Adventures of Superman

1952

Seasons & Episodes

  • 6
  • 5
  • 4
  • 3
  • 2
  • 1
  • 0
7.7| 0h30m| TV-G| en| More Info
Released: 19 September 1952 Ended
Producted By: DC Comics
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Synopsis

Announcer: "The Adventures of Superman. Faster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive! Able to leap tall buildings at a single bound!" Voices: "Look up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's Superman!" Announcer: "Yes, it's Superman, strange visitor from another planet who came to Earth with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men. Superman, who can change the course of mighty rivers, bend steel in his bare hands; and who, disguised as Clark Kent, mild-mannered reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper, fights a never ending battle for truth, justice, and the American way."

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Reviews

Claysaba Excellent, Without a doubt!!
Sexyloutak Absolutely the worst movie.
Fairaher The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.
Marva It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,
Gerardrobertson61 I have been watching the original Superman series, Season 1-4, and although it was on TV 10 years before I was born, I do have vague memories of watching it as a kid in the 60's. I really need to put into the context that it was made in, 1950's TV. Looking at it now, it is really quite funny. You can see Superman in certain episodes jumping onto the springboard, the gangsters are stereo typed as 1930's gangsters, even the episode The Last Warrior, there is the line "how" for when Jimmy meets an Indian, and the Indian Chief has gone to the "happy hunting ground". But taking it all into consideration the series it self is enjoyable to watch. Clark Kent occasionally smiling straight at the camera and saying lines to indicate that only him and the audience know he is Superman, almost like he is sharing his secret directly with you. If you a Superman fan, then it's worth taking a look at these episodes, they are more realistic than the way Batman was portrayed in the late 60's, and the villains are more in lined with the Golden Age of Comics.
robertpball It's always amazed me that Lois Lane, a woman who prided herself on being intelligent and observant, could work next to this guy for as long as she is supposed to have WITHOUT noticing that he is Superman. I realize that was always part of the continuity of both the comic and TV/Movie plot line, but still.... At least Batman covered most of his face!Even with that glaring - to me - discrepancy, I thoroughly enjoyed the TV series when I watched it as a kid, back in the prehistoric Fifties. I remember being a little disappointed that he wasn't fighting super villains as he did in the comic books, but at least he was flying. It would have been nice if the series had lasted long enough so that they could have added Supergirl when she came along.
gatsby06 If you watched these when you were a kid, especially if you did so back in the 50s or 60s, watching the episodes on DVD may surprise you.The production values of the black and white episodes during the first two years were very good. The resolution of the images was sharp as a tack, and the black and white tonal gradation and lighting was very professional. Yet on the old black and white sets, much of that would have been lost.On the other hand, they took some cheap shortcuts, such as inserting stock footage that was surprisingly out of date, sometimes it seems from the 30s or even 20s.In the third season they moved to color, even though according to the commentary, the show was not actually broadcast in color until 1965. (Color broadcasting began in 1954, but most people could not afford the $1,000 color television sets in a time when cars cost about $2,000.) The old black and white episodes are more geared to adults than the later color versions, which go with a more comic book approach. Some BW episodes are more like Perry Mason mysteries, though the quality and type of approach varies all over the place in those early years.This is also the beginning of television, and the producers were pioneering a new medium, not always quite sure what approach to take, or which would work. There is an obvious influence of the old radio dramas, seen especially in the announced opening. Some of the early episodes seem to follow the format of the old Hardy Boys boy's book series of mysteries, complete with hidden stairways to secret basements, haunted lighthouses, and secret tunnels to boathouses. I wonder if any of the Superman writers had been ghost writers for the Stratemeyer Syndicate, which actually wrote the Hardy Boys books.The commentaries are fairly interesting, though often redundant, and sometimes inaccurate. The commentator does not appear to be good with numbers. The consensus seems to be that the series began filming in 1951, but began airing in 1952. The commentator says that the show has been broadcast from every presidential administration since Eisenhower, yet Truman was president in 51, 52 and into early 53. He also keeps going on and on about how little boys would have been watching the shows on tiny 8 or 10 inch black and white TVs in 1951. Not if they weren't on the air. And he says Jack Larson was a very young 17 (or did he say 19?) when the series began, yet IMDb shows he was 23.What would be more telling about those old TVs is that they cut off portions of the image, especially the corners, but also tops and bottoms. So the occasional moment when Superman's springboard is visible today, would not have shown up on anything but professional TV monitors. The commentator also remarks on how it seems Clark Kent didn't have such a large office. I've got news for you, viewers, I have never seen a newspaper that had offices for reporters. The publisher gets an office, the managing editor gets an office, with windows onto the newsroom, but just about everyone else is in one big room. The writers show a certain amount of insight into newspaper work, many writers having been reporters at some point, but the show obviously didn't want to pay for extras standing around in a newsroom, I presume.But the best part, in my opinion, of the first year, was Phyllis Coates, who played Lois Lane for one year. She was (is) a fine actress, who seemed to give the show a certain gravitas lacking in later episodes. And she was a babe! The move to color was a stroke of genius. This enabled them to keep reselling the series many years down the line. And the color holds up quite well.
Rich Drezen (Drezzilla) This is one of the most entertaining television programs I've ever seen, and also one of the best. My father was born two days before the show first aired (9/19/1952, my dad was born 9/17), and watched it all through his boyhood in between collecting the comics and listening to the re-runs of the radio show. He called me upstairs about a year ago to see an episode, of all things, the pilot, and I sat down with him and treated myself to a page out of history. Although the show was filmed on a shoe-string budget and a rather tight schedule, it is important to see how the show's level of storytelling is firmly responsible for it's success. George Reeves IS Superman. The Best. His Clark Kent is straight out of the comics both past and present, and it's interesting to see how much he added to both characters, especially with his sharp tenor voice, and razor-sharp smile. Phyllis Coates IS Lois Lane. She's sharp, she's impulsive, she's unbelievably sexy, and it's a shame she didn't return for the second season. Noel Neill is a milder version of Lois which is mirrored by the Fleischer's version. She's sneaky, she's smart, and she always gets her story. Being that she played Lois in both of the Kirk Alyn serials of 1948 & 1950 (which I have yet to see thanks to Warner Bros. marketing scams) she knows what she's doing, but I don't think her Lois really comes out until the 3rd season. From there on in, she's solid. Who could ask for a better Jimmy Olsen than the one played by Jack Larson? If anyone can, they better keep it to themselves! Larson is perfect in the role and shows that he did his research of both the character and how an office boy's days usually run. It's also cool to hear his reminiscences of his tenure on the show on the DVDs. John Hamilton plays Perry White the way any newspaper editor ought to be played; with vim and verve and razor sharp toughness. His reporters would not dare miss a deadline in this case! My favorite supporting cast member however has got to be Inspector Bill Henderson as played by Robert Shayne. WHAT A VOICE! Here's a cop that really knows his stuff and keeps a stiff upper lip in the most confusing of circumstances, such as in the episodes "The Mystery of The Broken Statues", "Blackmail", "Clark Kent, Outlaw", just to name a few. Every actor that plays a policeman of some kind should look to Robert Shayne for inspiration because of the way he portrays Inspector Henderson.Those of you who have yet to treat yourselves to this miracle of entertainment, DO SO NOW! It's still in print and available, so grab a set and enjoy. I know I did! I have the first four seasons to prove it, and can't wait for the last two. HURRY UP WARNER BROS.!!!

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