The Super Cops
In 1973, L. H. Whittemore published a book called "The Super Cops," which centered on two real-life pigs, Greenberg and Hantz, who were nicknamed "Batman and Robin." The book was a best-seller, so not surprisingly a film soon followed, as well as a tie-in comic book and ultimately the TV series "Starsky and Hutch" (which was unofficially modeled after the crime-fighting duo).
The film failed to make much of an impact at the box office and it's since been virtually forgotten. Starring underappreciated character actor Ron Liebman as David Greenberg and David Selby (best known as Quentin from "Dark Shadows") as Robert Hantz, both actors turn in great performances -- matter of fact, this had the potential to be a star-making role for Liebman . However, the R-rating doubtlessly hurt box office returns and the daredevil hijinks promised in the ads weren't fully delivered --there's a lot more talk in the movie than action. Plus it's clear that the studio was a little too interested in cashing in on the "Batman" angle. The script was penned by Lorenzo Semple Jr., writer and head script consultant on the '60s "Batman" TV show (in addition to penning "Flash Gordon" '80, "Pretty Poison," "Sheena," "King Kong" '76 and numerous other box office bombs turned cult flicks). Of course, Semple's patently cheesy writing adds to the overall cult appeal of this forgotten film.
Ironically, the real-life Batman and Robin were both later involved in criminal activity. Hantz left the force in the mid '70s after a handful of joints were found in his luggage as he returned from vacation. Greenberg was indicted for insurance fraud in the '90s. Guess those cops weren't really so "super" after all.
Apparently the movie got a DVD release from a no-name company in 2004, but it's now available from the WB Archive.
