National (DC) Comics publisher Harry Donenfeld (left) withBud Collyer andJoan Alexander | |
| Other names | "Superman" |
|---|---|
| Genre | |
| Running time | 15 min, 30 min |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Language | English |
| Home station | WOR-AM |
| Syndicates | Mutual Broadcasting System,Citadel Media |
| Starring | Bud Collyer,Joan Alexander |
| Announcer | Jackson Beck |
| Written by | George Putnam Ludlam |
| Recording studio | New York |
| Original release | February 12, 1940 – March 1, 1951 |
| No. of episodes | 2,088 |
| Sponsored by | Kellogg's Pep Cereal |
| Podcast | Stream from Archive.org |
The Adventures of Superman is a long-runningradio serial that originally aired from 1940 to 1951 featuring theDC Comics characterSuperman.
The serial came toradio as asyndicated show onNew York City'sWOR on February 12, 1940. OnMutual, it was broadcast from August 31, 1942, to February 4, 1949, as a 15-minute serial, running three or, usually, five times a week. From February 7 to June 24, 1949, it ran as a thrice-weekly half-hour show. The series shifted toABC Saturday evenings on October 29, 1949, and then returned to afternoons twice a week on June 5, 1950, continuing on ABC until March 1, 1951. Because the series never aired anyrepeats, this means that in all, 2,088 original episodes ofThe Adventures of Superman aired on American radio.[1][2]
Created byJerry Siegel andJoe Shuster, the Man of Steel first appeared inAction Comics #1 in 1938. The following year, thenewspaper comic strip began and four audition radio programs were prepared to sellSuperman as a radio series. When Superman was first heard on radio less than two years after the comic book appearance, the character took on an added dimension withBud Collyer in the title role. DuringWorld War II and the post-war years, the juvenile adventure radio serial, sponsored byKellogg'sPep, was a huge success, with many listeners following the quest for "truth and justice" in the daily radio broadcasts, the comic book stories and the newspaper comic strip. Airing in the late afternoon (variously at 5:15pm, 5:30pm and 5:45pm), the radio serial engaged its young after-school audience with its exciting and distinctive opening, which changed slightly as the series progressed. Most familiar today is the television opening, which copied the radio opening from 1945 onward (save for "and the American Way" line, which was an even later addition), but the most often heard radio opening through the mid-1940s was:
Presenting thetranscription feature,Superman! [followed by Superman's "flying" audio effect]
Up in the sky! Look!
It's a bird!
It's a plane!
It's Superman!
Yes, it's Superman—strange visitor from the planetKrypton who came to Earth with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men. Superman, who can leap tall buildings in a single bound, race a speeding bullet to its target, 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 and justice.
By September 5, 1945, the opening (repeated at the close) had morphed into:
Faster than a speeding bullet. More powerful than a locomotive. Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound.
Look! Up in the sky!
It's a bird!
It's a plane!
It's Superman!
That opening, one of the most famous in radio history, was delivered byJackson Beck, the announcer-narrator for the program from 1943 to 1950. He also had recurring roles, voicing an occasional tough guy and also portraying Beany Martin, theDaily Planet's teenage copy boy. OnSuperman episodes featuringBatman, he playedBruce Wayne's butler,Alfred Pennyworth. Decades later, Beck portrayedPerry White,Clark Kent's boss, inFilmation'sThe New Adventures of Superman (1966–1970), in addition to serving as the show's narrator.[3]
Just as Superman's true identity remained a secret, the identity of Superman's radio actor also remained a secret from 1940 until 1946, when the character of Superman was used in a promotional campaign for racial and religious tolerance and Collyer did aTime magazine interview about that campaign.
Since there were no reruns at that time, the series often used plot devices and plot twists to allow Collyer to have vacation time.Kryptonite allowed Superman to be incapacitated and incoherent with pain while the secondary characters took the focus. At other times,Batman (Stacy Harris) andRobin (Ronald Liss) appeared on the program in Superman's absence.
The scripts by B. P. Freeman and Jack Johnstone were directed byRobert and Jessica Maxwell,George Lowther, Allen Ducovny and Mitchell Grayson. Sound effects were created by Jack Keane, Al Binnie, Keene Crockett and John Glennon.
Many aspects associated with Superman, such as kryptonite, originated on radio, as did certain characters, includingDaily Planet editorPerry White, copy boyJimmy Olsen and police inspectorBill Henderson.[4] On March 2, 1945, Superman met Batman andRobin for the first time.
Paramount's animatedSuperman short films used the same voice actors as the radio series, andColumbia'sSuperman movie serials (1948, 1950) were "adapted from the Superman radio program broadcast on the Mutual Network".
In 1946,Stetson Kennedy, ahuman rights activist, infiltrated theKu Klux Klan and otherwhite supremacistterrorist groups.[5] Concerned that the organization had links to the government and police forces, Kennedy contacted theSuperman producers and proposed a story where Superman battles the Klan. Looking for new villains, the producers agreed. Kennedy provided information, including details of Klan rituals, to the writers. The result was a series of episodes, "Clan of the Fiery Cross", in which Superman took on the Klan. The trivialization of the Klan's rituals and natures had a negative impact on Klan recruiting and membership numbers.[6]
Superman historian Michael Hayde has cast doubt on whether actual KKK codewords and details were broadcast in the Clan of the Fiery Cross story arc. He wrote: "[O]ne is hard pressed to uncover anything that might be construed as proprietary to the KKK, with the exception of one – andonly one – sequence, heard in episode #2".[7]
The story-arc was loosely adapted for aDC Comicslimited series,Superman Smashes the Klan byGene Luen Yang, which was released in October 2019.[8]
In the first few episodes, Superman's home planet of Krypton is located on the far side of the sun, as opposed to a distant star system as it is in most stories. During the journey to Earth, baby Kal-El grows into an adult and emerges fully grown from his ship after it lands on Earth. He is never adopted byJonathan and Martha Kent and immediately begins his superhero career. This was eventuallyretconned in later episodes to match the narrative of the comic books.
This serial introduced the fictional mineralkryptonite, the radiation from which can weaken and even (in some continuities) kill Superman. Aside from giving Superman's foes a plausible way to fight him, it also allowed Superman's voice actor to take the occasional break: Superman would spend the next episode incapacitated, his groans voiced by a substitute actor.
In January 1945, the show was listened to on 3.1% of radios. In January 1946, it was listened to on 4.4% of radios.[9]
The syndicated series, titled simplySuperman, first aired via pre-recorded transcription disks over 11 stations beginning on February 12, 1940, with an origin story, "The Baby from Krypton". The series aired in 15-minute episodes three times a week until May 9, 1941, with the conclusion of the "Nitrate Shipment" storyline. By that time, it had expanded to 63 stations.[10]
The first 19 episodes had individual titles that told three overall stories:
| No. | Title | Original release date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The Baby from Krypton" | February 12, 1940 (1940-02-12) | |
On the planet Krypton, scientist Jor-El warns that the planet is doomed, but his plan to build spaceships and evacuate the planet meets with jeers. Jor-El only has time to build a model spacecraft. He and his wife Lara send their infant son, Kal-El, off in the spaceship just before the planet explodes. The child is sent off on a one-way trip to the planet Earth. | |||
| 2 | "Clark Kent, Reporter" | February 14, 1940 (1940-02-14) | |
Kal-El has arrived in Metropolis all grown up. He saves a young boy, Jimmy and his father but asks them to keep it a secret. The two offer him the alias, "Clark Kent", as he gets accustomed to the planet. Clark goes searching for a job at the Daily Planet, where he meets Mr. Perry White. Mr. White gets a mysterious call from a "The Wolf" and offers Clark a temporary offer to put together a story on this "Mr. Wolf" and the Silver Clipper. | |||
| 3 | "Keno's Landslide" | February 16, 1940 (1940-02-16) | |
Clark has received orders to head west and investigate his assignment. Meanwhile, Keno, an assailant for "The Wolf", is discussing what their plans are, which is to paralyze the railroads. Keno is questioning whether he wants to be a part of these diabolical plans. Clark is determined to foil "The Wolf's" plan and saves the train from being pummeled by a landslide, but after saving the train, he gets the attention of "The Wolf", who is ready to meet this "Clark Kent". | |||
| 4 | "Kent Captured by the Wolf" | February 19, 1940 (1940-02-19) | |
| 5 | "Locomotive Crew Freed" | February 21, 1940 (1940-02-21) | |
| 6 | "The Silver Clipper" "Yellow Mask Intro-Train Switch Thrown" | February 23, 1940 (1940-02-23) | |
| 7 | "The Atomic Beam Machine" "Dr. Dalgrin's Atomic Beam" | February 26, 1940 (1940-02-26) | |
| 8 | "Fuel" "Yellow Mask Steals Fuel For Atomic Beam" | February 28, 1940 (1940-02-28) | |
| 9 | "Threat to the Planet Building" "Yellow Mask Throws Lois Out of Plane" | March 1, 1940 (1940-03-01) | |
| 10 | "Fire in the Sterling Building" | March 4, 1940 (1940-03-04) | |
| 11 | "The Stabbing of June Anderson" "Relative Stabs June Anderson in Hospital" | March 6, 1940 (1940-03-06) | |
| 12 | "North Star Mining Company" | March 8, 1940 (1940-03-08) | |
| 13 | "The Steamship Madison" "Bart & Joe Set Fire on Steamer Madison" | March 11, 1940 (1940-03-11) | |
| 14 | "Plane to Canyon City" "Kent Falls off Plane to Canyon City, Idaho" | March 13, 1940 (1940-03-13) | |
| 15 | "Left to be Killed" "Superman Saves June From Mine Explosion" | March 15, 1940 (1940-03-15) | |
| 16 | "The Prison Riot" "Prison Riot With Keno & Wolfe" | March 18, 1940 (1940-03-18) | |
| 17 | "The Steam Plant" "Keno & Wolfe Head for Steam Plant With Lois" | March 20, 1940 (1940-03-20) | |
| 18 | "The Wolf vs the Yellow Mask" | March 22, 1940 (1940-03-22) | |
| 19 | "The Yellow Mask Escapes" "Superman Saves Jefferson Bridge" | March 25, 1940 (1940-03-25) | |
The series then moved to multi-part cliffhanger stories, beginning with "The Mystery of Dyerville". Some stories spanned just a few episodes; others, like "The Last of the Clipper Ships", went on for up to 20 parts.
Beginning on August 25, 1941, a second series of transcriptions designed to air five days per week (although many stations continued the previous three-per-week schedule) aired. These concluded after 26 weeks with the final installment of "A Mystery for Superman" airing on February 20, 1942:
In February 1942, the syndicated series ceased production. At that time, it was airing in 85 North American markets.
In June, the Mutual Network discovered it would be losing its #1 juvenile show,Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy toNBC's Blue Network at the end of August. To counter, MBS decided to revive the show, now officially titledThe Adventures of Superman, on August 31, 1942.[11] The new series aired live, five days a week. The revival began with two individual episodes, and then returned to the cliffhanger serial format.
The stories were of varying lengths—some stories were only five parts, while others could go into the dozens. Some of the longer stories include "Looking for Kryptonite" (25 episodes), "The Hate Mongers' Organization" (25 episodes) and "Superman vs Kryptonite" (33 episodes).
All stories broadcast from August 31, 1942, to September 3, 1945, are either wholly or partially missing. For those stories where some episodes are available in circulation, it will be noted which parts are available.
From September 4, 1945 (part 1 of "Dr. Bly's Confidence Gang") to September 2, 1948 (part 3 of "The Mystery of the Silver Buffalo") all stories are fully available in circulation except for "The Hate Mongers' Organization", "Pennies for Plunder", and "Hunger, Inc." which are all missing a handful of episodes. For these three serials, it will be specified which parts are missing.
The remaining serialized stories are all either wholly or partially missing. For those stories where some episodes are available in circulation, it will be noted which parts are available.
Beginning on February 7, 1949,The Adventures of Superman episodes expanded to 30 minutes each. All were transcribed. Each episode was self-contained and had an individual story title. Only "The Mystery of the $10,000 Ghost", "The Mystery of the Flying Monster", and "The Case of the Double Trouble" are available in circulation.
The series left MBS with the 60th half-hour show, "The Mystery of the Frozen Monster", on June 24, 1949.
It returned as a mystery program targeted toward adults[12] on Saturday, October 29, 1949, at 8:30pm over the ABC network. ABC aired this adult-themed version for 13 weeks, concluding with "Dead Men Tell No Tales" on January 21, 1950. This broadcast marked the final radio appearance of Bud Collyer as Clark Kent/Superman.
On June 5, 1950, ABC revivedThe Adventures of Superman as a twice-weekly afternoon half-hour series. This version reused the scripts for the 60 MBS half-hour episodes and the 13 "adult" ABC episodes but with new cast members. Michael Fitzmaurice replaced Collyer as Kent/Superman, Jack Grimes replaced Jackie Kelk as Jimmy Olsen, andRoss Martin replaced Jackson Beck as narrator. A total of 78 episodes were produced, with the final broadcast, "The Mystery of the Prehistoric Monster", on March 1, 1951. By then, producer Robert Maxwell was actively preparingAdventures of Superman for television.
From 1949 to 1954 there was also an Australian version of the series. This series included 1040 15-minute episodes. It was cast with Australia actors such asLeonard Teale as Superman andMargaret Christensen as Lois Lane.[13][14]