It is strange that this episode was chosen to open the second season since it is quite mediocre. The Archer is a villain who at first steals from the rich and distributes the loot to the poor neighborhoods, but then changes his tactics and begins to steal for himself, he has an employee of the Wayne Foundation as an undercover collaborator and together they plan seize an important sum of money that will be allocated to works in poor neighborhoods. The Archer does not have enough personality to be a prominent villain, the cliffhanger of this story has nothing spectacular or diabolical either. A pretty poor chapter.
3 Reviews
Who giveth a damn?
kevinolzak8 May 2016
"Walk the Straight and Narrow" concludes the dreary Archer opener featuring a disinterested Art Carney shooting more crooked arrows than Cupid, forgivable considering the incredibly poor script from the usually reliable Stanley Ralph Ross. After foiling The Archer's attempt to spear the Dynamic Duo, Batman keeps an eye on the smarmy Allan A. Dale (Robert Cornthwaite), eventually revealed to be in league with the nefarious Archer. Sam Jaffe puts in a cameo as Zoltan Zorba, calling attention to the arch criminal's hoax, the money intended for Gotham City's destitute counterfeit, the actual stash hoarded on a ship off of Fire Cove, the show's first sighting of the Batboat, in stock footage shot for the recently completed feature film (only one further appearance, in "The Catwoman Goeth"). A sadly pedestrian sword fight provides a fitting climax to a lackluster two parter, after which things could only get better.
Pathetic ...
tforbes-28 July 2011
Warning: Spoilers
Season One of "Batman," was excellent, especially the terrific first episode with Frank Gorshin as The Riddler and Jill St. John as Molly the Mole.
The Season Two opening episodes are another matter.
Stanley Ralph Ross' script is banal in some places, and just too weird in others. Art Carney, who is normally a fine actor and performing artist, seems distracted in his role as The Archer. No wonder: His marriage was ending around this time, and he was having hard times personally. He does not have a script to work with here that could have done him or Barbara Nichols justice.
Making this episode more offensive is Robert Cornthwaite's performance as Allen A. Dale, one of the Archer's henchmen. His nasally accent is incredibly annoying. It's nice to see Doodles Weaver and Sam Jaffe here, but they cannot save this mess.
The only reason I give this a "1" is because of the performers here. Ironically, Messrs. Carney and Cornthwaite, and Ms. Nichols, all appeared in "The Twilight Zone," and they had much more to work with! Everyone, from the viewers to Adam West, the regulars and guest stars, deserved better.
Much better.
The Season Two opening episodes are another matter.
Stanley Ralph Ross' script is banal in some places, and just too weird in others. Art Carney, who is normally a fine actor and performing artist, seems distracted in his role as The Archer. No wonder: His marriage was ending around this time, and he was having hard times personally. He does not have a script to work with here that could have done him or Barbara Nichols justice.
Making this episode more offensive is Robert Cornthwaite's performance as Allen A. Dale, one of the Archer's henchmen. His nasally accent is incredibly annoying. It's nice to see Doodles Weaver and Sam Jaffe here, but they cannot save this mess.
The only reason I give this a "1" is because of the performers here. Ironically, Messrs. Carney and Cornthwaite, and Ms. Nichols, all appeared in "The Twilight Zone," and they had much more to work with! Everyone, from the viewers to Adam West, the regulars and guest stars, deserved better.
Much better.
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