User Reviews

This is one strange little movie.Happened to pick up an english subtitled version of this one.It is known as Batwoman and was released during the Batman craze.Somehow DC comics didn't sue for the use of the name. Maybe because it was never really released in the USA.

Anyway a mad scientist is wanting to create a race of super gill men.He uses the glands of wrestlers because they are "perfect".I don't write them I just watch them.Wrestlers are winding up dead all over Acapulco so the call goes out for that mysterious crime fighter BATWOMAN!

She has the Batman cape, cowl and boots. Only Batman doesn't wear a bikini.I kept waiting for her to pop out of it during all of the violent fight scenes.No such luck guys.

The doctor succeeds in creating a gill man. Batwoman tosses acid in the scientist's face.He wants revenge and wants to make her into a gill woman.Will he accomplish the dastardly deed?Tune in tomorrow!Same bat time, same bat channel.

This is an average movie.Best thing to do is just turn your brain off, enjoy the local Acapulco scenery and while away 90 minutes watching this.

To wrestle she uses a Bat-suit. Only to save the world she wears the smallest bikini...

A mad scientist (who else?) tries to breed a mutant being between fish and wrestlers!!! To see how it works drops a Ken doll in a fish tank where a goldfish swims happily and nothing happens. Of course nothing will happen, he need to use real people in his experiments, not dolls!

As more and more experiments fail, mutant dead bodies are found on the beach and this is the time for the bat-signal! Bat-woman with her statuesque body, brief bikini and lethal karate moves will take care of that crazy Doctor Frankenfish...

Mr. René Cardona only wanted to take advantage of the Bat-craze during the Batman high peak, with his version of the hero in the shape of a beautiful woman, Maura Monti... and he got it.

Basically just a Santo movie with a female wrestler in the lead nipping like Santo in a sports car about the glamorous backdrop of Acapulco without ever attracting the attention of traffic cops or the public. Currently dropping in is the diabolical Dr Eric Williams (what kind of name is that for a mad scientist, even if he does have an assistant called Igor?), who travels the world in a yacht called Reptilicus harvesting wrestlers to provide components for his prototype fish-man Pisces (who rewards his master by putting more effort into clobbering Williams' goons than fighting The Batwoman).

Crime-fighting heroine Gloria is supposedly a millionairess who moonlights as the masked superheroine The Batwoman; keeping herself in trim when not fighting bad guys as a pro woman wrestler. (The bodysuit and trunks she wears to wrestle being far more becoming of a superheroine than the beach party bikini and cape she adopts a couple of times in the movie - and for the poster- as The Batwoman.) Like Yvonne Craig in the TV series, Maura Monti is far tastier without that stupid cowl covering her hair; and in the film's best (and probably most expensive) sequence she does battle underwater with Pisces wearing just a one-piece, after which Dr.Williams and Igor both get a good look at her without her mask without anyone being remotely concerned.

"The Batwoman" ("La Mujer Murcielago") is a very strange film. It's part luchador film (a VERY popular genre in Mexican films of the era) and part knockoff of Batman (which was VERY popular on American TV at the time). I suppose DC Comics could have tried to sue, but why bother?

The film begins with yet another dead luchador (Mexican wrestler) being discovered in the water off of Acapulco. It seems it's the fifth such dead wrestler and each had their 'pineal juices' removed....if there is such a thing. I know there's the pineal gland in the skull. At a loss as to what to do next, the Mexican official contact the FBI and the FBI call in their secret weapon...Batwoman! Batwoman is a rich sexy lady who excels in nearly everything...including crime fighting and wrestling!

Seeing gorgeous Maura Monti running about in skimpy bikinis throughout the film is nicer than seeing the more rotund Santo or Blue Demon (popular luchadors in films in the 60s and 70s)....though it's just as utterly ridiculous. What also is utterly ridiculous is the mad scientist's creation using these pineal juices....a half-man/half-goldfish who is the scientist's personal killing machine!

So is this any good? No....though a I said before, Monti is quite lovely to look at (hence a score as high as I gave the film), but the story itself is weird and silly. It's good for a laugh or two but otherwise is an utterly ridiculous superheroine film.

Greetings And Salutations, and welcome to my review of The Batwoman; here's the breakdown of my ratings:

Story: 1.25 Direction: 1.00 Pace: 1.00 Acting: 1.25 Enjoyment: 1.00

TOTAL: 5.50 out of 10.00

Even today, when I watch Batman 66: The Movie, I find it hard to believe somebody considered jumping on this bandwagon, even though the series was a massive success. So imagine my surprise when I came across this little Mexican picture. It screamed out for me to have a peek. And even though the silliness is still evident, especially in the costume department, these moviemakers decided to play it for realism. And it comes off slightly better than its male hero counterpart. Though I did miss lines like, "Someday's it's hard to get rid of a bomb!"

The writer, Alfredo Salazar, brings us the tale of the Mad Scientist trying to create the perfect human crossbreed. He wants his creation to have dominion of the seas, so he splices man's DNA with a fish. It's a strenuous transformation, and his mutations don't always survive. Therefore, he has his henchmen kidnap wrestlers in peak condition. Their disappearances and the rediscovery of their corpses become the police's number one priority. Unfortunately, they get nowhere with their investigations and have to bring in a third party to help them. Enter The Batwoman. In every respect, except for a few principal alterations, she is the female Bruce Wayne. One of the changes is that the authorities know her secret identity. Another is the dismissal of Alfred the Butler and Robin the Boy Wonder. They are replaced by her handlers-come-coworkers-come-friends, Tony and Mario, who work for different police agencies. Will she be able to terminate the doctor's evil plans in time, or is she the missing piece that will solve his puzzle? The plotline is basic DC sci-fi fantasy stuff of the 60s, and it's an enjoyable enough romp. However, it did need more comedic elements. The narrative doesn't cry out for it - the movie does.

Though Salazar provides us with a reasonable tale, the director, Rene Cordona, decided to stay with some of the more camp trademarks of the film and series. The Batwoman's attire is one of the chief issues. When she's wrestling in the ring, she dons a complete outfit, sans cape, similar to Batman's. However, when she's outside the ring, say, walking down the street and into police HQ, she assumes a skimpy two-piece bikini, Avec cape - Thank God they didn't get Adam West into speedos for most of his scenes. Then we get to the Evil Doctors mutation - who I fondly call Goldfish-Man or Carp-Kid. They have basically painted The Creature From The Black Lagoon's costume a lovely goldy-orange colour. Even though it's very comic'ish it's not too fearsome. They shouldn't have wasted money on the paint; he was scarier green. That said, Cordona isn't too bad a director. For a 60s moviemaker, he's pretty decent at capturing the fight scenes - which are better than the simple slugfests of its counterpart. And because the fights are more choreographed, they don't need the POW! CRASH! BOP! Exploding captions.

The actors and actresses are engaging in their performances. Though the characters are a tad two-dimensional, which was the case with comics back then, the cast does their best to instil extra life and credibility in them. Sadly, it doesn't always work out. But on the plus side, none of the cast is atrocious.

On the whole, The Batwoman is an agreeable and enjoyable flick worth one viewing, especially if you're a DC comic book fan - like me. It doesn't make my Guilty Pleasures list like Batman 66 does, but it's a different take on the hero and worth an hour and twenty minutes of your time - particularly on a lazy Sunday morning while you're munching on your breakfast.

Holy Carp-Kid Batwoman, it's time to check out my Holding Out For A Hero, The Final Frontier, and The Game Is Afoot lists to see where I ranked The Batwoman.

Take Care & Stay Well.

Batgirl is a rich woman that fights crime disguised with a mask in order to hide her secret identity. OK, you know that story, it's the same as Batman's. Indeed, her mask, cloak and car are very similar to the ones that Adam West wears and uses in the classic TV series. Though, this Batgirl is neither Barbara Gordon, commissioner Gordon's daughter, nor any other heroine created by DC Comics. This one is a Mexican pro wrestler! You can call her "Mujer Murciélago", "Bat Woman" in Spanish. Few people knows the true identity of this marvelous crime fighter who lives in Mexico City and works as a special agent for the police. As many luchadores are being mysteriously murdered in Acapulco, local police calls a special agent who contacts her as a partner to solve the case. Off course this is not a great film and does not have an innovative plot, but it is certainly not bad either. As a matter of fact, it is not very different from the stories of Batman's adventures from the 60's, as it is intended to get a ride in its success, although it is much less campy than Batman & Robin series or feature movie from that decade. In Mexican "La Mujer Murciélago", there is an archvillain who is a mad scientist with a dire laugh who lives in a yacht called Reptilicus - very cartoonish, isn't it? Guess what is the name of his assistant: Igor, the same used in many Frankenstein films! During the movie, the mad scientist, Dr. Williams, acquires a Two-Face appearance while fighting Batgirl, but not the coin-flipping craziness. While analyzing this movie, it is unavoidable to mention that Maura Monti, the Italian actress who portrays the heroine with big breasts and long eyelashes, is extremely beautiful. Unsurprisingly, there is some exploitation in the movie, showing her in bikini very often - yes, a masked Batgirl in bikini! -, but at least there are no nude or sex scenes, which are common in sexploitation B movies. The masked heroine, besides her wrestling skills, is also a super athlete and a diver. She also has gadgets and is very clever, like Adam West's Batman, being able to find solutions unrelated to her fighting and athletic abilities. Among the movie's flaws, I may mention that soundtrack is very bad and acting is not the most inspired. Piscis, the amphibious monster created by Dr. Williams, is quite ridiculous (though, not more than the monsters from Japanese "tokusatsu" and "super sentai" TV shows), basically a red version of the Sleestak from "Land of the Lost". The stuntwoman in the wrestling scenes has a very different body from Maura Monti, not convincing that she is the same person, in spite of the face being hidden by the mask. And the last but not least: come on, it is nonsense that a super heroine screams and faints in panic when she sees the monster (who she had already known!)! The final scene is also silly and sexist, but the film is overall amusing, much better than one may initially expect.

...Otherwise, this is a pretty direct rip-off of Batman, with a "Creature from the Black Lagoon" monster and plot device.

It's not particularly directly funny, but if you are a fan of camp then there's some quite entertaining stuff going on and some surprisingly good underwater action scenes - not in the same league as "Thunderball", but clearly more-than-zero budget stuff. The wrestling itself is pretty laughable but not for comic reasons and the "car chase" is pathetic - although the plot occasionally makes some sort of sense in its own way.

If you are in the right mood, it's quite fun - and worth a look.

No slouch when it comes to creating vastly entertaining psychotronic celluloid, René Cordona's Acalpulco-set sizzler 'The Batwoman' is a batso bonkers B-Movie marvel. Generously packed with more voluptuously pulse-pounding thrills than Batwoman's agreeably eye-poppingly bodacious bikini! The singularly strange serial murders of popular wrestlers is linked to the inventively insane, pseudo scientific Sci-fi machinations of plainly psychotic Dr. Williams (Roberto Cañedo).

The exotic sun splashed locations are certainly no less easy on the eye than vivacious star, Maura Monti as the luminously long-legged Luchador Batwoman. Successfully maintaining her secret identity, Batwoman demonstratively dominates wrestling rings and nefarious crime syndicates with equal ferocity! With a maniacal scientist's inexplicable yen to create a murderous Merman army, fiesty bouts of Female wrestling, and one of the slinkiest crime fighters of all time, Batwoman deliriously delivers the gonzo goods, baby! Midnight movie maestro, Cardona's fabulously far out fighting femme flick is a must-see for fans of 'Kriminal', 'Danger Diabolik', and, Jess Franco's beguilingly outre female fronted spy shenanigans!

Yeah. The Bat Woman, I suppose, passes off as a Mexican knockoff of the campy 60's TV series. Do I need to say it? (Ouch, from the director of Santa Claus (1959))!

So, a mad scientist (who gets a massive facial scar, due to Bat Woman throwing acid in his face) is killing wrestlers, to steal the fluid in their Pineal gland, in order to, somehow, create a... fish-man (half-man, half-goldfish). He laughs like a madman, and muses he could create hundreds, or even thousands of them. To do what? I'm not sure. Let's say, to take over the world. Hm, this seems real impractical. Maybe take over every seaside town? And man, the wrestling pool can't be THAT deep, even all the famous luchadores in Mexico. Why? Will any wrestler do? Alright, I'm done.

Enter Bat Woman, who parachutes in onto an Acapulco beach. Apparently she's the only woman for the job. I'd like to point out she's captured by the bad guys twice in the first 39 minutes. The Bat Woman goes deep undercover as a wrestler... "The Bat Woman." Say what?! In a country of the sport known for its masked wrestlers, you can literally hide behind any identity you want! (Fun fact: Women in Mexico City at the time were banned from wrestling). Yeah, she leaves the practice facility in full Bat Woman garb, hops into her convertible mini-Batmobile, and sneaks ou... No, wait, the villains immediately spot her.

This movie reminded me of some of Ed Wood's work. Not technically incompetent, actually it features some beautiful scenery, but in terms of being super hokey, and, well, just plain dumb. Also, there's a guy in a rubber suit. So there's certainly an audience for a movie like this... Lovers of bad cinema. It is kind of a fun diversion.

Clearly the star of the show is Bat Woman herself, the beautiful Maura Monti. Running around kicking and karate-chopping in little more than a skimpy bikini and a cape, she is a sight to behold. There's plenty of eye candy, between the star and the locale, but brain-dead on all other fronts. Count myself as a lover of women's wrestling, but even the (stunt-double) luchadora scenes are incredibly dull.

The Batwoman (1968)

** (out of 4)

Dead wrestlers are turning up in the river and the police are baffled so Batwoman (Maura Monti) is called in to investigate. Before long she discovers a mad scientist who is doing bizarre experiments including making a sea monster.

LA MUJER MURCIELAGO, aka THE BATWOMAN, is a pretty weird Mexican film that mixes action, wrestling and a few horror elements. I've discovered that whenever you watch this type of movie it's best to be either drunk, stoned or suffering from a severe cold. Sadly, when I watched this, I wasn't any of them so perhaps that's why I didn't enjoy this as much as some of the other films in the genre.

I must say that there were a few good things here that kept the film mildly amusing and worth watching to fans of the genre. For starters, I found Monti to be extremely beautiful and I thought she did a good job in the role. She made for a good female superhero and this was a plus. I also liked the monster in the film. It's basically a rip-off of The Gillman from THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON but here the monster is a bright red just like the Devil. The look was cheap and silly but it was at least entertaining.

The biggest problem with the film is like so many other Mexican movies is the fact that there's not too much going on. There are way too many scenes where people are just standing around talking and the dialogue is bad and boring. There are way too many scenes where there's not any action or excitement. You've got a decent monster and a good hero and yet they really aren't on screen enough.

In the 60's, the superhero craze is all the rage. "Batman" debuted in 1966. Later it was "The Green Hornet". In Mexico, they have "The Batwoman". This one has more sex appeal than the earlier one. A rich woman who is a expert swimmer, a wrestler, and a superheroine by chance. She drives a sporty convertible. She can swim very well. And she can fight crime with law enforcement in the guise of Batwoman. She uses her guise to infiltrate a scientist who kills athletes for their penal gland fluid. All to create a humanoid fishman.

For this superheroine, she has the mask like that of Batman and Batgirl in the United States. And a bikini swimsuit? Isn't that too revealing? At least it's not Gotham City. Very campy this movie is. Plenty of sex appeal. Great for superhero fans.

5 stars.

The Batwoman is the campiest movie ever made and I say that with great respect and admiration. Movies that are so bad they are good are hard to find and this one has it all. The well-endowed Maura Monti is Batwoman who wears a very revealing 2-piece bikini and a cape through most of the movie. She is called Batwoman but there is no bat about her - she is ALL woman! Not only is she the crime fighting heroine but she is also a pro wrestler and police agent who fights mad scientists. And what is a mad scientist who does not have a faithful servant name Igor and calls him Master? Well, this film has it all. Our mad scientist has created a fish man who is also a wrestler and now he wants to create a fish woman and that woman shall be none other than our favorite batwoman. He plans on creating an army of fish men/wrestlers to rule the sea! I admire his ambition. But the big question is will he get his woman, er I mean his bat, to create the first fish woman? I highly recommend this movie. It is so bad that it is good and highly entertaining.

The sad thing is that "Batwoman" has all the ingredients for an entertaining luchador romp -- an alluring protagonist, a series of murders to solve, an exotic location, decent underwater scenes -- but wastes them with glacial pacing and a lack of exciting fight action. The supposedly athletic and clever heroine spends more time socializing than clue-hunting, then becomes all girly and helpless at the climax when she should be kicking butt. The film could be improved immensely by chopping it down to 45 minutes. That would at least progress the plot at a reasonable speed. Unfortunately it is decades too late to bring in one of the heroines from "Wrestling Women vs the Aztec Mummy" to whomp up on some villainous goons. Yvonne Craig's status as Batgirl is safe.