Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Tyreece Hulme One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

Portia Hilton Blistering performances.

Janis One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

George Taylor While Kirk Alyn brought a lot of fun to the role of Superman, this serial, cheap like most, has a lackluster villain and some really cheap effects. Still the character of Superman is done well and the supporting cast is decent.

classicsoncall I don't think you can watch or evaluate an old time serial like this in the same way you would watch a modern day super hero movie. The evolution in special effects makes films like "Dawn of Justice" possible whereas the constraints on a serial like "Superman" were such that the film makers were making it all up as they went along. For 1948, they didn't even think about rigging up Superman with ropes or wires to simulate flying, it was done with animation each time actor Kirk Alyn yelled "Up, up and away". If you weren't around for this picture in 1948 or the Fifties for "The Adventures of Superman", watching the effects today for the first time make them seem hopelessly hokey and corny. At the same time, I think that's what adds to their charm.But you really have to want to watch serials like this. Personally I find the repeated openings of each chapter and rehashing of the last one's cliff hanger to be incredibly tedious. So I make liberal use of the fast forward button to relieve some of the anxiety of all that while trying to make sense of the story line. This fifteen chapter serial begins with the origin of Superman that most fans are familiar with. This very first time put to film, the destruction of Krypton is a consequence of the planet being drawn toward it's sun, unable to escape it's gravitational pull. Future reboots would allow for different interpretations which is all well and good. The point is that the baby Kal-El arrives on earth and in due time, exhibits extraordinary powers that go far beyond those of normal men.The familiar characters of the Superman comic book stories are mostly here. When Clark Kent (Alyn) takes a job at The Daily Planet, he works along side of managing editor Perry White (Pierre Watkin) and reporters Lois Lane (Noel Neill) and Jimmy Olsen (Tommy Bond). Watkin is a one-note character actor and I found it amusing when more than once, but definitely in Chapter #11, Perry White picks up the phone in his office, says "Send Kent in", and immediately hangs up. On the other side of his door in the reporters room, Kent picks up the phone and says "I'll be right in". Which begs the question, who were each of those guys talking to?So anyway, the serial is chock full of stuff like this, scenarios and events that weren't very well thought out. Superman's very first on screen major villain is a woman called the Spider Lady (Carol Forman), who's primary power seems to be keeping her male henchmen under control to do her bidding, any one of which could have taken her out with a single knockout blow. Most of the story has to do with getting her hands on a scientist's 'Reducer Ray' having power greater than an atomic bomb. Somewhat a misnomer I would say, since the 'Ray's' power didn't shrink anything, it just blew things up.Other familiar concepts in the story include the introduction of Superman's only known Achilles heel, the dreaded Kryptonite. Clark Kent and Superman 'both' have brushes with Kryptonite that threaten harm, but each situation is dealt with handily. In terms of his super powers, Superman regularly relies on his 'super-vision', super-strength', invulnerability and gift of flight. One is forced to suspend disbelief the very first time the live action transitions to animation and back for Superman to fly, but if you're able to put up with all the rest it's a small price to pay to catch Superman in action on the big screen for the very first time. And today, you don't have to return to your neighborhood theater each week to do it.

poe426 Looking like the life-model for Curt Swan's (much later) rendition of The Man Of Steel, Kirk Alyn soars in SUPERMAN. The one and only (albeit glaring) fault to be found is, of course, in the flying sequences (in which our hero literally turns into a cartoon); other than that, the first SUPERMAN serial is arguably the best Big Screen treatment so far. Likewise, Noel Neill as the first Big Screen Lois Lane is- by far- the best of the bunch: in Chapter 11, she pulls off one of the great movie coups when she calls the police to report that her car's been stolen and then hands rival reporter Clark Kent the keys. His subsequent incarceration is loud-out-loud funny, but a little thing like steel bars never stopped Superman... In a twist that far predates the limp-wristed BATMAN teleseries of the 1960s, Superman, in Chapter 15, thinking ahead, wears lead-lined underwear to a showdown with The Villain (the sometimes sultry Spider Lady, as good a villainess as any in a serial), who has figured out that Kryptonite can kill him. With all that it has going for it, it's impossible to rate this one lower than a solid ten. Super.

beejer This is a great serial. What people tend to forget when watching it today, is that it was made in 1948 and was aimed at the Saturday matinee crowd.The special effects, to be sure, are primitive by today's standards, but take a closer look. Remember this was 1948. The opening sequence and Superman's flying effects were achieved through some excellent animation.Don't forget that Superman IS a comic book character. The transition from live action to animation in the flying sequences, is performed seamlessly and realistically. I thought that this was pretty innovative for its' time.Kirk Alyn was born to play Superman. He gives a realistic and credible performance as both Superman and Clark Kent. The diminutive Noel Neill makes an excellent Lois Lane, girl reporter, Timmy Bond (Formerly "Butch" of the Our Gang comedies) is good as Jimmy Olsen and veteran Pierre Watkin is suitably cranky as Perry White.Carol Forman brings a cold and icy sexiness to the role of the Spider Lady, Superman's chief nemesis. Serial veterans Charles Quigley, Charles King, Terry Frost and Rusty Wescoatt round out the cast in various villain roles.