the night I was hit by a car running across the street. Picked myself up, nothing broken, told the old guy driving (it was a ’49 Buick, by the way) that I was ok and ran off before he could stop me. Damned if I was going to be rushed to the hospital and miss the episode.
Out at the same time, and an equal love of mine was “Secret Agent” (in England known as “Dangerman”) starring Patrick McGoohan. Completely preferred it that “Man From UNCLE” crap.
And yes, I became a complete burnout over “The Prisoner.”
Damn. Diana was always one hot babe but, just…damn…
Wow, Don, what an epic article!
I knew the copyright status was in doubt, but I never imagined that it would have ended so poorly for the Gotham Garage guy. You’d think they could find a way to license it to him or something for a small fee.
I am also the right age for the TV show. I was absolutely enamored with Batman and Robin back then. I think I went as Batman at Halloween for five years straight! I so very much wanted a Batmobile, but I wanted modify mine to respond to voice commands. Now it’s a possibility, but I no longer want a 24 foot car.
I saw a few of the movies, but after the Michael Keaton one, I kind of lost interest. In many ways, I don’t “get” all of these new super hero movies, with Batman fighting Superman and all that stuff.
Or maybe I’m getting ready for my grumpy old man phase…
Not sure whether Gotham Garage applied to licence the rights before constructing the cars. Part of Towle’s defence was a ‘laches’ argument – essentially that the rights had lapsed or that they were not sufficiently defined at the time he was building his replicas.
How popular the show was (at first) is indicated by the fact that, in addition to supporting two nights of half-hour episodes per week starting in early 1966, there was enough of an audience to justify the production of the four-villain Batman movie released that summer. I myself saw the movie and still have a souvenir black-and-white photo “autographed” by Adam West and Burt Ward; I was 9.
For me and my contemporaries at the time, the show was lots of fun, as was The Monkees (which began that fall) with its customized GTO.
Embrace it all, guys, truly a golden age. Not just iconic TV (still being re-hashed, badly) , but also the music…Motown…the Beatles etc etc….( re-hashed still )
Nostalgia aint what it used to be…
Dang, has CC devolved to articles written by Sheldon Cooper From The Big Bang Theory?
Seriously, very good article for us who remember with fondness the three B’s from the sixties: Batman, Bond, and the Beatles. FWIW, I always thought the Green Hornet was cooler than Batman.
The above pic tells it all. The Green Hornet could kick Batman’s butt around the block, and Kato could certainly kick Robin’s. And his car is ten times classier.
The problem with the Green Hornet was the producers couldn’t quite figure out how to market the show. It wasn’t ‘camp’ like Batman, so it really didn’t target the same audience. Plus, there was a lack of the wacky villains. Darker and more serious than Batman, it never got a chance to develop and was cancelled after a single season.
Not to mention that Van Williams (who played the Green Hornet) sweated like crazy wearing that overcoat in sunny southern California. I once read they tried it without a traditional suit underneath but it didn’t lay right.
A bit of trivia is that the Green Hornet tv show theme song (Flight of the Bumble Bee) was arranged by none other than Herb Alpert and Ann Margaret.
The Flight of the Bumblebee was arranged by Billy May, and performed by Al Hirt on The Green Hornet.
Good ‘ol Roy Brown. For a few years after retirement he lived in Florida and had the Edsel he had bought new. Most of you know he was the designer of the front end and got demoted for it. However he redeemed himself in 62 with the design of the Cortina. Anyway, he use to say in the 80’s and 90’s people were always asking him if he wanted to sell the Edsel and his stock reply was ” where the hell were you in 58?”.
Hollywood shyster lawyers are currently trying to extradite Kim dot com from NZ for alledged copyright infringement, for the life of me I cant see why American laws pertain to those who live outside its jurisdiction, Not really a batman fan much preferred The Avengers Steed with his Bentley and Emma Peel in a Elan the 70s retread was just awful.
Futura painted red while in Boston on Lincoln Dealer tour for “It Started with a Kiss” movie
a few notes . . .
The Pontiac Club de Mer mentioned by Syke was also available as a Revell kit – at about the same time and in the same size/scale as the Revell Futura.
A very nice die cast model of the Futura was done about 15 years ago by Johnny Lightning and was widely distributed in a variety of colors. It is a nicely finished model of the memorable car.
The Green Hornet car was, obviously to CC readers, a Chrysler Imperial.
What a fascinating dive into pop culture, kustom kars, Hollywood lawyers, and comic books! Funny thing, looking at the poster of Batmobiles reveals – as expected – the best Batmobile designs are the original and The Animated Series version. Unless the sure to be coming soon stand-alone Bat-fleck movie is way better than anticipated BTAS is the definitive Batman on video.
Oh, and any time we see Mrs. Peel as the Queen of Sin its a good thing!
Here’s a guy who built his own! http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/rod-warkentin-builds-batmobile-manitoba-1.3496236
It’s a horrible day when a movie company ruins a car with copyright b’s and some judge upholds it. It was a future first not the batmobile. Judge Lew should be ashamed of his ruling, I know I am ashamed of the fact that he sided with a old series that every person growing up wanted to be when young and so.e people make enough money to get a custom car built for them and a judge spanks the artist that made it possible. SHAME ON ALL OF YOU. AND WARNER BROTHERS YOU LOST ALL OF MY RESPECT AND BUISNESS. ALSO GOES FOR DC.