| Adventures of Superman | |
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| Theme music composer | Leon Klatzkin |
| Opening theme | Adventures of Superman Theme (Superman March) |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 6 |
| No. of episodes | 104(list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Producers |
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| Running time | 22–25 minutes |
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| Original release | |
| Network | Syndication |
| Release | September 19, 1952 (1952-09-19) – April 28, 1958 (1958-04-28) |
Adventures of Superman is an Americansuperhero television series based oncomic book characters and concepts thatJerry Siegel andJoe Shuster created in 1938. The show was the first television series to featureSuperman and began filming in 1951 in California onRKO-Pathé stages and theRKO Forty Acres back lot. Cereal manufacturerKellogg's sponsored the show. The first and last airdates of the show, which was produced forfirst-run syndication rather than for a network, are disputed, but they are generally accepted as September 19, 1952, and April 28, 1958.[1] The show's first two seasons (episodes 1–52, 26 titles per season) were filmed inblack-and-white; seasons three to six (episodes 53–104, 13 titles per season) were filmed incolor, but were originally telecast in black-and-white.[2][3]Adventures of Superman was not shown in color until 1965, when the series was syndicated to local stations.[4]
George Reeves played Superman, withJack Larson asJimmy Olsen,John Hamilton asPerry White, andRobert Shayne asInspector Henderson.Phyllis Coates playedLois Lane in the first season, withNoel Neill, who had previously played Lois in the film serialsSuperman (1948) andAtom Man vs. Superman (1950), taking over starting with the second season. In the series, Superman battles crooks, gangsters, and other villains in the city ofMetropolis while masquerading "off duty" asDaily Planet reporter Clark Kent. In most of the series' episodes, Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen, Clark's colleagues in the office, find themselves in dangerous situations that only Superman's timely intervention can resolve.
The opening theme is known asThe Superman March. In 1987, select episodes of the show were released onVHS. In 2006, the series became available in its entirety onDVD to coincide with the DVD release ofSuperman Returns, the first Supermanfeature film in almost two decades. The featureHollywoodland (2006) dramatized the show's production and the death of George Reeves.
In November 1951, California exhibitor andB-movieproducerRobert L. Lippert released a 58-minute black-and-whitefilm starringGeorge Reeves andPhyllis Coates calledSuperman and the Mole Men, with a script byRobert Maxwell and direction byLee Sholem. The film served as apilot forAdventures of Superman and prompted the start of production of the first season in August/September of the same year. The series however discontinued production and remained unaired until September 1952, when cereal manufacturerKellogg's agreed to sponsor the show, which they had previously done with theSuperman radio series. The success of the series came as a complete surprise to the cast.Jack Larson recalled that, at the time, he was inNew York City, and his newfound fame caught him off guard. The initial feature film,Superman and the Mole Men, was subsequently edited into a two-part storyline called "The Unknown People" and was to be broadcast mid-season, but it went unaired until the two-parter was added to the syndication package of some stations in 1954.[5] It was the only multi-part storyline of the series, and is sometimes broadcast as the "unofficial" season one finale.
Phyllis Coates, like George Reeves, was a popular lead inB features of the period. For the TV series, Reeves asked that Coates receive equal star billing as Lois Lane, an enterprising reporter who tries to outdo Clark Kent at getting major news stories. Jack Larson's Jimmy Olsen is aDaily Planet intern, often investigating wrongdoings. The villains often catch him, and Superman has to rescue him. In thefilm noir–like early episodes, Superman is seen as a semi-mysterious presence who is unknown to many crooks, but eventually they know who he is. The first season's episodes usually featured action-packed, dark, gritty, and often violent story lines in which Superman fought gangsters and crime lords. Many characters died in these episodes, with some deaths being shown onscreen.
In the color seasons, the villains were oftencaricatured, and violence was toned down. The only gunfire that occurred was aimed at Superman, and he was less likely to engage infisticuffs with the villains. On occasions when he did use physical force, he would take them out in a single blow or by banging them together. More often than not, the villains were likely to knock themselves out while fleeing from Superman. At this point, Jimmy, who was popular with viewers, was being played as the show'scomic foil to Superman. Most plots had Jimmy and Lois being captured, only for Superman to rescue them at the last minute.
Scripts for the sixth and final season reestablished some of the show's seriousness, often utilizing science fiction elements such as aKryptonite-powered robot,atomic explosions, and impregnablemetalcubes. In one of the last episodes, "The Perils of Superman", which was one of three episodes George Reeves directed, there was high stakes as the characters found themselves in perilous situations.ABC-TV aired episodes in its "Fun At Five" series during the 1957-58 season.
Reeves appeared as Superman in "Lucy and Superman", an episode ofI Love Lucy that aired on January 14, 1957.[4] In the episode, Reeves appears as himself playing TV's Superman, though George Reeves is not mentioned until thecredits. The announcement "Our guest star tonight was George Reeves, star of theSuperman series" was removed from the episode after its first network broadcast.[4] The episode was colorized and re-broadcast as part of an hour-longLucy special on the CBS network on May 17, 2015.
Outside of the United States, episodes were edited together and released as theatrical feature films.[4]
In 1954, at the request of theU.S. Treasury Department, the production company made a special short film directed byThomas Carr entitledStamp Day for Superman.[6] It was created to promote school savings-stamp plans to children, and was shown ingrade schools during the 1950s. It is the only episode of the series that has entered thepublic domain. It features Clark Kent/Superman, Jimmy Olsen and Lois Lane as well as Tristram Coffin as a government spokesman and Billy Nelson as a criminal. The film was released on the Season Two DVDbox set ofThe Adventures of Superman as the second season finale.
Adventures of Superman began filming at theRKO-Pathé studios, laterDesilu Studios, inCulver City, California,[7] in August–September 1951. It was a low-budget program by the standards of its time, as episodes cost roughly $15,000 apiece. From 1953 to 1954, the show was filmed at California Studios and in 1955 it was filmed atCharlie Chaplin Studios. From 1956 to 1957, it was filmed atZiv Studios.
Theestablishing shot ofThe Daily Planet in the first season was theE. Clem Wilson Building inLos Angeles,California, onWilshire Boulevard, which was famous for decades as the headquarters ofMutual of Omaha. The Carnation Milk Company Building, located a few blocks east on Wilshire, served asThe Daily Planet's front door. From the second season onward, stock shots of the 32-storyLos Angeles City Hall were used as the Planet building, and the sidewalk entrance to the Planet was a studio-bound "exterior".
Many exteriors in the first season were shot at theRKO Pictures backlot, called"Forty Acres". Hillsides in Culver City, city streets of downtown Los Angeles, and residential areas of theSan Fernando Valley were sometimes used as exteriors. In later seasons, filming occurred onsound stages, with exterior shots, such as cars driving along roadways, shot assecond-unit material, often with doubles. Establishing shots ofQueen of Angels Hospital in theEcho Park section of Los Angeles were often used in episodes such as "The Face and the Voice" during the second season. Another Los Angelesstock footage landmark was theGriffith Observatory, which had several appearances in the series, such as Jor-El's home/laboratory. Aside from a few clips of New York City used in "Superman on Earth", most of the stock clips used to depict Metropolis are of the Los Angeles area.
The show's title card imitated the three-dimensional lettering of the comic book covers. There have been disputes about the article "the", since it was spoken by narrators in voice-overs. Some references title the show "The Adventures of Superman"; other books, as well asTV Guide listings, simply label the show "Superman". The onscreen title of the show isAdventures of Superman.
Bill Kennedy, framed by the show's theme music, voiced its opening narration, which was expanded from that of the 1940s radio show andthe 1940s Superman cartoons.[9] The opening narration of the show set the stage for each program:[citation needed]
Kellogg, 'The Greatest Name In Cereals', presents theAdventures of Superman!
Faster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a mighty locomotive! Able to leap tall buildings at a single bound!
("Look! Up in the sky!" "It's a bird!" "It's a plane!" "It's Superman!")
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 asClark Kent, mild-mannered reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper, fights a never-ending battle for truth, justice, and the American way!
And now, another exciting episode in theAdventures of Superman!
From the second season onward, the final sentence ("and now, another exciting episode in theAdventures of Superman!") was dropped. In later syndication, when Kellogg's was no longer the sponsor, the episode openings were re-edited to remove the opening line relating to them.
The score for the series was taken from stock music libraries, often adaptations of music from B-movies. For example, one cue used in the episode "Peril by Sea" also appears inPlan 9 from Outer Space. Another cue, used in the second season episodes "The Machine that Could Plot Crimes", "Jungle Devil", The Clown Who Cried", and "The Golden Vulture", came from the seventh variation ofMiklos Rozsa's "Theme, Variations & Finale", Op. 13, from 1933. There was original music written for the series, such as the March used in the credits. The theme has been ascribed to studio music arrangerLeon Klatzkin,[10] although it was certainly adapted from the earlierSuperman March written bySammy Timberg for the 1940's Superman cartoons. Except for the title theme, musical cues ranged in tone and were different for each season, except for the third season, where some cues from the previous season would be reused in several episodes. The opening credits theme, which is used as Superman's "leitmotif", was often used whenever he was depicted flying or in action.
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While considered simple by today's standards, the "flying" effects onAdventures of Superman were advanced for the time. Throughout the series, Superman's "flying" involved three phases: take-off, flight, and landing. Cables and wires were used for Superman's take-offs early in filming. For season one episodes, stuntmen took Reeves' place whenever cables and wires were used for take offs. At the end of season one, cables and wires stopped being used, and were dropped altogether by the end of season two. As well, special effects head Daniel "Danny" Hays left the series. By this time, a springboard was brought in for take off scenes, designed by the series' other SFX supervisor, Thol "Si" Simonson. Reeves would run into frame and hit the out-of-frame springboard, which would boost him out of frame, sometimes over the camera, and onto padding. The springboard had enough force, along with subtle camera manipulation, to make it look as though he was actually taking off. The typical technique had footage of Reeves stretched out on a spatula-like device formed to his torso and leg, operated on a counterweight like a boom microphone, allowing him to bank as if in flight. In some later episodes, such as "The Atomic Secret", Reeves simulated flying, opting to lie on the device without the molded form to support his legs, which are seen to hang from the waist in those episodes.
In the two monochrome seasons, Reeves was occasionally filmed in front of aerial footage on a back-projection screen or against a neutral background, which would provide a matte that would be optically combined with a swish-pan or aerial shot. This footage was matted onto various backgrounds by which he would appear to fly. For the color episodes, the simpler and cheaper technique of a neutral cyclorama backing was used, usually sky-blue or black for night shots. Techniques for landings involved Reeves jumping off a ladder or holding an off-camera horizontal bar and swinging down into frame.
Recurring characters includePhillips Tead as Professor Pepperwinkle,Sterling Holloway as Professor Oscar Quinn,Danny Sue Nolan,Aline Towne, andAlmira Sessions as Miss Bacharach, andEverett Glass as Professor Lucerne.
Tris Coffin (who was best known for his role as Jeff King inRepublic Pictures'King of the Rocket Men from 1949);Herb Vigran;John Eldredge, best known as Harry Archer onMeet Corliss Archer (1954);Philip Van Zandt; andBen Welden made multiple appearances over the course of the show, always as different villains.
Actors who madeSuperman guest appearances early in their careers include:
Other veteran film and television actors making appearances on the show includedDona Drake,George E. Stone,James Craven,Dan Seymour,Victor Sen Yung,Maudie Prickett,John Doucette,Norma Varden,Roy Barcroft,Elizabeth Patterson, andGeorge Chandler.
DirectorTommy Carr's brother Steve appeared as an unbilled extra in nearly every one of the first 26 shows and frequently in more substantial character roles. He was also the show's dialogue director and was the man pointing "up in the sky" in the introductions of the black-and-white shows.
| Season | Episodes | Originally released | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First released | Last released | |||
| 1 | 26 | September 19, 1952 (1952-09-19) | August 10, 1953 (1953-08-10) | |
| 2 | 26 | September 18, 1953 (1953-09-18) | March 13, 1954 (1954-03-13) | |
| 3 | 13 | April 23, 1955 (1955-04-23) | October 15, 1955 (1955-10-15) | |
| 4 | 13 | February 18, 1956 (1956-02-18) | June 16, 1956 (1956-06-16) | |
| 5 | 13 | March 8, 1957 (1957-03-08) | May 31, 1957 (1957-05-31) | |
| 6 | 13 | February 3, 1958 (1958-02-03) | April 28, 1958 (1958-04-28) | |
Producers planned to continueAdventures of Superman in 1959 with two more years' worth of episodes, to begin airing in the 1960 season. The death of actor John Hamilton threw the plan into disarray. ActorPierre Watkin was hired to replace Hamilton as "Perry White's brother". Watkin had played Perry White himself in the two Columbia serials and had guested on the series before.
The sudden death of the show's star George Reeves in June 1959 was not the end of the series either, in the producers' eyes. When Jack Larson returned from Europe after the death of Reeves, producers suggested the series could continue as "Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen", with more focus on Larson's character, playing opposite a "Superman" who would be a composite of stock shots of George Reeves and a stunt double to be filmed from behind. Larson rejected the idea.[15]
Another spin-off idea was a pilot Whitney Ellsworth produced in 1961:The Adventures of Superboy. Johnny Rockwell starred as a young Clark Kent in Smallville. As Superboy, he wore a suit similar in design to George Reeves' suit. Although thirteen scripts had been written, only the pilot was filmed.
Both Noel Neill and Jack Larson had minor roles in the 2006 filmSuperman Returns. Neill played the multimillionaire wife of Lex Luthor, played byKevin Spacey, who dies at the beginning of the film, leaving her entire inheritance to Luthor, while Larson played a bartender.[14]
A CGI version of Reeves as Superman appears in the 2023DC Extended Universe filmThe Flash. The film alsoretroactively establishes thatJay Garrick / The Flash exists in the show's universe.
A Jimmy Olsen show was talked about, with footage mixed in from the previousSuperman shows, but Jack Larson refused to even consider the project, calling it a 'sick case of necrophilia'.
