Batman

Batman (1943) is Lambert Hillyer's black-and-white adventure serial, and you can watch it online on iFILM. This is the very first screen Batman: Lewis Wilson pulls on the cowl decades ahead of every later film version, with Douglas Croft as a boyish Robin at his side.

Fifteen short chapters, each ending on a cliffhanger, chain together into one story that runs past four hours. The villain is Dr. Daka, a spy whose ray can melt walls and turn ordinary people into obedient zombies who carry out his orders across Gotham. The masked pair chases his underground network from one brawl and booby trap to the next.

Made at the height of the war, the serial carries a crude propaganda streak that now plays as a strange artifact of its time. Yet this is where the comics got the Batcave and a slimmed-down Alfred, both of which migrated onto the DC page afterward. Best for fans of vintage cliffhanger cinema and anyone curious about the legend's roots. Stream Batman (1943) online on iFILM.