REEL RETRO CINEMA | 13th Dimension, Comics, Creators, Culture

Jan31

The Sweet Diversion of 1980’s HERO AT LARGE

Posted by Dan Greenfield on Jan 31, 2021

The Sweet Diversion of 1980’s HERO AT LARGE

REEL RETRO CINEMA: New looks at old flicks and their comic-book connections… — UPDATED 1/31/21: Usually, when we re-present a story or column there’s a particular reason. In this case, it’s because I was just thinking about this movie and figured, hey, why not? Dig this piece from 2019, which holds up just as well today. — Dan — A little while back, we published Rob Kelly’s REEL RETRO CINEMA column on 1981’s Condorman, a superhero movie that really wasn’t. (Click here.) It reminded me of another superhero movie that wasn’t, from the same era – 1980’s Hero at Large. I never saw Hero at Large in the theater but it was in heavy rotation on HBO at just the right time and, given the adolescent I was, I fell in love with it. It always struck me as a sort of Bizarro Universe version of Superman: The Movie – the Captain Avengermania seen in the film appeared to be inspired by the popularity of Richard Donner’s flick, and the two had similar atmospheres, since each was filmed in the gritty, exciting New York City of the period. Anyway, here’s Rob’s take on a longtime favorite that deserves another look… — Dan — By ROB KELLY Superheroes in live action were a real thing in the mid-to-late 1970s, reaching their peak (in more ways than one) with 1978’s Superman. Doc Savage, Spider-Man, Wonder Woman, Captain America, the Incredible Hulk, Dr. Strange, and even original creations like the Greatest American Hero donned tights and fought for truth and justice on the big and small screens. Coming on the tail end of this trend was 1980’s Hero at Large, starring sitcom megastar John Ritter as Steve Nichols, a struggling actor living in New York City, who finds himself a hero to many in his role of the costumed superhero Captain Avenger. Steve is a nice guy; maybe too nice to survive in the cutthroat world that was (is?) the New York City acting scene. Early in the film Steve has lunch with his grizzled old agent (veteran character actor Allan Rich), who is aghast when he learns that Steve gave away a part in a commercial to a fellow actor friend. Steve believes, truly, that one day his friend will return the favor, and generally seems to have a sunny, optimistic...

Jan28

1943’s BATMAN Serial: The Highs and Lows of the Dynamic Duo’s Screen Debut

Posted by Dan Greenfield on Jan 28, 2021

1943’s BATMAN Serial: The Highs and Lows of the Dynamic Duo’s Screen Debut

Actor Lewis Wilson was born 101 years ago. Dig this INSIDE LOOK at Batman’s first time on celluloid… — UPDATED: 1/28/21: The late actor Lewis Wilson — the first person to play Batman on screen — was born 101 years ago on Jan. 28, 1920. This piece first ran during last year’s ROBIN WEEK, but it’s as relevant now as it was then. Dig it. — Dan — Welcome to ROBIN WEEK! One of the greatest heroes in comics history debuted 80 years ago this month — and we’re celebrating with a series of features saluting the Boys, Girls and Teens Wonder. For the complete index of features, click here. — It’s ROBIN WEEK, so it only made sense to take a look at the Boy Wonder’s first time on screen — which, of course, was Batman’s first time on screen, as well. Dig this look back at 1943’s Batman serial, by REEL RETRO CINEMA columnist Rob Kelly: By ROB KELLY DC Comics’ Dynamic Duo made their live-action debut in Columbia Pictures’ 15-chapter 1943 movie serial Batman, starring Lewis Wilson as Batman/Bruce Wayne, Douglas Croft as Robin/Dick Grayson, and J. Carrol Naish as the nefarious criminal mastermind Dr. Daka. Dr. Who? More on him in a minute. As we have already covered in other movie serial-centric profiles for REEL RETRO CINEMA, movie studios barely seemed to care about the source material when translating comic book characters to live action. In Batman, our heroes are straight up officially sanctioned government agents who are on the lookout for Japanese saboteurs following the attack on Pearl Harbor. After Bruce Wayne’s girlfriend Linda (Shirley Patterson) tells Bruce that her uncle has been kidnapped, the investigation discovers it’s the work of Dr. Daka, who has a plan to steal Gotham City’s radium supply so he can use it to power his ray gun that can dissolve anything. Daka sends his goons to get the radium, and it’s up to Batman and Robin to stop them. But Daka (and the screenwriters) have come up with an interesting twist: accompanying the henchmen is a sort of zombie that Daka controls via an electronic brain implant! After Batman and Robin apprehend one of Daka’s goons, they oh-so-subtly suggest that the real live bats fluttering around “the Bat’s Cave” are hungry. The terrified goon gives up the secret that...

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