The Sandman Original Script

In Joel Eisner's 1986 book, The Official Batman Batbook, there is an interview with Ellis St. Joseph, who wrote the original script upon which The Sandman Cometh/A Stitch in Time was based. In the interview, St. Joseph reveals there were more than the usual number of changes between his script and the story as filmed.

When I wrote it, I tried to think of what parody to use. I have always been fascinated by the German expressionist films and, in particular, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. So, I thought of doing a Batman version of Caligari, and that is what it is. When I handed it in very quickly, I got a letter from Bill Dozier. It said: 'Dear Ellis, I want to congratulate you on writing the best "Batman" script of the series.' He said some very, very flattering things about it. Then the next paragraph was, 'As far as I'm concerned, from now on you can work at this studio for the rest of your life. Thanks and Best Wishes, Bill.'
. . .
The next news was horrendous. I didn't hear from Bill, but I learned from other people that they had a commitment with the Catwoman and they didn't know how to use her. Obviously, they had to use her (I wish they had used her on another script), so they gave my script to the story editor, Charles Hoffman, and he combined the Catwoman with my version of Dr. Caligari . . .

St. Joseph also reveals that Robert Morley had agreed to play the part of the Sandman (not King Tut as erroneously reported in TV Guide), but refused when Catwoman was added to the story.

Hoffman's revised teleplay wasn't entirely without merit. Catwoman being served by three female henchpeople (with no male thugs in sight), the character of Policewoman Mooney and Catwoman's Amazing Maze deathtrap were notable story elements. Still, one has to wonder what the original, "best 'Batman' script of the series" was like.

Sparing no expense, I have obtained a copy of the original script, dated June 13, 1966 (the story was first broadcast December 28 and 29, 1966 - yes, they showed first run episodes during the holidays back then!) Here are just some of the notable differences between St. Joseph's original story and the episodes as broadcast:

Sleeping Beauty was Sandman's moll and not, of course, Catwoman.
Sandman's henchmen were not Laurel and Hardy in nightshirts, but zombies who never smiled, called Sandman, "Master," and had absolutely no fear of heights.
"Sleeping Beauty" "reappeared" in the storefront window, only to be discovered by Batman to be a breathing dummy!
Sandman used a cigar instead of a stethoscope.
The character of J. Pauline Spaghetti was Paul J. Spaghetti (P.J., get it?) and was to marry Sleeping Beauty (not the Sandman, this was the 1960s!) Both, of course, were riffs on American business executive J. Paul Getty.
The Bookworm was mentioned twice in the script.
Batman and Robin have to Batclimb up a dark elevator shaft. Two pencils of light are emitted from the tips of the ears on Batman's cowl!
P.J.'s butler is bound and gagged in a short scene that may have been the inspiration for the third season "Thugee Knot" bit.
Batman (deadpan): "We must always take time to help the unfortunate."
We see Batman on the subway, giving up his seat to a "Negro Lady!" (Hey, that's what it says in the script! Remember, it was the '60s!)
While Batman's predicament in the cliffhanger is the same, instead of being turned over to Catwoman, Robin is bound in the Batmobile as it is about to be crushed in an auto salvage yard. Holy Goldfinger! This trap may have inspired the second cliffhanger in the Penguin/Marsha trilogy.
Chief O'Hara and Commissioner Gordon fall under the Sandman's spell.
Batman opens a safe using an Audio-Magnetic Computer. Again, this turned up as the Three-Second-Flat Batvault Combination Unscrambler in the last story of the series, Hoffman's Minerva, Mayhem and Millionaires.

Some of these elements are taken almost directly from the 1919 film, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. This is one silent film that is not at all dated and is certainly worth your effort to try and see. Mr. Deathtrap and I have attempted to incorporate some of St. Joseph's unused ideas into this week's original story, while still being faithful to what was telecast.

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