Batman Noir

The producers of Batman films thus far have blown it, as far as I'm concerned.

Here's what my Batman film would be like:

• It would be shot in black and white. Much of the action would take place in shadow.
• It would take place in 1947.
• No Robin or Batgirl. There is no continuity between this film and any of the others.
• It would be a detective story rather than rely upon CGI, special effects and improbable action sequences.
• The Gotham City police would be armed thugs, with many of them not above accepting bribes.
• The villain would be the Scarecrow, or maybe Scarface.
• At some point in the movie Batman would suspect Commissioner Gordon of taking bribes, and at some point the Gotham City police would be hunting Batman.
• The love interest could be a not-quite reformed Selina Kyle.
• No swearing. The dialog between the characters would be written in such a way that the shock value in the movie would come from what they're saying, not in how they say it.
• Gotham City would have almost as much of a part as some of the actors. Many of the outdoor action would take place on moonlit building tops. It would look like a city of the era, not like the Goth one created by Tim Burton. There would be overhead advertising signs as in the comics.
• A major character would get killed at the end.
• The details of Batman's costume wouldn't be obvious - most of the time he would be shown in the shadows. No nipples on the batsuit. Eyes wouldn't be visible, as in the comics.
• The Batmobile would look like a restrained version of the late forties models depicted in the comics.
• All the men and women wear hats.
• The last scene would take place in the sewers underneath the city, or in the subway. The end of the film results in a loss of some kind for Batman.
• There would be a dream sequence in the film somewhere - the dream would help Batman solve the case. (In other words, he's telling himself something.)
• At some point in the story the female lead betrays Batman.
• The acting from Batman and the female lead would be restrained emotionally. The acting from the bad guys would be borderline psychotic.