UnowPriceless hyped garbage

BallWubba Wow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout.

Ariella Broughton It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

Mathilde the Guild Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

zardoz-13 Seasoned serial directors Spencer Gordon Bennett and Thomas Carr contended with several complications to bring the DC Comics' character Superman to the silver screen as a live-action yarn. This serial contained 15 episodes. The weaknesses grow out in the primitive technology and the lackluster, sometimes sloppy scriptwriting. Ultimately, despite its distinction as the first screen appearance of the Man of Tomorrow, "Superman" ranks as a lame serial with fleeting moments of humor. The story suffers from lapses of logic the size of a black hole. Performances are good enough, considering the sketchy characterization. Kirk Alyn looks like Clark Kent's double. Alyn makes a better impression as the perspicuous Clark Kent than he does Superman with his booming voice. His Superman behaves as if he were rehearsing for the ballet after he dons his distinctive outfit. He tilts his arms away from his hips as if he were performing a balancing act. Of course, this serial was designed for adolescents whose critical faculties lacked sophistication. Noel Neill plays a smart aleck Lois Lane. She likes to play jokes on Clark. Tommy Bond makes his Jimmy Olsen a presumptuous pup who typically succumbs to the first blow that a henchman delivers. Pierre Watkin is feisty as cigar-smoking Daily Planet editor Perry White. I. Stanford Jolley has a bit part as a skeptical jailer. The humorous finale when White, Olsen, and Lois find Clark sleeping and he claims that he was dreaming about being Superman is cute. Of course, Superman doesn't kiss Lois and Lois doesn't daydream about the Last Son of Krypton the way she did in the graphic counterpart.Initially, neither leading man Kirk Alyn nor the special effects crew could conjure up a way to make Superman fly. Producer Sam Katzman resorted to the alternative of cartoon Superman. Any feats of derring-do that Alyn couldn't physically perform, the cartoon Superman carries out. Usually, Superman is shown flying, but one time he smashes through a wall. This novel effect of morphing an individual into a cartoon is clever. Sometimes, the transitions are neat. When Alyn leaps toward the camera, the filmmakers reverse the perspective so that his cartoon counterpart appears sweeping over our heads and to fly into the image. This gimmick, however, serves to undermine your "willing suspension of disbelief." Furthermore, whenever the cartoon Superman lands, he touches down behind objects such as trees, rocks, buildings, or other obstructions. This exemplifies the 'Texas Switch' where a stunt does the stunt and then disappears behind something without revealing his face and the actor walks out. At the heart of any serial were the inevitable cliffhanger conclusions. For example, as his first feat of heroism, Superman prevents a train from derailing by bending the rail back into conformity. Bennett and Carr put the action on pause with a train bearing down on Superman. The common complaint about most serials is the heroes appear in jeopardy, but they are rarely in jeopardy. In other words, like skilled magicians, Bennett and Carr set up predicaments that generate considerable suspense and tension. Unfortunately, they don't consistently pay off these incidents with credible resolutions. Superman spends his most of his time rescue Lois Lane or Jimmy Olsen from peril. This complaint concerns Superman's incredible escape from Kryptonite in the final chapter. Sometimes, they goof up the cliffhangers as when Jimmy Olsen hides in a packing crate and the consequences are depicted inconsistently. First, two men are shown firing into the packing crate and in the next episode only one man is shooting at the packing crate while his accomplice is just climbing out the truck to admire his handiwork!As a narrative, "Superman" works best when The Man of Steel demonstrates his unique abilities. Unfortunately, Superman is rarely called on to do anything truly extraordinary like he did in the Max Fleischer cartoons. Alyn doesn't swap blows with ray guns; keep skyscrapers from falling, or battle robots. Indeed, he does save a woman by flying with her in his arms from a smoke-filled house. When he peers into the camera, we see his X-ray vision penetrating opaque objects. Naturally, when he is ogling Lois, his vision doesn't undress her. Typically, Clark Kent must conceal himself before he changes his wardrobe. The chapter where he is imprisoned for stealing Lois' car creates an interesting challenge and serves efficiently to conceal his transition. Scenarists George H. Plympton and Joseph F. Poland pit the Man of Steel against the treacherous 'Spider Lady.' She is a harmless looking dish in a wig with a cocktail party mask that exposes her nose. Hardly a disguise! We never learn her true identity. The villainous Spider Lady is after the Relatively Reducer Ray, a weapon whose potential far exceeds the destructive capability of an atomic bomb. An unscrupulous scientist Dr. Hackett (Charles Quigley) abets her in her criminal endeavors. Of course, neither are matches for the Man of Tomorrow. The filmmakers do a fine job of establishing Superman's origins on planet Krypton with his father warning his peers about their impending disaster. Bennett and Carr have neatly encapsulated Superman's upbringing with Ebem Kent and his wife. Ebem is a pipe-smoking good old boy who doesn't look a gift horse in the mouth when he sees it. The childless couple appropriate the baby. They raise Superman and exhort him to protect "truth, justice, and tolerance." As an adult, Clark Kent, a.k.a. Superman, tangles with the Spider Lady. She manages to hold sway over several men who could easily overpower her. Sadly, the scenarists don't provide the Spider Lady with any backstory. She kidnaps the scientist, Dr. Graham (Herbert Rawlinson of "Perils of Nyoka"), and forces him against his will to operate the Reducer Ray. Later, Graham refuses to cooperate, and Hackett devises some mysterious way of coercing him.Happily, the heinous Spider Lady gets her just comeuppance in her own web of intrigue. Although she never actually kills anybody, she orders the deaths of several characters without a qualm.

shrfchasg I remember for years this serial being titled "Superman Vrs. The Spider Lady". I was fortunate enough, to have lived in the nick of time to see this at a theater. I have read articles through the later year since, discussing all the Superman related creations. One, for example, was in TV Guide, listing all who played the hero. Included the title "...Vrs. The Spider Lady". I also have noticed it elsewhere, too. What happened now this is not acknowledged? When I looked to order it on DVD I therefore had a problem to recognized it. I've always have believed Kirk Alyn is the best convincing actor to portray him. To me he would be able to not be detected while in his Clark disguise with his glasses. The others who has since took the role, has distinct voice or features enough to be discovered.

flapdoodle64 I first saw this serial back in the 1990's when it was broadcast on the AMC cable network. As a fan of the 1950's George Reeves TV show, which was not known for being high tech or big budget, I figured the 2 versions would be similar. Well, even though this serial was filmed in 1948, only 3 years before the George Reeves series began, it might as well have been 25 years difference. Smiling, prancing, wooden, and just all around goofy, Kirk Alyn probably would have been well suited in the silent era of movies. As a Superman, I found him generally unsatisfactory.That was my opinion until 2006, when I saw the big budget mess called 'Superman Returns.' Since Brandon Routh, the Superman of that film, was such a big categorical dud, I have revised my opinion of Kirk Alyn. He is still prancing and goofy, and he looked just completely ridiculous during close ups when they tried to show his 'X-Ray Vision.' But he was earnest, more likable and more manly than Brandon Routh. It was pretty cool when Alyn would smile at crooks when they shot at him and the bullets bounced off his chest, a rare moment of toughness. Physically, Kirk Alyn probably resembled the original comic book Superman better than any Superman since. And there are some moments when he is convincing. The early sequence when he first gets clobbered by Kryptonite and befriends a scientist who saves him is very effective.One of the worst things about this serial, and the superior 1950 sequel, 'Atom Man Vs. Superman,' is the method the directors used to simulate flying: they simply overlaid an animated cartoon version over the film, switching a cartoon for poor Kirk Alyn. This is every bit as bad as you could imagine, only worse. Republic Pictures, 7 years earlier, had done very convincing flight sequences in 'Adventures of Captain Marvel,' also a low-budget serial, so there is no excuse for the cartoons. This should serve as a caution to CGI geeks: in 30 years, CGI will probably look just as stupid, since it is, in principle, the same thing as a cartoon.Of some interest to adults would be the main villain of this film: the Spider Lady. She does not seem, innately, to possess sufficient intellect, charisma, or raw power to be the head of a criminal enterprise. Yet she is, and countless male thugs kowtow to her. Physically, she is rather unimpressive, and the actress who played her, Carol Foreman, well let's just say she makes me appreciate Kirk Alyn as a thespian! But the Spider Lady is dressed a slinky black evening gown, and she wears a black domino mask, just like the actors in porn movies made in the 40's did. And there is a strong S/M overtone to her method of executing enemies.Besides curiosities such as the Spider Lady, this serial has other positives. The supporting cast at the Daily Planet is good to great. Pierre Watkin is probably as good a Perry White as the TV guy. Former Our Gang/Little Rascal kid Tommy 'Butch' Bond is good as Jimmy Olsen, especially since he was essentially blazing a trail in the role. Best of all is Noel Niell, who was much spunkier and animated in this serial than she would be when she reprised her role a few years later on TV. Also, she wore her hair longer and straighter, and she wore a really cute/silly suit, which also adds to her appeal. One of the secrets to making Superman work is that you have to get involved with the supporting characters for Superman to be interesting, since they are the ones who are vulnerable. And in this serial, the characters work.This serial has all the flaws of Columbia serials, and all the characteristic flaws of the whole serial genre. There are moments when the plot makes no sense, when characters break even the foam rubber logic of the serial. In case you didn't get the point, there's lots of bad acting. But the miracle is that despite having no money, almost no time, and no special effects, this serial is escapist fun, and it is never boring. There are many well-directed scenes scattered amidst the turkeys: one of the directors, Tommy Carr, went on to direct many of the very best episodes of the George Reeves series.Ultimately, I find engaging that the cast and crew, despite all their obstacles, despite being paid virtually nothing, they plugged away, gave it the old college try. They had heart, something sadly lacking in the most recent versions of this character.

JimB-4 Despite years of immersion in various aspects of the Superman character, I've only just now seen one of the Kirk Alyn serials. I'm not a huge fan of serials, but I've enjoyed several. This one is shot pretty effectively, but what a chore to get through. Primary culprit: Kirk Alyn. Granted, I'm extremely biased in favor of George Reeves's portrayal of the character. And granted, I think that Christopher Reeve, Dean Cain, and Brandon Routh all did fine work in the same role. But I was unprepared for how bad Kirk Alyn was. Much has been made of his "balletic grace," his experience as a dancer, but I found these aspects the most ludicrous when it came to playing Superman. Alyn comes off as unmasculine and sort of child-like, neither of which stands him in good stead as the greatest superhero of all. He kind of bounces around, waving his arms and grinning sort of dopily, coming off more like a horribly miscast Tinkerbell than the Man of Steel. Carol Forman must be the worst actor in the history of serial villains (that's saying something), and she manages to make the actors around her look like the Royal Shakespeare Company. Tommy Bond is a bit tougher and a bit nastier than any subsequent Jimmy Olsen. Noel Neill is cute and perky and easily distinguished from Meryl Streep. Pierre Watkin's Perry White is incredibly one-note (though he does get to have a fistfight and fall out a window!) The story is not complex enough to fill out even one chapter, let alone fifteen. And worst of all, Superman doesn't even do much that's super. Some bullets bounce off him, and he flies (sort of), but even the Fifties TV series, on a fraction of the budget, managed some spectacular effects. This was just boring, and could have been about a big Boy Scout instead of a superhero. Which is kind of the way Alyn plays it.