Superman (serial)

Infobox Film
name = Superman

---

caption = Promotional poster for "Superman"
director = Spencer Gordon Bennet
Thomas Carr
producer = Sam Katzman
writer = Lewis Clay
Royal K. Cole
Arthur Hoerl
George H. Plympton
Joseph F. Poland
starring = Kirk Alyn "(uncredited)"
Noel Neill
Carol Foreman
Tommy Bond
Forrest Taylor
music = Mischa Bakaleinikoff
cinematography = Ira H. Morgan
editing = Earl C. Turner
distributor = Columbia Pictures
released = Flagicon|USA January 5, 1948
runtime = 15 chapters (244 min)
country = USA
awards =
language = English
followed_by = "Atom Man vs. Superman"
amg_id = 1:141897
imdb_id = 0040852

The "Superman" serial was a 1948 15-part black-and-white movie serial starring an uncredited Kirk Alyn (but billed only by his character name, Superman) and Noel Neill as Lois Lane. It is notable as the first live-action appearance of Superman on film and for the longevity of its distribution. The serial was produced by Columbia Pictures, directed by Thomas Carr (who later directed many early episodes of the "Superman" television show) and Spencer Gordon Bennet, produced by Sam Katzman and shot in and around Los Angeles, California. The series was originally screened at movie matinées and after the first three scene-setting episodes, every episode ends in a cliffhanger. The Superman-in-flight scenes are animations, in part due to the small production budget.

In 2006 the Superman serial was still available for purchase on videotape where it was first released back in 1987, and was officially released on DVD by Warner Home Video, along with its sequel "Atom Man vs. Superman", on November 28, 2006 as "Superman - The Theatrical Serials Collection". Warner subsidiary DC Comics acquired the rights to the serials from Columbia some years back, which explains why Warner now issues these worldwide.

Plot

Superman is sent to Earth by his parents just as the planet Krypton blows up and is later raised as Clark Kent by a farm couple. After his foster parents die, the Man of Steel heads to Metropolis under the bespectacled guise of Kent and joins the staff of the Daily Planet in order to be close to the news. Whenever emergencies happen, he responds in his true identity as Superman. This first serial revolves around the nefarious plot of a villain who calls herself the Spider Lady.

Production

The Superman-in-flight scenes are animations, in part due to the small production budget. A peculiar characteristic of the mix of animated and live-action footage is that Superman's take-offs are almost always visible in the foreground, while his landings almost always occur behind objects, such as parked cars, rocks, and buildings. It was easier to shift from live footage of Kirk Alyn starting to take off to animated footage than it was to shift from an animated landing to live footage of the actor. As a consequence of the need to hide Superman's landings, Superman frequently lands at some distance from where he wants to be and must run to get there.

Budget limitations also dictated the frequent reuse of film footage, especially scenes of Superman flying. For example, one sequence showing Superman flying over a rocky hill (shot in the hills of Chatsworth in Southern California's San Fernando Valley) was used at least once in almost every episode of the first serial. However, while the reuse of the same footage is difficult for anyone watching successive episodes to ignore, it was much less noticeable to the original theater audiences, who saw only one episode each week.

The serial was a popular success that made Kirk Alyn famous and launched Noel Neill's career.

A sequel serial, "Atom Man vs. Superman", also directed by Bennet, was released in 1950.

Chapter titles

# "Superman Comes To Earth"
# "Depths Of The Earth"
# "The Reducer Ray"
# "Man Of Steel"
# "A Job For Superman"
# "Superman In Danger"
# "Into The Electric Furnace"
# "Superman To The Rescue"
# "Irresistible Force"
# "Between Two Fires"
# "Superman's Dilemma"
# "Blast In The Depths"
# "Hurled To Destruction"
# "Superman At Bay"
# "The Payoff"

References

#

External links

*imdb title|id=0040852|title=Superman

###@@@KEY@@@###succession box
title=Columbia Serial
before=Tex Granger (1948)
years=Superman (1948)
after=Congo Bill (1948)