Atom Man vs. Superman

I've always been a bit prejudiced against the serials produced by Columbia. They just seemed a little tawdry when compared to the production values of the typical Republic chapter play. Certainly "Atom Man..." is no exception especially in the special effects department. The animated version of Superman that takes over every time that character flies is simply laughable. The actual animation itself is fine, reminiscent of the old Fleischer Superman cartoons of the 40's in fact, but it just doesn't key in with the live action sequences. The rocket, featured in the final episode, from which Luthor plans to dominate the Earth is a joke. The model is very amateurish when compared to the ones produced by the Lydecker brothers over at Republic while the interior simply doesn't make sense. It wouldn't look out of place in an Ed Wood movie. What does save this serial however are the lead performances, particularly those of Kirk Alyn as Superman/Clark Kent and Noel Neil as Lois Lane. Alyn plays his role with almost total conviction and unbounded enthusiasm. As an actor he's clearly aware that this is all pure nonsense and there is a definite hint of a tongue in cheek approach in his performance but not enough to detract from the action. He seems totally unable to be embarrassed, for instance, being caught leaping around in an outfit that is clearly adapted from a set of mens long underwear. Noel Neil is equally enthusiastic in her portrayal of Superman's "girlfriend". Visually she is a dead ringer for the actual comic book Lois from the 40's and early 50's and I was almost convinced that she couldn't actually see that Superman and Clark Kent ("mild mannered reporter") where one in the same. As I catch up with more and more of the old Columbia serials I realise that it is with these lead performances that they score over the Republic product. Warren Hull gives colourful interpretations of both The Spider and Mandrake. Lewis Wilson is an enthusiastic Batman. Victor Jury brings a real touch of class to his role of The Shadow. With one or two exceptions the Republic heroes tend to be rather colourless. Dennis Moore, hero of "The Purple Monster..." virtually defines this. Even Kane Richmond in "Spysmasher", an undisputed classic, often does little more than look granite jawed and mildly concerned in the face of potentially fatal situations. Luckily Republic did have Ralph Byrd but simply not long enough due to his early death. So have a look at "Atom Man..." and revel in both it's weakness' (laughably cheap production values) and strengths (admirably enthusiastic performances) and simply have a good time.

Atom Man Vs. Superman' is the second of 2 Columbia Pictures Superman serials and is clearly superior to the first. Once you liberate yourself from modern expectations regarding budget, special effects, realism, etc., you can sit back for 15 chapters and enjoy the earnestness and charm of the actors, and the free-wheeling fantasy of the storyline.

It is best to watch the old serials from the perspective that you are looking at some kind of alternate reality so as to suspend some of the prejudices of the modern world. Or perhaps as though one were a tourist in a foreign country: rather than seeing differences as bizarre or deficient, but instead as being novel, interesting, and sometimes wondrous.

Next to Kirk Alyn, George Reeves was Lawrence Olivier. That notwithstanding, Kirk Alyn at least bears a good physical resemblance to the comic book Superman, and at least he tackles the impossible with gameness and good cheer. His best moments are with Lois and Luthor, and there a few times in the serial when his acting is actually good. And his performance in 'Atom Man' is a 100% improvement over the 1st serial. And even at his clumsiest moments, Kirk Alyn is infinitely preferable to Brandon Routh.

The supporting cast is great. Noel Niell is cute as a button and very charming as Lois Lane. Pierre Watkin is a perfect Perry White. Former Our Gang member Tommy 'Butch' Bond plays Jimmy Olsen as a pugnacious juvenile, which works pretty well. Best of all, Lyle Talbot plays arch-villain Lex Luthor with creepy and insane genius, and also uses a good foreign accent during the scenes when we wears the ridiculous 'Atom Man' disguise (Talbot is, IMO, at least as good as Gene Hackman, and head and shoulders above Kevin Spacey in the role).

This serial moves quickly along and is filled with many clever plot devices and cliff hangers. The primary purpose of the serial was to provide diversion and escapism, and this provides plenty.

One of the most notable features of this serial has to be the abundance of science fiction elements, many of which were on the very cutting edge in 1950. There is a teleportation device, similar to that used on Star Trek and there is a flying saucer. To my knowledge, this serial features the earliest cinematic appearances of such devices. Star Trek's 'transporter' would not appear till 1966, and flying saucers entered feature films in 1951 with 'Day the Earth Stood Still' and 'The Thing.' There is a very effective sequence in which Superman is exiled in another dimension, called 'the empty doom.' As far as I know, this is the first time in cinema that the concept of an extra-dimensional world is introduced. The Superman comic books would later appropriate this gimmick and call it the Phantom Zone, which would become one of the more interesting parts to the Superman mythology. As far as I know, dimensional worlds didn't become well known in celluloid sci-fi via until the early 1960's via 'Twilight Zone' and 'Outer Limits' episodes.

Another fresh but not wholly new sci-fi element in the serial is Luthor's ballistic missile. I can't think of any feature films with them prior to this serial, but I know that Republic's 'King of the Rocket Men' had a great scene with their hero stopping an 'air torpedo' in 1949, thus beating Superman to the punch. Ballistic missiles, of course, had been a reality ever since WWII's V-2 rockets, but it wouldn't be till the mid-fifties that they really entered the mass consciousness of the cinema. I don't want to spoil too much, but note the scene with Superman riding atop the ballistic missile: this pre-dates Slim Pickens' ride on Dr. Strangelove's A-bomb by 14 years.

Also note that the opening credits feature stock footage of A-bomb tests. As the 50's and 60's progressed, copius use A-bomb footage would become a staple of scifi and horror films, especially in opening credit sequences.(Stanley Kubric as well used A-bomb footage in Dr. Strangelove, strangely enough.) So far as my studies have led me over the past 35 years of B-movie research, this is the earliest usage of A-bomb footage in any scifi/monster pic.

A final note: I advise that you watch this in chapter installments, or limit yourself to at most 4 chapters at a time between other activities. I can't explain it, but it's more enjoyable that way, perhaps due to design.

I am a 29-year-old serial fan and 'Atom Man vs. Superman' is one of my all-time favorites. This serial is a big improvement over the first one, and it gives Superman many things to do to show why he is the World's Greatest Super-Hero. Much has been made over the fact that animation was used to depict Superman flying. 'Atom Man' at least tries to improve upon it's predecessor by having close-ups of Kirk Alyn in flight to off-set the animated footage used in the long shots. As for the use of animation at all, I think we as audiences can tell what is used for an effect (stop-motion, CGI, miniatures, et al), and I would say that at least the animation was used creatively. Take the scene where Superman lifts the truck out of the path of the oncoming flood; I think the creative staff did a remarkable job at giving Superman fantastic things to do, and is probably the only chapterplay hero to do as many things in one serial as he does in 'Atom Man...'.

This serial gives the audience a pretty good story and is true to the characters regarding their comic-book origins. Whereas many serials (and modern films) completely change or contradict what has been told in the comic they're based on ('Captain America' for example), the Superman serials are completely faithful to their comic book origins.

If you have never seen a serial, this might be a good place to start. Superman is one of the most widely-recognized characters of all time, and will only help a beginner who is entering his (or her) first serial. Just remember not to watch more than one chapter a day (it'll add to the suspense if you wait a day or two).

There are few sequels that are ever as good as the original. This is one of them. The only real difference between the two is that the special effects in this one are better. The story leaps right into the action, with the city of Metropolis being hit by a crime wave. One man is behind all this crime, the evil Lex Luthor. Superman battles Lex Luthor and his alter ego the Atom Man through 15 fun and exciting chapters.

Superman does a lot in this serial. Can he save Metropolis from a deadly flood? Can Superman escape the Empty Doom? Will Superman's real identity be released to the public? Will Lois Lane go to work for the Lex Luthor? Find out this and more in ATOM MAN VS. SUPERMAN

I give it 10/10. It's perfect.

(Note: Look at the close-up shots of Kirk Alyn flying as Superman. The 'S' on the Superman uniform is backwards.)

I know that this movie/serial is better than the first. First of all, some of the flying sequences are more realistic and actually involve Kirk Alyn. Unlike the Captain Marvel serial where a dummy is used in flying sequences. Out of 10 stars, I give this movie 11. :)