"Adventures of Superman" (1952) TV series 1952-1958

Writers:

Roy Chanslor
Jay Morton (contributing writer)

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

Release Date:

19 September 1952 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Crime | Family | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's Superman!

Plot:

The Man of Steel fights crime with help from his friends at the Daily Planet.

Plot Keywords:

Reporter | Superhero | Super Power | Cult TV | Secret Identity

Awards:

1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

Bill Kennedy	...	Announcer / ... (104 episodes, 1951-1958)
George Reeves	...	Clark Kent / ... (102 episodes, 1952-1958)
John Hamilton	...	Perry White (102 episodes, 1952-1958)
Jack Larson	...	Jimmy Olsen / ... (101 episodes, 1952-1958)
Robert Shayne	...	Inspector Henderson / ... (90 episodes, 1952-1958)
Noel Neill	...	Lois Lane (78 episodes, 1953-1958)

Series Directed by
Thomas Carr		(37 episodes, 1952-1958)
George Blair		(27 episodes, 1953-1958)
Harry W. Gerstad		(20 episodes, 1955-1957)
Lee Sholem		(14 episodes, 1951-1953)
Philip Ford		(8 episodes, 1956-1958)
George Reeves		(3 episodes, 1958)
Lew Landers		(2 episodes, 1957-1958)
Howard Bretherton		(2 episodes, 1958)

Series Writing credits
David T. Chantler		(34 episodes, 1953-1958)
Jackson Gillis		(15 episodes, 1953-1956)
Whitney Ellsworth		(14 episodes, 1951-1958)
Ben Peter Freeman		(8 episodes, 1952-1953)
Robert Leslie Bellem		(8 episodes, 1956-1958)
Robert Maxwell		(6 episodes, 1951-1953)
Peggy Chantler Dick		(5 episodes, 1955-1958)
Dick Hamilton		(4 episodes, 1952-1953)
Roy Hamilton		(4 episodes, 1953-1954)
Leroy H. Zehren		(4 episodes, 1955-1957)
Wilton Schiller		(4 episodes, 1957)
Eugene Solow		(3 episodes, 1952-1953)
Dennis J. Cooper		(3 episodes, 1952)
Peter Dixon		(2 episodes, 1952-1953)
Monroe Manning		(2 episodes, 1952-1953)
Lee Backman		(2 episodes, 1952)
Oliver Drake		(2 episodes, 1956-1957)
Roy Chanslor		(unknown episodes)
Jay Morton		(unknown episodes)

Series Produced by
Whitney Ellsworth	....	producer / associate producer (104 episodes, 1951-1958)
Robert H. Justman	....	associate producer (78 episodes, 1953-1958)
Robert Maxwell	....	producer (52 episodes, 1951-1954)
Barney A. Sarecky	....	associate producer (52 episodes, 1951-1954)
Bernard Luber	....	producer (26 episodes, 1951-1953)
Clem Beauchamp	....	associate producer (26 episodes, 1955-1956)
Edward Donahue	....	associate producer (26 episodes, 1957-1958)

Series Cinematography by
Harold E. Stine		(43 episodes, 1953-1955)
Clark Ramsey		(26 episodes, 1951-1953)
Joseph F. Biroc		(26 episodes, 1956-1958)
Harold E. Wellman		(13 episodes, 1957)
William P. Whitley		(9 episodes, 1952-1953)

Series Film Editing by
Sam E. Waxman		(56 episodes, 1954-1958)
Albrecht Joseph		(26 episodes, 1951-1953)
Harry W. Gerstad		(26 episodes, 1953-1954)

Series Casting by
Harold Chiles		(26 episodes, 1951-1953)

Series Art Direction by
Lucius O. Croxton		(52 episodes, 1953-1958)
Ralph Berger		(46 episodes, 1952-1954)
John B. Mansbridge		(26 episodes, 1956-1957)
Ernst Fegté		(7 episodes, 1951-1953)

Series Set Decoration by
Glenn P. Thompson		(26 episodes, 1957-1958)
Jerry Welch		(26 episodes, 1957-1958)

Series Makeup Department
Gustaf Norin	....	makeup artist (78 episodes, 1953-1958)
Harry Thomas	....	makeup artist (52 episodes, 1951-1954)

Series Production Management
Clem Beauchamp	....	production manager (39 episodes, 1953-1955)
Barney A. Sarecky	....	production manager (26 episodes, 1951-1953)
Edward Donahue	....	production manager (26 episodes, 1956-1957)
David S. Garber	....	production manager (26 episodes, 1957-1958)
Ben Chapman	....	production manager (13 episodes, 1957-1958)

Series Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Arthur Hammond	....	assistant director (15 episodes, 1951-1953)
Nathan Barragar	....	assistant director (15 episodes, 1952-1953)
John Pommer	....	assistant director (13 episodes, 1955)
Gene Anderson Jr.	....	assistant director (13 episodes, 1956)
Grayson Rogers	....	assistant director (13 episodes, 1956)
Bob Barnes	....	assistant director (13 episodes, 1957-1958)
Edward Haldeman	....	assistant director (13 episodes, 1957-1958)
Richard Dixon	....	assistant director (13 episodes, 1957)
Louis Germonprez	....	assistant director (13 episodes, 1957)
Ivan Volkman	....	assistant director (12 episodes, 1953-1954)
Jack R. Berne	....	assistant director (12 episodes, 1953)
Robert H. Justman	....	assistant director (12 episodes, 1954-1955)

Series Art Department
George Bahr	....	props (26 episodes, 1951-1953)

Series Sound Department
Jean L. Speak	....	sound engineer / sound editor (39 episodes, 1953-1955)
Barton Hayes	....	sound editor (26 episodes, 1951-1953)
Harry Smith	....	production sound mixer / sound engineer (26 episodes, 1951-1953)
Earl Snyder	....	sound engineer (13 episodes, 1956)
Herman Lewis	....	production sound mixer / sound engineer (13 episodes, 1957-1958)
Robert Post	....	production sound mixer / sound engineer / ... (13 episodes, 1957)

Series Special Effects by
Thol Simonson	....	special effects (92 episodes, 1952-1958)
Daniel Hays	....	special effects (29 episodes, 1951-1953)

Series Visual Effects by
Jack R. Glass	....	photographic effects (78 episodes, 1953-1958)
Jack Rabin	....	photographic effects (58 episodes, 1951-1958)
Louis DeWitt	....	photographic effects (26 episodes, 1957-1958)
Ray Mercer	....	photographic effects (9 episodes, 1951-1953)

Series Stunts
George Fisher	....	stunts (25 episodes, 1951-1954)
Sol Gorss	....	stunts (13 episodes, 1952-1954)
Dale Van Sickel	....	stunts (10 episodes, 1952-1953)
Carey Loftin	....	stunts (7 episodes, 1952-1954)

Series Camera and Electrical Department
Howard Schwartz	....	assistant camera (26 episodes, 1957-1958)
William P. Whitley	....	camera operator (15 episodes, 1952-1953)
Clark Ramsey	....	camera operator (12 episodes, 1951-1953)

Series Costume and Wardrobe Department
Izzy Berne	....	wardrobe (26 episodes, 1951-1953)

Series Music Department
Leon Klatzkin	....	composer: theme music (104 episodes, 1951-1958)

Series Other crew
Winnie Rich	....	script supervisor (104 episodes, 1951-1958)
Mort Weisinger	....	story editor / script supervisor (86 episodes, 1951-1958)
Stephen Carr	....	script supervisor / dialogue director (52 episodes, 1951-1954)
David S. Garber	....	production coordinator (52 episodes, 1953-1956)
Whitney Ellsworth	....	story editor / script supervisor (26 episodes, 1951-1953)
Robert Maxwell	....	story editor / script supervisor (26 episodes, 1951-1953)
Mary Chaffee	....	script supervisor (13 episodes, 1951-1953)
Della Jacques	....	stand-in: Phyllis Coates (2 episodes, 1952)

Distributors

• Motion Pictures for Television (MPTV) (1952-1954) (USA) (TV)
• Flamingo Films (1954-1964) (USA) (TV)
• Radio Tokyo Television (1956) (Japan) (TV)
• Wolper Productions (1964-1965) (USA) (TV)
• Television Programs International (1965-1972) (USA) (TV)
• Warner Bros. Television (1972-) (USA) (TV)
• Warner Home Video (2007) (Netherlands) (DVD) (seasons 1-5)
• Warner Home Video (1998) (UK) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD) (season 1)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD) (seasons 3 and 4)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD) (seasons 5 & 6)

Other Companies

• DC Comics  DC Comics characters

Also Known As:

Runtime:

30 min (104 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White (1952-1954) | Color (1955-1958)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:G (some episodes) | Australia:PG (some episodes) | Argentina:Atp | USA:TV-G

Filming Locations:

Backlot, Culver Studios - 9336 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Trivia:

In episode #1.1 "Superman on Earth" a number of the costumes worn in the Krypton sequences were cannibalized from ones used in 1940s serials which were comic strip and comic book adaptations. The costume that Jor-El, Superman's father is the same one that Buster Crabbe wore in the serial Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe (1940). Other Kryptonians wore parts of the costumes of Captain Marvel (from Adventures of Captain Marvel (1941)) and Captain America (from Captain America (1944)) among others.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: With the switch to more expensive color film in 1954, there was a mandate to shoot no more new effects scenes than absolutely necessary. Most Superman-in-flight footage was filmed right-to-left. When the plot unavoidably required Superman to fly in the opposite direction, the footage was "flipped," as can be detected by the reversal of the "S" chest emblem. Another explanation is that George Reeves' "body pan' was attached to a pole that was blocked from view by his body. Unfortunately it was attached on only on his right side. If he had to be shown flying in the opposite direction the film had to be reversed. This not only occurred in the colour episodes, but the black and white ones as well.

Quotes:

[to Lois Lane]
Clark Kent:This is a job for Superman... I mean, I've got to find him!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman: Strange Visitor (From Another Planet) (#1.2)" (1993)

One of the best from the early days of television

Growing up in the 1950's I was an avid collector of comics. One of my favorites was superhero Superman. The other was Plastic Man. For some reason few have heard of the original Plastic Man, but Superman is still very much with us and probably will be for some time to come. Before judging this series, one must remember that only televisions that showed black and white were on the market. There was no color. If an early television show was produced in color it was for other reasons, say possible release on the big screen. Some producers hoped to string two or three episodes of a popular television series together and distribute it to movie houses as one feature as was done with The Lone Ranger. Also, there were no big-screen TV's. Therefore special effects could be kept fairly primitive (and inexpensive) because the viewer wouldn't be seeing much anyway. The average TV screen was about 13". A person was uptown if he/she had a 17" screen.

There were Superman movies out at the time featuring other actors rather than "the real" Superman, George Reeves. The Superman TV shows were compact, well-written, and well-performed. For me Noel Neill will always be Lois Lane. Ditto for Jack Larson as Jimmy Olsen, John Hamilton as Perry White, Robert Shayne as Inspector Bill Henderson, and even though Christopher Reeves did a bang-up job as a later Superman, George Reeves will always be Superman for my generation.

Another reason I was so drawn to the Superman TV show was because a stunt man who was married to my cousin at the time appeared in one of the episodes. In the episode, "The Wedding of Superman" Doyle Brooks played Mr. Poole, one of the heavies. Brooks was born in the little hamlet of Bethesda, Arkansas, married my cousin and set out to become a movie star in Hollywood. He ended up a successful stuntman but did very little acting. His biggest success was playing the Ajax White Knight in a now famous television commercial.

Superman's may come and go but George Reeves will always be "the" Superman to all of us who were kids in the 1950's.