PHENOMENALITY: *marvelous*
MYTHICITY: *poor*
FRYEAN MYTHOS: *adventure*
CAMPBELLIAN FUNCTIONS: *psychological, sociological*
In Stanford Sherman’s creation of
original villain “Marsha,” we see a harbinger of the out
of-control silliness that would dominate the third season. I noted
that Ma Parker was invented to play to Shelley Winters’
acting-strengths, but at least she played the role, however minor,
with verve. The Queen of Diamonds was apparently designed to play to
the sultry qualities Carolyn Jones brought to her most famous role,
“Morticia” on TV’s ADDAMS FAMILY. But Morticia had style, and
Marsha is just a bundle of man-killing clichés.
It’s unclear from the outset whether
Marsha is a known criminal, or merely a celebrity known to be
obsessed with diamonds (a “diamond-dizzy dame,” one cop calls
her). The police set up a cordon around a diamond exchange as if they
think she’s going to rob it. But when she strolls in with Chief
O’Hara on her arm, no one tries to arrest her for taking a
priceless diamond. Though she apparently has a reputation for
enslaving men, neither of the main heroes seem to know anything about
the way she does so, and she easily enthralls Commissioner Gordon as
well, keeping him, O’Hara and some other victims in her vaguely
Eastern habitat.
Batman and Robin pay a call on Marsha,
and the villainess reveals her secret: darts infused with
love-potion. She uses one on Batman, who almost becomes as
ensorcelled as the other men, but he overcomes the potion by strength
of will alone. However, while Batman and Robin fight Marsha’s gang
of Turkish-themed servitors (including an imperturbable Woody
Strode), Marsha manages to infect Robin, and he becomes her instant
slave. Batman finds out that Marsha has a fierce, Goldfinger-like
desire for all the diamonds in the world, and that she wants the big
industrial diamond that powers Batman’s Bat-computer. Even for the
sake of Robin, Batman won’t grant Marsha access to the Batcave,
from which he’s supposedly forbidden all visitors (quite forgetting
Commissioner Gordon’s little sojourn in “Death in Slow Motion”).
Marsha then ups the ante by inducing Batman into marrying her—and
for once, the brilliant crimefigihter can’t figure a way to escape
the “deathtrap” of wedded bliss. Only a clever ploy by Aunt
Harrier and Alfred saves the crusader from the matrimonial meance.
Temporarily free of Marsha’s demands,
Batman manages to infiltrate her hideout and de-program Robin. Why
didn’t he do that before? Who knows? All this folderol is bad
enough, but as icing on this foul confection, it’s revealed that
Marsha doesn’t even make her own concoctions, but gets them from
her aunt Hilda, a crazy old chemist who dresses like, and believes
herself to be, a witch. Hilda also tries several times during the
episode to turn the heroes into mice or toads, and she’s
persistently unsuccessful, just as the script is unsuccessful in
getting any laughs from Hilda.
Still, Estelle Winwood gives the slight
role of Hilda her all, which is more than one can say of Carolyn
Jones. Apparently the basic idea behind Marsha was that of the femme
fatale who could mesmerize men with the mere promise of sex, even
without giving up anything. But Jones, though attractive, had no such
entrancing qualities, and her character’s hauteur is no substitute
for actual sex appeal. Regrettably, the character wasn’t consigned
to the bin of one-shot opponents, but actually made a return
appearance.
No comments:
Post a Comment