Silent Shadow of the Bat-Man #2 - Retro 1920s Dark Knight - "The Man Who Laughs"

[alxgunshot]

that Joker is scary...

[AnDr3yOfficial]

This is a batman movie?1920?But batman was invented in 1938

[terminalpictures]

@AnDr3yOfficial You'll find that clicking "show more" and reading the description was invented in 2005

[wtfitsjohn]

pretty nice. joker indeed was creepy

[ThePhantasist]

You know, if a man in flowing black robes with the head of a demon-rat came up to me and said, "Go and be decent" I think I'd have to listen.

[Johnrichardsjazz]

fascinating, great work

[gentlerat]

Makes one truly appreciate the genius of silent films, the worlds and people they created, which still influence us today.

[Maksapihvi]

Love the Scarecrow collage.

[MatthewEscobedo1]

I saw some comments saying this is a fan made film. no it isnt. yes some of the clips are from other silient movie films. but the Shadow of the Bat-man was a real silent film. and it was sorta forgotten. its good people remeber it.

[thomasjaffray]

lol scarecriw looks like an actor picked off the street not really knowing what he's doing

[thomasjaffray]

At first I thought scarecrow had a hunchback

[Lazarusrizing]

That is the scariest- and most accurate portrayal- of the Joker hands down. Only Jack Nicholson came the closest to reproducing that classic clown ghoulishness. Heath will always be in a class by himself, but it was by reinventing the character for the Batman Nolan series. But this guy Conrad Veidt is The Joker!

[X23SSaviourGundam]

@Lazarusrizing the funny (see what I did thar?) thing is, the guy portrayed as "the Joker" is from a movie called "the Smiling Man" who, ironically, th Joker was based off of. Thats why he's eerily the same

[Lazarusrizing]

@X23SSaviourGundam. Oh yeah, man. I know Bob Kane was inspired by that movie. But I think the film was called, "The Laughing Man". Thanks for the note. "Silent Shadow of the Bat-Man..." is one of the last great finds on YouTube. Terminalpictures deserves praise. Would love it if Andre P. would continue it.

[emannuelsparda]

Oooorales, con razón la caracterización de Conrad Veidt fue determinante para la creación del Joker.

[beeniestudios]

this has to be the scariest batman movie ive ever seen

[vassephardi]

Wow, that Joker is really frightening.

Give anybody nightmares. And notice the way he just looks at you right through the camera. Like he knows that you're watching him even after almost a hundred years and he's watching you right back.

[Vortigern99]

You wanna know what's awesome? THIS.

[adrianmolm715]

@Vortigern99 how is is a (false) lie- batman was invented in ’38 or ’39 not 1920’s

besides Inferring that my grandpa was a bastard, and that he didn’t know too much

Too much Inferring

[Vortigern99]

@adrianmolm715 Sure, I'm aware the silent film era pre-dates the 1939 debut of the Batman. But the modern creator/editor of this video has a superb grasp of what the character is and represents. It's fun to see terminapictures edit old silent footage into an ingenious dramatization of the key characters and themes of the Batman series. I don't know a thing about your "grandpa".

[adrianmolm715]

@Vortigern99 batman was invented in ’38 or ’39 not 1920’s,

besides that it is a fake movie, there are to many clips of words, compared to a Charlie Chaplin- the funny movies like The General, ect…

Too much Inferring, for a old movie

[s0what69]

Great Stuff!

More like a horror-movie then a comic.

Batman and Joker looked really great.

[p8ntballerking007]

lol "go and be decent!" he says to a woman lol

[megamads2099]

wow imgine him if he was like alive still and young and with mark hammils joker voice HOLY SHIT blow the hell out of no offense to fans of them but ledger nickleson and remaro, still does sortive since that was the idea of the first joker ever

[Zacatown]

Inspired work. Well done. (Have you watched the remake of this film by the same director, Roland West, called "The Bat Whispers"? It's the source Bob Kane sites as Batman's greatest influence.) Btw, the sets of this movie, "The Bat", were designed by the great WILLIAM CAMERON MENZIES.

[fabsan94]

Ra's Al ghul : first appearance in BATMAN *232*.........in 1971 ! Nice try.

nice mix of old movies and modern texts

[thrownDUMMY]

the batman figure looks weird.....

[beeniestudios]

what the hell is up with 2:12

[Setebos]

The "flaming man" scenes are from the 1910 film version of "Frankenstein", made by none other than the Thomas Edison Company (interesting where we've come in 100 years!). In this context, the scenes are meant to imply a Scarecrow illusion.

[Svasprod]

i like the costume of bat-man here

at least he's not wearing a granny underwear

[beeniestudios]

the joker is so scary in this! just look at that smile

[jflores85]

i thought that ra's al ghul didnt come out until the 70's. how did batman movies be in the 20's if he first appeared in 1939?

[Valisterius]

That Joker may be as diabolical as Heath Ledger!

[DarkAngelSpirit13]

I'm thinking of this as the joker great grandfather vs Batman great grandfather just imagine lol..Yes Batman came a long way to what he is today.

[Poisonfrogg]

YES! .. this is fucking awsome, y did sound have to ruin everything????

Go and be decent!

hahahahaah

[KhinShaider]

Bob Kane probably have no idea what impact his Batman on modern times. He might be proud if he learns 'The Dark Knight' won 2 Oscars.

[WJokerSS]

Woah...I was oddly transfixed by that o.o

[Godfather2049]

I loved this. Especially the end. It is epic & charming in every way pre DARK KNIGHT Batman has ever been.

Frank Miller must make a new THE DARK KNIGHT.

Don't give me shit, everyone knows he's due for another reboot.

In a post George Bush environment.

I haven't read the ATROCITY, but i wish for a deep (meaning meaningful), future...!

[vahn28]

joker is freaking creepy!!! wtf ..

[chaingangsergeant00X]

Lol, "GO AND BE DECENT.......slut....." and what the hell is up with the mask, the ears, the fur, the teeth, I get they were going for the actual look of a bat, but still.

[chaingangsergeant00X]

okay wow that Joker scares the shit out of me, dark, scary, silent movies always creep me out, no one talks, just creepy music and the faces, look at this joker, heath ledger's joker was by far the best performed, but he didn't really scare me, he was too awesome for me to be scared, but this guy actually scares the shit out of me, when u get to :30 seconds, freeze it, look at the face, the toothy grin, the squinty eyes, the ghost white face, scary shit.

[xAkira1987x]

Trall'altro Bob Kan si è ispirato proprio a L'uomo che Ride per creare Joker.

[deepseadirt]

Bob Kane & the late Forrest Ackerman were boys when these classic silents were made. The films left indelible impressions on them.

"The Man Who Laughs" was a lost film for many years.

[Lurvy1963]

These silent films certainly had some influence on Bob Kane when he created Batman and his adversaries back in the late 1930s and 1940s. The Man Who Laughs character was definitely what inspired him to create The Joker. So it seems that Conrad Veidt was the first actor to play Batman's #1 arch nemesis.

[hbkx5]

dude these are fakes and batman was an original work of art by bob kane

[Lurvy1963]

You misunderstood what I meant. I know these are not the actual characters created by Bob Kane, I'm saying that silent movie characters like Dr. Caligula, The Man Who Laughs and The Bat Creeps were inspirations for Bob Kane when he created The Penquin, The Joker and The Batman a whole decade later. Another idea Bob got for creating Batman was Douglas Fairbank's portrayal of Zorro in The Mark Of Zorro.

[hbkx5]

the last part is true along with him partly being based off of the shadow, the other stuff like the joker and penguin im not so sure about it could be true but i'll have to get back to you on that......also sorry that i was rude to you earlier

[JluvzT]

Yes, all of that is true and well chronicled in many of the books on the creation of Batman.

This is a really clever fan film.

[JaredThaJa]

Dick Tracey was an influence as well.

What films are The Penguin and Catwoman?

[Lurvy1963]

I guess Dick Tracy provided the square jawed image of Batman as well as you say he did. The Penquin influence came from Dr. Caligari from The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari because of his bulky appearance complete with spectacles and a top hat. The Catwoman inspiration. Hmm. I wish this old footage from silent movie classics gave me more clues to which film gave Mr. Kane an idea to create Catwoman. I would definitely tell you if it did. Does anyone know?

[JaredThaJa]

well what I meant was which film is the clip used for Catwoman in this video from?

[Lurvy1963]

I have found it!!! Bob Kane's influence to create Catwoman was Duchess Josiana from The Man Who Laughs. If you don't believe me, check out all video shorts involving Conrad Veidt's performance as Gwenplaine, the character that hepled Bob Kane to create The Joker.

[gabsylv]

are you serious or joking?

[bandcouver]

Joking because you saw The Man Who Laughs? No! I am serious! Bob Kane said in an interview years ago that he got his inspirations from many of the silent horror movie classics. If you don't believe me, take a really good look at films like The Man Who Laughs and The Bat Creeps. I am telling you they led to the creation of The Joker and The Batman.

[gmarx0]

When Bob Kane and Bill Finger created The Joker, Finger supplied Kane with a movie still of Conrad Veidt from "The Man Who Laughs" as a model for Kane to draw from. There's a panel in Batman #1 that looks like it was copied directly from the still. Finger kept a file cabinet of movie stills to use as backgrounds and models.

[chaomonga]

@bandcouver funniest thing about "the man who laughs": the charakter in that movie was acutally a sensible, good guy. he just looked scary.

but no one can deny that he was a profound influence on the creation of the joker.

[Lurvy1963]

Looks like bandcouver agrees with me. Just watch a few old horror movie classics from the silent era of the 1920s. I'm sure even Lon Chaney's memorable performance as The Phantom Of The Opera inspired a comic book villain for someone else like The Man Who Laughs and The Bat Creeps did for Bob Kane.

[Lurvy1963]

By the way, my apologizes for misspelling helped as hepled. Enjoy your research!

[DavePlissken]

Hahahahaha!!! The man in 00:47 is not Oswald Cobblepot... is doctor Caligari!!!

[DavePlissken]

and Catwoman, I think, comes from Fritz Lang's "Metropolis"...

[HotRootBeer]

very good editing and I love the music it fits so well

5 stars but I wish I could give you more lol

[AintRealProductions]

Batman Come out in 1939 and in the 20s

[Luciie1993]

I think that these short films you have made using clips from classic silent cinema are, and I think that these are the only words adequate to describe them, "Pure genius". Your cutting of them and putting them together to re-create the mythos of Batman using the characters is impeccable.

[bowuthegreatdemon]

Hahahahaha

You used Dr.Galligar lol

Nice

[HaisleySnook]

Great to see Conrad Veidt as The Joker. :-)

[yoda55]

Did robin ever appear in this silent movie thing for batman? If he did he might of looked like an actual bird lol.

[Bobzeaux]

I was gonna say, Conrad Veight's in this, right? *lol*

Where did you get Edison's Frankenstein?

[Bobzeaux]

Veidt, excuse me. :P

[henkman00]

wait wait, the Scarecrow is from Wizard of Oz. so this is fan made? could have fooled me!

[Bobzeaux]

Not fan-MADE, but man-edited. That Scarecrow is from one of the silent Oz films that L. Frank Baum himself directed. These are all clips from real movies.

[henkman00]

man-edited?

i think i did see movies that where monkey-edited.

(lol)

very cool vid! what Batman would look like in the 20s...

[Bobzeaux]

Woah... That's embarassing... O_O

FAN-edited. FAN! *lol*

[terminalpictures]

Little known fact: Charlie Rose wasn't involved in any way despite his lack of much to do beside brood miserably in his black-curtained limbo set.

[Bobzeaux]

My silent movie knowledge is only so-developed. ;P Who's Charlie Rose?

[terminalpictures]

Who is he? He's the guy googling his name now and crying when he finds out that the youth of America DON'T EVEN KNOW WHO HE IS. Count yourself lucky and pray to dear god you never see him late one night on PBS.

[Dystopiaman]

If you ever plan to introduce Batwoman, check out a French serial called Les Vampires

[Setebos]

for the Catwoman I would also suggest the title character from 1930's "Madam Satan".

[Setebos]

the Joker here is very reminiscent of the way he was originally depicted in the comics. nice job!

[GodOfPlague]

Thats because the original joker was based on the clown you see in this movie. I believe it was called the man who laughs. also the title of the bad moon rising series retelling of the first joker story.

[pateekes]

that joker will give me nightmares. He's the creepiest version I ever saw

[spyhunter178]

Holy ****! This is borderline HAUNTING! I can't believe it, Great Job mate!

[crimsomcherry]

hahaha "go and be decent!"

[GodOfPlague]

That line made laugh so hard it hurt.

[3investigators]

oh you little genius - I'm loving this!

[ZenWolfDances]

Brilliant and great fun! This may be the birth of a whole new artform.

You may have already considered this, but if not, can I suggest sampling Catwoman footage from the classic French film "Les Vampires" (1915)? The character "Irma Vep" is a cat burglar who spends a good deal of time prowling/leaping around on rooftops in a black bodysuit.

[terminalpictures]

Yeah, I've been working it into the last chapter mondo confuso finale, but only have a cruddy copy of only a few of the "Les Vampires" episodes... I need to find some better copies.

[ZenWolfDances]

Don't know if it helps, but the movie is available (in various tints) here on YouTube and on GoogleVideo.

[terminalpictures]

Pretty compressed, but I'll see if I can rip it and whip it into jelly. Hifi copies of the whole shebang would be lovely, there's a nice character there that would be spiffy for "The Monk"

[ZenWolfDances]

Good luck - looking forward to the grand finale.

[IamHLO]

this is probably a little known attempt to make batman on a lower budget after the 40's. this is why it is in black and white.

[garyeberly916]

I liked it, may I ask where you got the musical score?

[terminalpictures]

From the synthesizer by the bed operated by professionals and supervised by cats.

[garyeberly916]

I'd love to get an mp3 of it, it's very good

[terminalpictures]

the team thanks you for your interest and will develop a solution to this problem shortly. Thank you for supporting Chevron, and please continue enjoying delicious gasoline products.

[terminalpictures]

Besides, I happen to know my creativity is somewhere in the attic amidst filth and squirrels. I'm saving it for a rainy day, in the meantime you'll have to settle for these dreary, soulless examples of boredom.

[TheGoldenPocket]

Wow, creepy.

[CarrollsMadHatter]

Oh yeah, you're not creative. Sorry to break it to you douche.

[GMSpectre]

Amazing. Great editing and choice of clips.

[CarrollsMadHatter]

Did Kane ever get sued? The Joker is a blatant rip off of Viedt's character (not that I'm not glad he did).

[jeinfalt2059]

This is a fake cause the guy that they say is Ra's Al Ghul is actually Dr. Daka from the 1943 Columbia pictures serial. Nice try, PLUS how can this be from the 1920's if batman wasnt created until 1939?

[terminalpictures]

How could somebody not bother to read all those big globs of text around the video that explain all of this? Good job with the investigation, Columbo.

[pamcakegirl]

Really, this is a fake.. It is not the REAL batman.. these are just clips from other movies! DO your research Moron! He created a movie based on other film clips. Your an ass, I will tell Batman you said HI! .... STUPID !

I an the woMAN WHO LAUGHS! do you get it ... look it up stupid!

[jeinfalt2059]

ok so I failed to read the "whole" information behind it.. seriously?! you get butt hurt over a little comment on youtube?! Who lit the fuse on your tampon. i will give credit to terminal pictures it is very well produced, but seriously, get a freaking life if you get upset over 'mistakes' typical women, blowing things out of proportion

[pamcakegirl]

I apologize for my strong words before. I certainly would not want to be to so callous as to refer to someone to, lets say, a tampon. I'll just point out how naive one would be to write off Terminal Pictures film as a "Nice Try" without realizing its incredibly choices, such as using Conrad Veidt clips (an inspiration for the Joker) & The Bat Whispers clips that impressed Bob Kane. By the way, to save you time which OBVIOUSLY should be used elsewhere, Bob Kane is the creator of Batman.

[nymetsfan9121]

yo this joker is scary

[Tazahill]

is this real? if not who cares this should be a part of the bat man movie,maybe where bruse is at at shrink and explain a dream he has,he says-its like my whole life is some really bad silent movie that all wrong,people,places,faces times all wrong but adding up to what I'v become. As he describes the dream this could be shown! the shrink would have to know his identity

[MollyRen]

*applauds*

You hit on that strange amorphous place I think of as "silent movies"--the quirky film cuts, the corny dialogue, the sheer weirdness--and turned it all onto something new! Can't wait for the next mystery play!

[Actionguy1]

This is a very clever piece of work! Very well thought out and researched! Like an "Elseworlds" story!

Great editing!

I'm impressed!

Thank you!

[Koyaanitsqatsi]

so the original batman is dark and scary, not that 60's shit series. and i hate robin, he should die...AGAIN!

[Mozzy126]

This is a little creepy to watch but its what Bob Kane intended and the the other guy who created batman but doesn't get any credit worth shit.

[Actionguy1]

Mozzy126: Thank you for mentioning "the other guy" who was responsible for creating Batman! His name was Bill Finger. And he most definitely got "the finger!" Bob Kane royally screwed the guy! Kane tried to take the credit for creating The Joker too, but more logical heads intervened and now that credit is given to Mr. Jerry Robinson!

Check out the current issue of Wizard Magazine (#202) The whole story is in that issue.

Long live the memory of Batman's co-creator, Bill Finger!

[ErikHeroin]

dam, id top that joker off as the best, better than heath, better than Cesar, and abviously better than jack!!!!! holy shit this joker fits the part

[tooty321]

i agree

[jokeris1]

That is actually Conrad Veidt from The Man Who Laughs. It was his character, Gwynplaine, who inspired the eerie and menacing look of The Joker.

[lelvish1]

This is very well done!

[BetaFett]

heh, like a certain Mr Cesar Romero, Mayhap?

[BetaFett]

This is pretty cool. It's just absolutely drenched in atmosphere. Makes me wish someone would do a gotham by gaslight type flick now with the Joker. BTW, anyone know if the 'Joker' footage is from The Man Who Laughs?

[chevalover06]

lol this is fucking weird

[slimeonthedimes]

for some reason this is disturbing

[SurpentineSacrifice]

its the creepy atmosphere. its dark, and batman actually looks like a bat, lol!

[rsdmj]

Amazing Video. Good Job!!!!

[TheEnviousParrotHead]

The Penguin was Dickens to the max! You've quite an eye.

[terminalpictures]

Somebody complained he was Ben Franklin. Pretty obvious where that Burton guy got some ideas from, anyway.

[infinityproject]

The penguin is Dr. Caligari. It's a german expressionist film from the 1920's.

[KSRothwell]

Oh, I misunderstood,I thought this was a recient creation. After doing a google on Conrad Veidt I see now he's passed on long ago. This was very cool though, none-the-less.

[terminalpictures]

Yep, you can see they based early Joker art on that mug.

[KSRothwell]

Pretty amazing! I enjoyed very much. The Joker was quite creepy!  Though, I've got to say, the bat-man costume leave something to be desired for me.

Though, don't get me wrong, this is endlessly creative and really hope to see more.

And again I say, the Joker was wicked looking, I really enjoyed him a lot.

[okendido]

I'd like to see the woman of ill repute make comeback in the next batman movie.

[terminalpictures]

I'll get a shovel, you call Nolan.

[artfuldodga]

Wow, both parts were epic!

[spinozafan]

Conrad Veidt is amazing