Factual error: When Riddler's rocket hits the Batcopter, the villains are watching from the periscope as Batman and Robin are crashing. However, the image they see is a straight-on shot, as if the lens were right in front of the copter. No pre-atomic periscope can reach that far up.
Revealing mistake: When the Penguin is sliding down the zip line, just before he hits Batman you can see Batman throwing a punch at nobody, he is swinging at empty air.
Question: Why didn't Julie Newmar or Eartha Kitt reprise the role of Catwoman?
Answer: Of the three actresses that portrayed Catwoman, Julie Newmar was the first in the TV series and Eartha Kitt assumed the role after Newmar became unavailable. Lee Meriwether played the character in the movie. All were "guest stars," not regular cast members, so their availability would constantly change as they did other TV shows, movies, plays, etc. Show creator William Dozier originally wanted to first film and release a feature-length Batman movie, using it like a pilot, to introduce the Batman character, then launch the TV show based on it. However, the studio, 20th Century Fox, wanted the TV series first, so the movie was delayed until after the successful first season. During the movie's filming timeframe, Newmar was unavailable (various reasons have been reported about why she did not reprise the role) and Meriwether was cast.
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Answer: The timeline of the movie is important to consider. The 1966 film began production while season 1 of the TV series was being aired. Eartha Kitt didn't play Catwoman until season 3. According to the TV show "Biography", Newmar was suffering from a back injury and unable to reprise her role for the movie. But she was able to recover by the time they started shooting the 2nd season. So, for the movie they hired Meriweather.
Bishop73