Batman Fights Dracula (lost unofficial Filipino comedy parody film; 1967)

Theatrical poster.

Status: Lost

Batman Fights Dracula was a 1967 Filipino parody comedy film directed by Leody M. Diaz and written by Bert R. Mendoza, starring Jing Abalos and Dante Rivero as the titular characters respectively. As the name suggests, the movie centers around a battle between cult figures Batman and Dracula; it is considered by many to be one of the most sought-after lost Asian films of all time.^[1]

Very little information on the film has surfaced other than standard production details such as cast and crew, although at least one person has undertaken a personal search effort for the film, which ultimately went unfulfilled.^[2] That is until a great amount of new information surfaced on the Filipino blog Pelikula ATBP.^[3]

Plot

The story concerned the mad scientist named Dr. Zorba who, after repeatedly being defeated by Batman, finds a way to resurrect the wicked Count Dracula, control him, and even make him stronger, rendering him invincible towards traditional ways of killing him, such as Christian crosses.^[4]

After tracking down Zorba at his underground fortress, Ruben (a character based on the existing sidekick Robin) and the beautiful Marita manage to kill the evil doctor by somehow turning the vampire against him.

Availability

Although the blog post clarifies the plot and provides a great number of photos, none of the footage from Batman Fights Dracula has been found. A similar-looking film titled James Batman is often mistaken as being Batman Fights Dracula but James Batman is a different movie altogether though it is a Batman parody film from the Philippines.

Notably, this film marks the second of three films that center around a showdown between Batman and Dracula, the first being Andy Warhol's Batman Dracula and the third being the 2005 animated film, The Batman vs. Dracula.