Yvonne Craig on DVD and Blu-ray

If you're like me, the show you most want to see Yvonne in is Batman. I might be biased, but I consider Batgirl to be Yvonne's best role. She brought an innocence and grace to the part that got me smitten as a young boy. As I sat down to watch an episode of Batman start on the TV, I would hope against hope to see Batgirl appear during the opening credits, and I cheered when she did.

Unfortunately, Batman has never been released on DVD, apparently because of the complexities of the legal rights to releasing it. The web site tvshowsondvd.com has a great article on why Fox has not released Batman on DVD. Basically, many parties share the rights, and so getting an agreement with all of them would be a very large task.

So here are Yvonne's roles that are currently available on DVD or Blu-ray.

I've added * ratings to indicate the size of Yvonne's role, the overall quality of the episode or movie (in my very subjective opinion), and the image quality of the disc.

• The Young Land. ** This is easy to get for a low price on amazon and ebay. The DVD I bought didn't have a great transfer but it was okay. I get the impression that the movie is now in the public domain and people are making DVD's from prints rather than the original. Dennis Hopper is in it, but as I recall Yvonne does not have scenes with Dennis, despite the promotional photos that show Dennis grabing her. Yvonne does talk about Dennis in her autobiography. This movie isn't the best showcase for Yvonne, but it did get her acting career started.

• Gidget. *** This is also easy to get for a low price on amazon and ebay. Yvonne's role isn't long but it is memorable. She's on the beach in a bikini, chasing after boys.

• The Gene Krupa Story. **** This DVD is out of print but there are still people selling it on amazon and ebay, so get yours today. In terms of overall quality, I think this is the best movie in which Yvonne appeared. It's a permiscuous role for Yvonne, in that she's throwing herself at Krupa. She is upside down in a one piece bathing suit in one scene.

• It Happened at the World's Fair. *** When I first started this web site, this Elvis movie was an out of print VHS tape that would go for over $100 on ebay. Now it's on DVD, and you can watch Elvis chase Yvonne around in her single scene.

• Kissin' Cousins. *** Yvonne has a major role in this light and fun Elvis movie.

• Ski Party. ** This is a Frankie Avalon beach movie that's at a ski lodge instead of the beach. I have watched this but it didn't leave much of an impression. I don't remember Yvonne getting to do a lot.

• Mars Needs Women. ** The DVD of this infamous movie is out of print but people are still selling it at amazon and ebay. Yvonne is the leading lady, but not a lot happens in this low budget film.

• In Like Flint. ** Yvonne has a few scenes in this spy movie, playing a Russian balerina. One scene has her on stage performing ballet.

• How to Frame a Figg. **** This is one of my favorite movies with Yvonne, because it has her and Don Knotts together. She's sexy and he's funny. She's also on the cover of the DVD!

• Perry Mason: Season 1: Vol. 2: Disc 4: "The Case of the Lazy Lover" *** This is a nice very early role for Yvonne. What's especially fun is that she plays the daughter of Neil Hamilton, just as she would again ten years later in Batman.

• Man with a Camera: Complete Collection: Disc 4: "Hot Ice Cream" *** Yvonne's picture is on the box of this DVD collection, and also on the menu. Craig has a large role in this episode and several scenes with star Charles Bronson. She's young and perky, and very fun to watch in this good murder mystery.

• The Best of Checkmate: Season 1: Disc 3 "Cyanide Touch" * Craig's part is extremely small. She has a few lines in the opening scene, and is on screen for a few seconds. It's difficult to even recognize her. To me, this is the least interesting of all her roles that I've seen.

• The Barbara Stanwyck Show: Vol. 1: Disc 1 "House in Order" *** Yvonne has a major role in this self contained story where she plays Stanwyck's emotional teenaged daughter.

• Laramie: The Final Season (Season 4): Disc 1 "The Long Road Back" ** This DVD was put out by a third party, so the quality looks more like a VHS copy than a studio DVD. But I'm still glad to see it. Yvonne has a large role and looks pretty.

• Wagon Train: The Complete Color Season (Season 7): Disc 10 "The Link Cheney Story" *** Yvonne plays the young wife of young gambler, and has several scenes with him, trying to convince him to give up gambling. Yvonne looks very pretty in a variety of elegant and flattering dresses.

• Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea: Season 1: Vol. 1: Disc 3 "Turn Back the Clock" ** Yvonne has a large role, and gets to run in terror from a terrible giant lizard!

• McHale's Navy: Season 3: Disc 4 "Pumpkin Takes Over" **** Yvonne plays an exotic dancer. She has a large role and looks wonderful in some sexy dresses and dance costumes. Unfortunately the picture is not sharp, even on DVD.

• The Man from U.N.C.L.E.: Season 1: Disc 8 "The Brain Killer Affair" *** Yvonne gets a substantial amount of screen time; at one point she's kidnapped by the evil THRUSH, but by the end all is well and she gets to dress up for a fancy dinner with Vaughn.

• My Favorite Martian: Season 3: Disc 1 "Keep Me From the Church" ** Amazon has what I think is an import of this for sale, but an official U.S. release of season 3 is expected in 2010. Yvonne plays a sexy waitress, guest staring on her boyfriend Bill Bixby's TV show. I'm not sure if they were dating yet when this was made; maybe this is how they first met.

• The Big Valley: Season 1: Disc 3 "The Invaders" *** Yvonne is the leading female guest star in this well made episode. Her character takes a liking to Lee Majors.

• The Wild Wild West: Season 1: Disc 5 "The Night of the Grand Emir" *** Yvonne dances throughout this episode in a variety of styles, and makes out with Robert Conrad.

• The Mod Squad: Season 1: Vol. 1: Disc 2 "Find Tara Chapman!" *** The episode centers around Yvonne, who has a large role and gives an emotional portrayal. In interviews, Yvonne has said that this is her favorite performance.

• Star Trek: Season 3: Disc 3 on Blu-ray "Whom Gods Destroy" **** Yvonne plays one of the original Star Trek green women, and dances in one scene. She choreographed the dance herself. This is the first performance of Yvonne's to be made available on Blu-ray.

• Love, American Style: Season 1: Vol. 1: Disc 1 "Love and the Couple of Couples" ** Yvonne's role is all too small in this episode.

• Mannix: Season 3: Disc 3 "Who Killed Me?" ** Yvonne has a few scenes with Mannix (Mike Connors).

• Land of the Giants Collection: Disc 9 "Wild Journey" ** Yvonne and Bruce Dern play alien researchers visiting the land of the giants. They are on camera a lot during this episode.

• Emergency!: Season 4: Disc 1 "Gossip" ** Yvonne has one scene, playing the wife of a patient who gets a surprise when she asks about her husband.

• Kojak: Season 1: Disc 2 "Dark Sunday" ** Yvonne plays the girlfriend of the head crook; she has a few scenes with him, and plays a role in a heist.

• Starsky & Hutch: Season 4: Disc 5 "Starsky vs. Hutch" ** Yvonne plays one of the dancers in the dance hall that the police are watching, and has a few scenes.

• Olivia "Olivia and Grandma's Visit" *** Yvonne is the voice of Olivia's Grandma in this Nickelodeon animated TV show.

• Best of All Star Family Feud and All-Star Family Feud "Adventure Heroines vs. Adventure Heroes" * Yvonne Craig versus Adam West! Both of these DVD collections have "Adventure Heroines vs. Adventure Heroes", but NOTE that neither includes the "Batman versus Lost in Space" episode, despite what the packaging might say.

• Ballets Russes. A 2005 documentary about Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, of which Yvonne was a member before she started acting. One of the extra features on the DVD is a short interview with Yvonne.

Books

• From Ballet to the Batcave and Beyond, by Yvonne Craig. You can buy this from Yvonne directly at her official web site, so I wouldn't buy it from amazon.

• There's a new book out about Elvis and the women in his life. Baby, Let's Play House: Elvis Presley and the Women Who Loved Him, by Alanna Nash. It Books, 2010. Craig was interviewed for this book. She gives the most detailed account that I have seen of her time with Elvis, and it spans about six pages of the book.

• The Official Batman Batbook, by Joel Eisner. I own the 1986 edition of this book and it is a great episode guide for the Batman series, with a lot of information and black & white photos. There are also 8 pages of color photos.

• Batmania II, edited by Hal Schuster. Contains a nice interview of Craig, and several black & white photos of low to moderate quality.

• Back to the Batcave, by Adam West. West discusses Craig on pages 177-179. Also includes a black & white candid of West and Craig (p. 116).

• Boy Wonder: My Life in Tights, by Burt Ward. Craig wrote a short forward to the book (page i), and there's a small photo of her. Ward discusses Craig on pages 110-112.

• Starlet: biographies, filmographies, TV credits and photos of 54 famous and not so famous leading ladies of the sixties, by Kim Holston. I own this book and it's a very nice reference for fans of Hollywood actresses in the 1960's. Each of the 54 actresses gets about 4 pages about her life and career, with a list of acting credits and nice black & white photos. Yvonne gets some extra full page photos and she also wrote a short Forward.

• The One and Only: The Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, by Jack Anderson. Chapter 8 (pp. 153-169) covers the years Craig was with the company, 1954-1957; it is well footnoted. An Appendix lists Craig among the dancers with the company (pp. 298-301).

Magazines

• Starlog, Dec. 1989. A 4 page interview covers Craig's various science fiction roles.

• Filmfax, July/August 1995, no. 51, pp. 32-36 and 98. Nice interview with Yvonne and several black & white photos.

• Femmes Fatales, January 1999. This issue names Craig as the sexiest sci-fi icon and has her on the cover; inside is a one page interview and a large one page color photo with little clothing.

Posters

There are a bunch of large and small, framed and unframed photos of Yvonne for sale at Yvonne's official web site, amazon and ebay. Here's a few on amazon that look good to be, because they're poster sized!