This entry is based on a post I made to a thread at rpg.net a couple of years ago. Using the Orson Welles Batman hoax as a starting point, we were throwing around ideas as to what a serious Batman film from the era would look like. I've salvaged my response here not only to save it from the eventual board purge but because of its new topicality. Of course, since I originally wrote this, Christopher Nolan has gone on to make a comic book noir far better than anything I could have dreamed up.
A Batman film done by Fox would be very different than one by Warners or Universal. MGM wouldn't touch the property with a 10 ft pole. Ironically enough, Warner Brothers, future owner of DC Comics, would probably be the best fit. Warners was the home of the gangster melodrama in the 30's and 40's, and my imaginary Batman film is dark and dangerous. Here's what I came up with for the cast of a 1948 WB film.
Claude Rains as Alfred Pennyworth. Rains was a tremendous talent and a great supporting actor. Classy, wry, subtle, and English - he's perfect for the part.
Pat O'Brien as James Gordon. O'Brien specialized in cops and priests, and O'Brien could bring a little of each to the role of Gotham's staunchest defender of the Law.
Victor Mature as Harvey Dent. Pretty enough to play "Adonis" Dent, big enough to pose a believable threat. Mature's best work was in noir, and I'd think he'd shine in the role.
(Ideally, I'd have gone with Errol Flynn. Flynn fits the classically handsome criteria and would have the audience on his side from the moment he appears on screen, which would make his fall from grace that much more heart-rending. It's a bit too much of a stretch, however. While Flynn longed for juicier roles, I can't see WB casting him as a villain in a comic-book noir.)
Burt Lancaster as Bruce Wayne. Lancaster was just starting out at the time, catching his big break in 1946's The Killers. He's a great physical presence and can play smooth and brooding and flamboyant and sometimes all three at once. Furthermore, with his circus background, he's capable of doing a lot of Batmanesque stunts himself.
Richard Widmark as The Joker. Sure, it's type-casting. But his turn in Kiss of Death set the standard for giggling psychopaths.
I like [other posters' suggestions of] Edward G. Robinson as the Penguin and Veronica Lake as Poison Ivy. I can also see James Cagney as the Riddler; while Frank Gorshin's portrayal of the character is based primarily on Widmark, there's more than a little Cagney in there as well, especially in the hand gestures. I am stuck on casting a good leading lady, however.
And the whole shebang is directed by Michael Curtiz, of course.
Here's a quick 'shop done by the guy who started the original thread to give us an idea of Eddie G. as Oswald Cobblepot:
Yeah, I can see it.
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