The numbers of his army of henchman thinned by the intervention of Batman and Robin, Japanese spy and agent provocateur Dr. Daka (J. Carrol Naish) begins recruiting new minions from the Gotham City underworld. The opportunities for advancement from within the nefarious League of the New Order prompt the Batman (Lewis Wilson) to doff his cape and cowl to take on the guise of a down-at-heel ex-boxer looking for easy money. Haunting the riverfront Sphinx Club, drinking hole-of-choice for Daka's bodyguards and goon squad, "Chuck White" ingratiates himself with the gang and is invited to act as muscle when the New Order receives a clandestine shipment of stolen radium - the very element required to complete an atom disintegrator capable of bringing the United States government to its knees before the might of Imperial Japan. Batman director Lambert Hillyer had, earlier in his career, directed a pair of stylish horror/sci-fi thrillers for Universal Pictures - Dracula's Daughter and The Invisible Ray -- but was best known for his many low budget westerns. One of Hollywood's most prolific directors of prairie shoot-em-ups (only Lesley Selander had more to his credit), Hillyer was a dab hand at choreographing the many punch-outs, shoot-outs, knock-outs, and crack-ups that make Batman exciting matinee fare. Hillyer retired from feature directing in 1949 to try his luck in the emerging medium of television, ultimately helming many episodes of such weekly series as I Led 3 Lives, The Cisco Kid, and Highway Patrol.

By Richard Harland Smith