THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN starring George Reeves
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"Panic In the Sky"
Superman's finest moment.
My nomination for the best episode in the entire series. "Panic In the Sky" was from the second season, filmed two years after the first twenty-four episodes were shot (but not aired until the show premiered in 1953). It doesn't take much courage to defy what can't hurt you, so Superman glowering at crooks who are hopelessly emptying their pistols at him doesn't prove anything. But in this adventure, the Man of Steel comes up against something that nearly finishes him... and he deliberately goes back for a second shot, in order to protect his adopted world. It's his finest hour.
An asteroid (described also as a "meteor - king size") five miles across has been skittering through the Solar System, narrowly missing Venus and Mars, and is getting ominously close to the Earth.
As a nervous populace stares up at the glowing mass of rock,, over at Mt Palomar Observatory, distinguished Professor Roberts (Jonathan Hale) grows even more agitated. He joins his heroic visitor on the walkway outside, where Superman is watching the sky as well. The meteor now is heading straight toward the Earth and pickling up speed. The Man of Steel says he has a date in outer space but Professor Roberts warns him not to try it. The meteor may contain Kryptonite or other unknown elements even more dangerous that might destroy even him. "That's a chance we'll just have to take," snaps Superman and he launches himself upward. (I love George Reeves' springboard takeoffs in general, but this one is particularly convincing.)
Left behind, Robert says sadly to himself, "A chance, that's all it is. Just a chance. And it may cost the world a terrible price... Superman." One of the best lines in the series.
Zooming upward as the clouds give way to blackness and stars, our hero flies right at the meteor (which is wildly giving off sparks and sputters) and hits it head-on. Watching from the ground, it seems to everyone that the threat has been averted and the meteor will now go into orbit like a second Moon. But Professor Roberts is not so sure. Meanwhile, a badly shaken Superman makes an unsteady landing and sprawls on the ground far out in the country. He uncertainly changes back to his Clark outfit (so I guess the TV version also keeps his civilian clothes compressed in a pouch in his cape, then) and hitches a ride back to Metropolis. But he has forgotten who he is, in both identities.
Yep, our boy has amnesia from the impact. Even worse, the effects of the weird unknown elements he encountered cause him soon after to black out in the shower (much to everyone's alarm). While Jimmy and Perry and Lois are of course concerned that Clark Kent is going through this unexplained memory loss, they have a much bigger worry. The meteor is starting to shift its path back toward the Earth again, tidal waves and earthquakes are happening... and there's still no sign of Superman.
Yikes, things look bad. It seems like the human race might end up the same way the dinosaurs did when a similar impact caused a mass extinction millions of years ago. The Atomic Energy Commission has whipped up a device they think will pulverize the meteor but there is no way other to deliver it other than a certain missing hero.
After everyone's nails have been bitten to the bone, Clark Kent puzzles over the strange costumes he found in his apartment's hidden closet. Jimmy informs him that Superman once explained that there is nothing special about the blue and red outfits and that only Superman can perform his amazing deeds. (A little reminder here to kids in the audience not to try leaping off the garage roof in their homemade costumes, maybe?) Desperate and confused, Clark dismisses the cub reporter and puts on the strange outfit. Still wearing the eyeglasses, shoulders slumped, he looks touchingly pathetic. Then, as Clark drops into his armchair, he angrily slams his fist down on the nightstand... which flies apart!
George Reeves does some marvelous reacting as he straightens up, slowly removes his glasses and begins to remember what happened. "Professor Roberts.. the observatory!" Then he briskly vaults out the window and back to fetch the atomic device, heading for a return encounter with the cosmic visitor that nearly destroyed him before.
This episode is packed with great little moments. Returning in a daze to the apartment he doesn't recognize, accompanied by a chatty Jimmy Olsen, Clark Kent slowly begins to unbutton his shirt. He's facing the camera and away from Jimmy, who luckily doesn't see the famous red S shield. Without his memory, Clark is cheerfully oblivious to the world's danger and even flirts with Lois. Looking up at the glowing meteor filling the sky, he blithely remarks, "That's always been up there, hasn't it? That's what they call the moon, isn't it?" I also admire the way Clark Kent can take a shower and pass out (crashing through the glass shower door), be helped into pajamas and into bed, and then wake up with his hair still slicked back. That Brylcreem was potent goo.
Watching the series on DVD is a mixed blessing in some ways. The sharp picture on a large TV screen lets you see subtleties of the actor's expressions and details of the cool 1950s cars and clothing. On the other hand, the wires holding up Reeves show more than once and at the worst times. The Earth as seen from space looks exactly like a rather nice classroom globe and (I hate to point it out) at one point you can see the piece of velvet the Earth is resting on. None of this would have been evident back in 1953 on those eight-inch screens. But these glitches are small drawbacks in comparison to the joy of finally having this series available. I certainly would never want the studio to go through and retouch things like that. Leave history as it stands.
I'd really love for the Warner Archive to release the whole series on blu-ray.
And the opening credits for the series:
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New readers may wonder sometimes why these odd phrases are associated with Superman. "Faster Than a Speeding Bullet..." or "Look! Up in the Sky!" They go back even further than this 1950s shows, to the old radio series and the wonderful Fleischer Brothers cartoons.
I'm sure there's a market. Aside from the show itself, studying all those vintage cars and street scenes and fashions from those years would be fun in itself.
Again? These death traps NEVER work
"Crime Wave," the 24th episode of THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN.
One of my very favorite episodes, it shows more of Superman in action than anywhere else (due to the scenes from earlier shows), it has a science-fiction death trap for our hero and it even has a mystery villain. Great stuff. This was a "clip show" (still practiced today, sadly) which used as many bits of scenes from earlier episodes as possible in an effort to save expenses as the season's budget was reached. The clips are put to good use, though. The episode begins with a rampaging montage of hysterical headlines, shoot-outs, trucks crashing over cliffs, even a man brutally crushed against a loading dock by a truck backing up against him. Lawlesness has erupted in Metopolis as never before because a mysterious Mr Big has taken over all the rackets.
A Citizen's Committee For Clean Government (headed by a slightly unsavory looking "prominent attorney") rallies the city's defenders. Perry White calls a press conference where he and Inspector Henderson unveil their secret weapon - Superman. The Man of Steel grimly pledges to stamp out crime, and we're off into another blur of superimposed scenes from previous shows of Superman whaling the tar out of crooks, with police cars and motorcycles roaring around and general mayhem. On a blackboard, Superman has listed the top twelve public enemies and, one by one, he hauls them into custody and crosses off their name. Soon, only the unknown Mr Big is still at large.
Severe SPOILER WARNING ahead
Honestly, I am going to spoil the hell out of these episodes. Even if they are sixty-odd years old, every movie and TV show is new to someone. So if you take Spoilers seriously, probably go back to all the threads about which cartoon girl you want to have sex with or why the Joker hasn't been overexposed until everyone is sick to death of him.
Also, TITANIC spoiler. The ship sinks at the end.
Not one to meekly get his jaw broken and endure a spell in Metropolis Pentitentiary, Mr Big hires a rather dumpy, balding Mad Scientist to come up with a way to stop this costumed vigilante who ignores bullets. (This professor wears a rubber apron and thick goggles, so we know he's monkeying with dangerous stuff.) Soon Superman gets word that Mr Big wants to meet him to surrender and he arrives at a futuristic-looking mansion outside of town.
Here, our hero walks right into it. He finds himself in a concrete room with stone doors that slide shut. On the walls are ominous-looking big metal plates shaped like round discs, rectangles and one diamond lozenge in the middle, all connected by metal pipes. Vicious looking pointed electrical spikes (simple but effective opticals) start flickering out, jabbing at Superman -- who reels and staggers in pain. He can't seem to escape and, as the gangsters and the scientist watch gleefully, the superhero sinks to the floor and lies still.
Warily, the thugs approach the unmoving form and the scientist pronounces Superman dead.(Millions of little kids in front of the family TV sets sob and bite their nails... it can't be!) Finally assured it's safe to come out, the Big Boss shows himself. Yep, it's the only real suspect in the cast, that attorney who founded the Citizen's Committee to bring own reign of terror to a halt (and why did he think that way a good idea, anyway?). As he sleazily gloats, Superman suddenly rolls over and leaps up, tumbling all five men to one side. (The children in their pajamas on the other side of the screen squeal and jump up and down in delight!)
You got it, it was a trick. Superman smugly announces "I'm amazed that any of you thought that display of fireworks bothered me... or that I couldn't get out of this room if I wanted to. Look!" and he smashes his arm through the stone door up to the elbow with no trouble. After that, it's payback big time. Superman drops the gangsters with some fast accurate roundhouses and jabs (Reeves had been a Golden Gloves boxer and it shows). In one cute gag, as the Man of Steel draws back his fist to slug one crook, his elbow smacks into the man behind him, knocking the breath out of him. Nor does the Mad Scientist escape a neat crack on the chin. Visibly angry, Superman yanks the control panel to the death ray off the wall and flings in down and then gives the unconscious scientist a furious glower. Even as a kid, I realized that Superman was mad because these men had tried to murder him and he took it personally.
As much raw fun as this episode is, it still unsettles me that Superman can drive his fist through a stone wall and then immediately punch out flesh and blood men. Maybe he's pulling his blows a bit, but it sure doesn't look like it... in fact, Reeves throws a crisper punch than most TV heroes of that era. Even if he is holding down his strength to normal human levels, he's still smacking these guys in the face with a fist that is literally harder than a block of steel the same size would be. Yowie, worse than brass knuckles. No wonder the mastermind has a black eye and a split lip in his final close-up.
In this first season, Reeves really looks the part. He aged badly and rather quickly, and looked much older just five years later. The lines marking the foam rubber padding on his shoulders and chest show clearly, but then I'm watching it on DVD on a modern TV; back in 1953, the little screens (not much bigger than the comic books themselves) and the black & white images would have made this much less noticeable. This version of Superman is confident and aggressive. When Reeves barks out his closing line, "There is no number one crime boss in Metropolis -- any more!", there is complete conviction in his voice.
There is one scene that made me smile at the lack of perception in the villains. Mr Big's moll Sally has been shooting film of Superman's known friends... Jimmy Olsen looking confused as usual, Lois Lane starting up her huge Fifties-mobile, Perry White loitering grumpily outside for some reason, Inspector Henderson in a car. And then there's an interesting sequence where "this big sweetheart" Clark Kent runs briskly into an alley and, seconds later, Superman himself emerges and lifts off. The unseen crime boss asks to run this by him again, and I thought, "Here we go! Now Superman's secret identity has been blown!" But nope. For whatever reason, none of the criminals watching tumble to the obvious. The great mastermind only think he's found a way to get a message directly to his enemy.
Then again, I always wondered why Superman would tell anyone he even has a secret identity. Let them think he's in costume all day every day. Why start his enemies searching for his true self?
This episode was remade in Lois & Clark
ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN "The Mind Machine"
First aired: November 7, 1952
A violent and suspenseful episode, with hardly a single misstep and plenty of great lines (like Perry White hopelessly growling, "Lois, for the last time, are you going to listen to reason?" Good luck, Chief). A heartless criminal gets hold of a mind-control device which kills its victims by destroying their brains. Whoa, not a plot you would likely see in the later seasons with their gentle little kiddie-oriented tales about talking mules and absent-minded inventors.
We start with two scientists in their wonderful cheesy 1950s sci-fi lab (rows of test tubes and flasks of bubbling liquid with rubber tubing all over) being interrupted by three thugs wearing handkerchiefs over their faces. These intruders make off with the elderly Dr Edward Stanton and his invention, while assistant John Hadley gets rewarded for his resistance with a hard smack in the kisser. Hadley is warned not to go to the police or Stanton will be killed, so in desperation, he goes to a newspaper reporter he once met and trusted... THE DAILY PLANET's Clark Kent. I don't know what good he thinks a reporter can do, there's no hint he knows this journalist is on good terms with Superman.
Over in Perry White's office, everyone is giddy with delight at the upcoming State Crime Committee hearings which intend to expose the kingpin of organized crime, a mug named Lou Cranek. (Dan Seymour, the same actor who was in "The Stolen Costume" and who would have made a decent stand-in for Nero Wolfe.) Among the witnesses testifying against Cranek are our own Lois Lane; she has been working hard on the story and has gathered a ton of information on "slot machines, gambling houses, organized vice." (Really? Tell us more about that organized vice, Lois; how deep undercover did you research the story?)
I never caught that show, but that particular episode sounds like it's something I should track down. Probably the special effects were glitzier but at an hour the episode likely didn't move as briskly.
"The Mind Machine"
Hadley shows up in Kent's office to unload his worries about what has happened. It seems that for five years, he helped Stanton work on a "hypno-therapy transmitter" which treats nervous disorders by beaming instructions directly into the subject's mind. Used by a trained specialist, the mind machine could be an immense benefit to humanity but in the hands of an unscrupulous man... well, tinfoil hats might not be such a bad idea.
And of course, it is indeed Lou Cranek who has absconded with both the doctor and the machine. In a mountain lodge twenty miles away from Metropolis, he and his two goons force Stanton to use the machine for Evil. As a witness is testifying before the investigating committee, Stanton fiddles with dials as the man's image appears on a screen. When the image is in focus, Cranek speaks into a microphone and the witnesses does as he's told, forced against his will to deny everything.
Everyone is shocked, of course, and star reporters Kent and Lane trail the distraught man as he steals a car (punching out the lady behind the wheel) and roars off. On a mountain road, a tire blows on the stolen car and the hysterical witness then jumps into a parked school bus and takes off in it... but the driver had been under the bus, working on the brakes! There's a steep hill ahead and the bus with children aboard will go off the side of the mountain. Then Billy Batson shouts, "Shazam!" No, wait...
Soon, our favorite gal reporter is yakking into the microphone all she knows about orgainzed crime. In that cabin twenty miles away, Lou Cranek himself brings her image into focus on the mind-control screen and laughs wickedly as he lifts his own microphone. Meanwhile, Clark Kent is frantically trying to find a clue as to locate the stolen machine before Lois gets her cerebrum fried.
"The Mind Machine" is pretty intense stuff, what with people being hypnotized from a distance and dying from brain overload, and a schoolbus with children in it hurtling out of control down a road. If the hero had been a detective or fellow scientist investigating the crimes rather than Superman, this could easily be expanded into a decent little 1950s drive-in flick (like THE CREATURE WITH THE ATOM BRAIN). It's definitely not a fluffy safe bedtime story for kids like the final seasons of the show would highlight.
There are a few points worth mentioning. George Reeves plays Clark Kent as a manly, hardboiled reporter and not a weak sissy; he's imposing enough anyway in those wide-shouldered suits that such an interepretation would seem forced. So Kent's famous lame excuses intended to give him a chance to slip away and get into costume seem particularly hard to take. As Lois and the driver run to the car to chase the stolen bus, Clark says he should stay behind to take care of the poor woman who was slugged. It falls flat, and the fact that Clark is normally a tough-talking upright sort of guy makes the excuse even less believable. This would work if Clark were played as the cowardly ninny he was in the early comics but not here.
Also, the TV version of Superman has definite limits on his powers. I believe his super-speed is only shown once or twice, and not that far beyond human limits at that. In this episode, he flies up under a plane which has run out of gas and lowers it safely to the ground. In close-up, Reeves has a tight-lipped grimace as if this is quite an effort for him. Considering this verson most often dealt with merely human opponents, his having only moderate super-powers helps gives the stories some conflict. It reminds of the classic Fleischer cartoons, where Superman would go to lift something, brace himself and visibly make an effort before flipping a car or whatever away.
It's odd that several times in the first season people don't recognize Superman. Even if he had just begun his career a short time before, certainly his appearance would be such a huge sensation that everyone would know who this guy in the odd suit was, especially after he just crashed through a wall and shrugged off half a dozen bullets. Yet Dr Stanton's first words to his rescuer are "Whoever you are..."
Finally, there are the take-offs. This was before the springboard was introduced, which I frankly much prefer. Reeves would race forward, hit a diving board just below camera and vault up out of sight. (He then would do a somersault over the camera onto some mats or grab a vertical bar and swing back down.) This gave his take-offs a certain dynamic quality and just seems right. In "The Mind Machine", there are three instances where the Peter Pan technique is used. Reeves or his stand-in were lifted off on wires, and the effect is only convincing once. The guy just doesn't appear to be launching himself up with any force, but just being dangled and swung horizontally, with his legs hanging down. For the most part, I didn't take to the wire lift-offs. (Of course, by 1978, the technique had been refined and Christopher Reeve had some fine moments.)
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From a guest appearance by George Reeves on I LOVE LUCY. Honestly, I never found that show amusing on any level and its cult status baffles me. From what I remember watching it once, it carefully treads a line between showing Reeves appearing in costume as a favor, while leaving open the possibility for very young viewers he might indeed BE Superman.
I've read that Reeves hesitated to do signings and benefits and so forth in costume after he took away a loaded handgun from a kid.
"The Perils of Superman" (1957)
We're getting near the end here. There would be only one more episode after this, but at least this one is a blast with genuine danger and action. The fifth and sixth seasons of ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN don't interest me much. After Whitney Ellsworth took over, all the violence and suspense of the first two seasons under Robert Maxwell were replaced by bland gentle stories. The show shifted to be aimed at kids, and although I don't care for the move, it was a huge success which ran in syndicated reruns year after year.
"The Perils of Superman" was directed by George Reeves and he does a good job. Just as interesting is that the episode was written by Ellsworth with Robert Leslie Bellem... yes, the creator of Hollywood Detective Dan Turner and author of hundreds of gruesome lurid pulp stories. (I only wish Bellem had been executive producer for the series....)
A gang of crooks with a grudge against the DAILY PLANET staff set out for revenge. They dress in identical business suits and wear lead helmets that Superman's X-ray vision can't penetrate. The idea is that the Man of Steel won't be able to tell who the leader is and will be confused and helpless. (My first thought was, well Supes could just burn a useful number on the back of each crook's jacket with his heat vision, but no such luck.)
Alarmed by the gang's threats, Clark Kent goes to Inspector Henderson and, as they mull over the situation, the crooks kidnap Perry White and Lois Lane. Kent lets himself be captured at gunpoint to find out what is going on. It seems the ringleader is a fan of old cliffhanger serials (which had stopped being shown in theatres only a few years earlier) and has set up some deathtraps.
Sure enough, Clark is hung over a vat of bubbling acid, Perry is tied to a log heading for a buzzsaw and Lois is tied to the railroad tracks as the train from the opening credits approaches. As for Jimmy Olsen, he's driving down a mountain road unaware that his brakes and steering wheel have been tampered with. The gang leader is let down when Kent doesn't tearfully beg for his life but just calmly accepts his fate ("Sorry to disappoint you," the reporter says as if he were late for an interview.) The mastermind must have thought Kent was the bravest man in history, but we know something he doesn't. After the crooks leave, Superman emerges from the acid with his Clark Kent clothing dissolved away. Now it's a race to save his friends and he leaps in the air...
The funniest thing is that, although Superman gets to Perry and Lois in the traditional nick of time (Perry looks like hes about to have a fatal heart attack, he's too old and fat for this nonsense), he does NOT reach Jimmy in time. The cub reporter's car goes flying off the road and we see it crash. Luckily, Jimmy has jumped out in time and is hanging by his fingers from the cliff edge (a real cliffhanger, eh?) but if he hadn't done that, Superman would have to settle for two out of three. ("...Ainnnn't Bad...")
In a final scene, two of the Lead Mask Gang are in prison. They have realized something funny. They saw Clark Kent go into the bubbling acid but here he is, alive and unmarked. Which means he might be the one man who could survive such an experience. But they decide to never ever mention this. After what happens to anyone who discovers Superman's secret identity, maybe this is wise. We know it's just Fate that people die after finding out the secret, but crooks might figure that Superman suspends his code against killing under those circumstances and quietly drops them in a volcano or something.
This show is unironically better than any of the Superman adaptations we've gotten in a long time. Superman is best when there aren't really any other superpowered characters, and especially not when it's grimdark
Superman breaks up crooked wrestling ring
"No Holds Barred"
Pretty good episode from November 1952. Wrestling has always been big on TV, come to think of it, it never went away for any length of time although recently MMA has replaced it. But in the early 1950s it was HUGE. Of course there weren't many channels and not a lot of shows to choose from, but even so wrestling was the craze.
So, at Perry White's office in the DAILY PLANET building, everyone is sitting around his TV set (it's a solid wood cabinet with a door that opens to reveal the tiny screen), not because they are wrestling fans in particular but because there is a racket going on they want to bust. A goon called "Bad Luck Brannigan" has crippled half a dozen wrestlers with something he calls The Paralyzer. I guess it's not listed as an illegal move as the authorities don't just disqualify him and none of the injured wrestlers take him to court.
Agreed. It's too late now, of course, but I think super-heroes work best when each is in their own little reality. They seem more amazing without a thousand other costumed demi-gods flying around and they have to be more self-reliant.
I want a Superman who can smile and laugh, who genuinely likes people and who does the right thing because it's the right thing.
"No Holds Barred"
Perry White has one of his brilliant ideas, he calls in a collegiate wrestling champion to get an informed opinion. The guy is so outraged at the perversion of a good clean sport that he challenges Brannigan to a match. What no one knows, though, is that the wrestling crooks have a secret weapon. This is Rama, evidently a Hindu in the country illegally somehow and waiting for the crooks to get him back to India. (Rama doesn't look or sound like an Indian to me, but what do I know, eh?) With his secret knowledge of weird pressure points, Rama has taught the Paralyzer to Brannigan and is giving him tips, despite his misgivings that the gang is going to keep him prisoner forever. Well, Clark Kent does some snooping and stumbles on the truth. A reporter with X-Ray vision and super-hearing, that's some combination. As Superman, he visits Rama and gets pointers that help the honest wrestler beat the snot out of Bad Luck Brannigan.
Here comes the best part. The infuriated gangsters are torturing Rama to find out what happened. "Talk or we'll twist those arms right off!" the boss yells as Rama gets both arms twisted behind him. Then a door slams open and an angry voice says, "All right boys, the party's over!" The George Reeves Superman is no mild Boy Scout, he plows through the wrestlers and leaves them broken all over the floor. This was a big appeal of the Golden Age Superman. He was not so completely omnipotent that he captured bad guys with clever tricky uses of his powers; he was a no-fooling crimefighter and he waded into them with his fists.
Of course, I am watching this on a big screen TV by DVD, not on a teeny little set back in 1952, so I spot all sorts of things not apparent to original viewers. The stunt man filling in for Reeves is painfully obvious today, but not necessarily visible back then. Like the occasional wire or cheesy prop, it's part of the experience and you have to go with it.
Same. It's sad that so many writers seem to want to make him Man of Steel-styled garbage.
It had some differences. But it was a good episode.
It's this one
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"The Evil Three"
ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN
Whoa. It's startling to realize that a few seasons later, this series would have frothy lightweight episodes dealing with Professor Pepperwinkle's gentle robot and the telepathic burro Carmelita. It sure started out the first season as an intense and genuinely scary show aimed as much as adults as for the kiddies. "The Evil Three" reminds us that producer Robert Maxwell remembered his years spent in Old Time Radio; this plot could easily have been used on LIGHTS OUT or QUIET PLEASE (except that there would have been a final gruesome death rather than a costumed hero turning up to save the day).
We begin with Perry White and Jimmy Olsen on a fishing vacation in Louisiana. This friendliness seems a wee bit out of character for Perry (John Hamilton always played him as a cantankerous old crank whose gout was acting up), but Jimmy always seemed very sociable and enjoyed travelling with Clark or Lois (or both). Perry seems to be acting like a rather grouchy uncle to Jimmy, giving him orders and dismissing his complaints but at the same time showing a bit of affection (calling him "son"). It's worth noting that Jack Larson was still a teenager when the first season was shot, so we can easily think of Jimmy as being just out of high school and full of naive enthusiasm. Six years later, though. the character has just gotten dumber to the point where I'd be worried about him if he were someone I knew.
What bothered me most about the recent movies is that Superman doesn't speak up for himself. He should be able to give Batman a sharp rebuttal and stand up his enemies. But he just looks morose and doesn't even stand up for his actions.
When Batman said, "Do you bleed," I wanted Superman to snap, "I have more emotions than YOU do!"