ORIGINAL AIR DATES: 3/30/1966-03/31/1966
EPISODE NUMBERS: 23-24, Production Code 8725
PLOT SUMMARIES:
The Ring of Wax:
The Riddler smuggles a revolutionary new ring of Universal Wax Solvent, a substance that can eat through anything, from the French Cognac District into the U.S. of A. inside a wax statue of Batman intended for display at Madame Soleil's Wax Museum. (Since the U.S. Government has forbidden its importation for fear that it might fall into the wrong hands, Riddler had to devise something to fool Customs!) In place of the wax Batman statue is a wax replica of The Conundrum King himself, which at its unveiling sprays the audience with a gun filled with red paint while a tape recorder blares out 2 Riddles. In his hideout at The Kandle Lite Kandle Factory, Riddler melts the wax-figure of Batman, containing the wax solvent, into a vatful of boiling wax, as Moth, his new female assistant, looks on.
Meanwhile, Riddler's puzzles lure Batman and Robin to The Gotham City Public Library, where The Riddler and his 2 henchmen, Tallow and Matches, has broken into the rare book vault with his wax solvent to swipe a rare book about the fabled lost treasure of The Incas! When The Dynamic Duo arrive at the factory, they are unwittingly anticipated by The Riddler and company, who give battle; after which, he uses a can of his own Dr. Riddler's Instant Forever-Stick Invisible Wax Emulsion to glue The Duo's feet to the floor, and he and his cronies beat a hasty retreat. The Caped Crusader and The Boy Wonder track their foes back to The Wax Museum, where they are immediately overpowered and taken to Riddler's hideout, where they are suspended by rope over a huge vat of boiling wax, which Riddler plans to use to convert them into giant human candles!
Give 'em the Axe:
The awful fumes from the molten wax ultimately force Riddler and crew to take refuge downstairs, giving Batman the distraction he needs to reflect a single ray of sun off the shiny buckle of his utility belt into an open barrel of an explosive formula! The explosion that results frees The Duo from their bonds only to knock them out. Believing the explosion has finished them off, The Riddler informs Commissioner Gordon, et al, of the demise of Batman and Robin, and he and his crew hasten to The Gotham City Museum, to break into the sarcophagus of the ancient Incan emperor Hualpo Cusi — which supposedly contains the long-lost treasure. Meanwhile, a very much alive and well Batman and Robin regain consciousness and trace Riddler to the museum only to find it locked, with the only entrance seeming to be a small window on an upper floor -- too big for Batman to fit through, but small enough for a Boy Wonder.
Robin climbs through the window and while making his way trhough the building to the front door to let Batman in, Robin is overpowered by Matches and Tallow, and brought to The Riddler, who has him tied down to a medieval rack to be stretched! The Caped Crusader suspects that The Boy Wonder is in trouble and makes ample use of The Batram under The Batmobile to smash open the museum doors. He arrives intime to rescue Robin and The Dynamic Duo thwart Riddler, Matches, Tallow and Moth in their attempt to plunder the ancient treasure, and stop their Universal Wax Solvent from destroying a rare old sarcophagus containing an Incan mummy and the treasure. Bruce Wayne and Richard Grayson later take Aunt Harriet to The Gotham City Museum to see the mummified exhibit of Hualpo Cusi.
WRITTEN BY: Jack Paritz, Bob Rodgers
DIRECTED BY: James B. Clark
CAST:
Frank Gorshin (The Riddler)
Joey Tata (Tallow)
Michael Greene (Matches)
Linda Gaye Scott (Moth)
Ann Ayars (Madame Soleil)
Elizabeth Harrower (Miss Prentice)
Al McGranary (Mayor)
INTERESTING NOTES:
- Joey Tata, who played Tallow, went on to become best known for playing the character, Nat, the owner of the Peach Pit on Beverly Hills 90210 where he was billed as Joe E. Tata.
- These segments apparently took place before Mayor Lindseed's election, as a different mayor is in office in these episodes.
- Linda Gaye Scott (Moth) is the heiress to the Scott paper company.
- Based on "A Hairpin, A Hoe, A Hacksaw, A Hole in the Ground!" from Batman #53 (July 1949) by Bill Finger.
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