Superman (1948)

Superman comes to Earth as a child and grows up to be his home's first superhero with his first major challenge being to oppose The Spider Lady.

Directors:

Spencer Gordon Bennet (as Spencer Bennet), Thomas Carr

Writers:

George H. Plympton (adaptation), Joseph F. Poland (adaptation)

Stars:

Kirk Alyn, Noel Neill, Tommy Bond

Cast

Cast overview:
Kirk Alyn	...	Superman / Clark Kent
Noel Neill	...	Lois Lane
Tommy Bond	...	Jimmy Olsen
Carol Forman	...	Spider Lady
George Meeker	...	Driller
Jack Ingram	...	Anton
Pierre Watkin	...	White
Terry Frost	...	Brock
Charles King	...	Conrad [Chs. 6-15]
Charles Quigley	...	Hackett [Chs. 6-15]
Herbert Rawlinson	...	Graham [Chs. 3, 9-11, 13-15]
Forrest Taylor	...	Leeds [Chs. 3-4]
Stephen Carr	...	Morgan [Chs. 3-4]
Rusty Wescoatt	...	Elton [Chs. 7-15]

Storyline

Jor-El (Nelson Leigh), a scientist on the planet Krypton rockets his infant son to Earth just before Krypton explodes. The boy is found on Earth by a farmer, Eben Kent (Ed Cassidy) and his wife, Martha (Virginia Carroll) and they name him Clark Kent (Kirk Alyn). When Clark grows up, his foster father asks him to use his amazing super powers only for good. The mild-mannered Clark gets a job on the Daily Planet as a reporter, and soon, as his alter-ego Superman (Kirk Alyn'), and soon tangles with The Spider Lady (Carol Forman), who considers herself Queen of the Underworld. Meanwhile, a fragment from the planet Krypton reaches earth and falls in her possession. It is the only substance that can render Superman helpless.

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Plot Keywords:

character name as title | superman character | lois lane character | clark kent character | jimmy olsen character | 

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Taglines:

Based on the SUPERMAN adventure feature appearing in SUPERMAN and ACTION COMICS magazines, in daily and Sunday newspapers coast-to-coast and on the SUPERMAN radio program broadcast over the Mutual Network (original poster)

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Genres:

Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

Due to the crudity of special effects at the time (and the incredibly high cost of portraying it convincingly) all images of Superman in flight were animated in a manner similar to the way Superman flew in the Fleischer Studios cartoons of the early 1940s. Sometimes animated images were even superimposed onto live-action shots.

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Goofs

In episode 1, the voiceover states that Superman's foster parents die not long after he leaves home, but for the recap at the beginning of episode 2, the voiceover states Superman leaves the farm AFTER they pass away.

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Quotes

Jimmy Olsen: [unaware of approaching derailment] This train is really goin'. The engineer must be late for dinner.
Lois Lane: The way he's traveling he hasn't eaten all week!
[looks out window]

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Alternate Versions

Opening chapter credits removed from the video release.

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Connections

Version of CR: Superman Returns (2010)

User Reviews

SUPERMAN THE SERIAL

A great serial especially in noting this was made 6 years after the golden era of serials. This serial features an outstanding and large serial cast led by Kirk Alyn as Superman. Mr. Alyn played the role in fine fashion and though he lacked the Roman jaw of George Reeves he easily makes a favorable impression. The rest of The Daily Planet crew also are quite good especially Noel Neill who is as feisty as Lois Lane as Kidder or Coates in later versions. Villains Carol Foreman and Charles Quigley both are memorable. The flying sequences are animated. I think it gave the screenwriters much more flexibility to the character than an actor or dummy on wires would have. This a film that is fun to watch more than once. It has a lot of spunk and humor as well as action.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 July 1948 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Adventures of Superman

Filming Locations:

Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$350,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Sam Katzman Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

244 min (15 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1