Batgirl (1967)/Red Nightmare (1962)

It was just recently that I learned a Yvonne Craig Batgirl short was produced to introduce the character to the Adam West Batman television series. At only 8 minutes, it doesn’t offer a whole lot, but what it does give a small view into Batgirl’s personal life. It’s entirely filmed inside the Gotham City Library and shows Craig transforming into her Batgirl persona, primly hanging up her librarian clothes after discreetly changing in a closet. Fantastically, her hat flips to her mask and her reversible skirt becomes her cape. 

Awhile ago I had gotten into watching old PSAs on YouTube. Red Nightmare was one I discovered at the end of that binge but I kept it aside as one I’d like to watch. A truly ridiculous piece of Cold War propaganda produced in part by the Department of Defense, everyday joe Jack Kelly, after spending a day avoiding the commitments placed on him by his idyllic capitalistic society, dreams that his town has become overrun by communism. It’s weirdly not the nightmare the title leads one to expect. His teenaged daughter decides to join a work collective instead of marrying a drip. His son gets to visit a museum celebrating Soviet inventions instead of being forced to attend Sunday school indoctrination. Jack is punished at work for not meeting his quotas. So yeah, it looks different, but plays out pretty much just like capitalism.