Orson Wells' Batman POD

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I know that the story of Orson Wells wanting to do a Batman movie was a April fool joke on the internet.
So the story that he wanted to do a Shadow Motion Picture. (It was created for Max Allan Collin's War of the World Murder)

Still can any one come up with a realist POD that results in Wells doing either?
Why would a studio Head let a man who was doing Major films like Citizen Kane, drop down to do what would have been at best a B class movie?
 
Well, the problems with these trailers are:

1: Wells' contract was with RKO. DC comcs' movie and serial license was with FOX until Warner Brothers bought them out in 1972. The first Superman, Aquaman, and Batman cartoons were made by Filmation, not then-Warner subsidiary Hanna-Barberra.

2: Oswald Cobblepot, AKA Penguin, was a themed smash-and-grab villain (A supervillain sensu-strictu), not a Dillinger-style Bank Robber/Safecracker or bootlegger. He didn't gain his current mobster persona until Chuck Dixon's Batman run in 1996. Not even Denny O'Neil or Frank Miller wrote him that way.

3: The actor used to portray The Joker was already dead by 1946.

4: Police Commisioner Jim Gordon and Chief O'Malley were created for the '60s TV Show. If Bruce needs an ally in the Gotham City establishment, Wells would probably have chosen Harvey Dent, so that he could have had Two-Face in a sequel.
 
What about this scenario?

When the stage musical Around the World in Eighty Days production runs out of money, Wells convinces Columbia president Harry Cohn to finance the show. To get the money, Wells agrees to a film for Cohn for free. The musical is a success. During a dinner with Wells, Cohn talks about Columbia's serials. (Cohn believed strongly in the format. Columbia produced serials long after other studios stopped.) Between the alcohol and Wells' good mood over the musical's success, he agrees to a serial like film of Cohn's choosing. Cohn chooses Batman.

In OTL, the musical was a failure and the film was The Lady from Shanghai.
 
Well, the problems with these trailers are:

1: Wells' contract was with RKO. DC comcs' movie and serial license was with FOX until Warner Brothers bought them out in 1972. The first Superman, Aquaman, and Batman cartoons were made by Filmation, not then-Warner subsidiary Hanna-Barberra.

2: Oswald Cobblepot, AKA Penguin, was a themed smash-and-grab villain (A supervillain sensu-strictu), not a Dillinger-style Bank Robber/Safecracker or bootlegger. He didn't gain his current mobster persona until Chuck Dixon's Batman run in 1996. Not even Denny O'Neil or Frank Miller wrote him that way.

3: The actor used to portray The Joker was already dead by 1946.

4: Police Commisioner Jim Gordon and Chief O'Malley were created for the '60s TV Show. If Bruce needs an ally in the Gotham City establishment, Wells would probably have chosen Harvey Dent, so that he could have had Two-Face in a sequel.

Yes I know there are problems with these Trailers. I just enjoy them and posted them for the enjoyment of other on this board.
I never meant for them to be the basis of a Well's Batman.

All of you points are generally corect except the First one Republic Pictures tried to get the Rights to Superman in 1940, but Paramount had them with the Animated Shorts being made by Fleischer Studio. They rewrote the script as The Mysterious Doctor Satan. Another attempt by Republic also failed in 1941.
Sam Katzman got the Rights to Superman in 1947. He sold them to Columbia studio which had done A Batman Serial in 1943 and then Batman and Robin a few years latter.

As I understand it, the reason more DC heroes did not get made in Serials is because National Comics, which became DC in 1944 wanted to have more say in the creation of the films. The Problems was that after WW2 studios were spending Less and Less on their Serials and DC often were making demands that the studios refuse to spend the money on.

Comlumbia spend the money on Superman because it was a Known product.
Fox would not get involve until the Production of The Batman TV in the 196o's
 
4: Police Commisioner Jim Gordon and Chief O'Malley were created for the '60s TV Show. If Bruce needs an ally in the Gotham City establishment, Wells would probably have chosen Harvey Dent, so that he could have had Two-Face in a sequel.

O'Malley was invented for the show--Gordon showed up in the first Batman comic.
 
Warning
batman_by_lurch_jr-da3wc57.png
 
there was actual proposal for The Man from Mars while Welles was trying to settle on first film, some attempt to capitalize on notoriety from War of the Worlds broadcast (have never seen any real details.)
 

Geon

Donor
O'Malley was invented for the show--Gordon showed up in the first Batman comic.

Having been a fan of the show I need to point out the name of the character was Chief O'Hara and not Chief O'Malley.

Also, in reply to Nick's posting - I think Cagney would make a better Joker. If you saw him in White Heat you know what I'm talking about!
 

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I have a lot of time for this. Batman would have been darker, sooner. The Caped Crusader in a Touch of Evil style noir thriller!
 
Having been a fan of the show I need to point out the name of the character was Chief O'Hara and not Chief O'Malley.

Also, in reply to Nick's posting - I think Cagney would make a better Joker. If you saw him in White Heat you know what I'm talking about!

I didn't make the poster, just the info box.
 
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