User reviews

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.

If you've read any reviews of this first set of serials, most of them say the same thing. Superman turns into a cartoon (which I found fun!), the acting is wonderful, and the adventure is a real good yarn.

The problem is the Spider Lady. Not an interesting character, and she doesn't really give Superman enough challenges. The same 2 thugs seem to be beat up and nearly caught in every episode, and the plot really gets sluggish between episodes 9 through 13, and then picks up at 14 to a quick finish at episode 15.

The best are the first few--krypton, Jor-El, the Kents, Superman first meets Kryptonite, early use of his vision, 'up up and away,' etc.--and the last 2 episodes.

The 2nd serial set is superior, but this is still great fun to look at from time to time.

The 15-chapter serial, SUPERMAN (1948), is best in its early chapters as it details the more familiar parts of the Superman story, including an elaborate sequence on Krypton dealing with the planet's destruction and Jorel's sending his son off in a rocket to Earth. We see Clark growing up with the Kents and heading off to Metropolis and a job at the Daily Planet where he meets Perry White, Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen. We see Superman doing superheroic things in these early episodes like rescuing people from a burning building or rescuing miners trapped in a tunnel.

However, after roughly the first third, each episode follows tried-and-true serial formula with standard cliffhanger endings as Superman gets hit with kryptonite or Lois gets trapped somewhere and only Superman can save her. There are even long stretches where Superman doesn't use his powers at all. It all comes to a disappointingly abrupt ending and anticlimactic resolution.

Superman fights an unlikely villain in the Spider Lady (Carol Forman) and her gang of standard-issue thugs--middle-aged crooks in suits, ties and fedoras who are constantly slugging Jimmy and kidnapping Lois. The Spider Lady gets help from a renegade scientist who has an agenda of his own, but he's so badly acted that he slows the film down considerably. The Spider Lady (who loses her ridiculous mask after her first few appearances) is more of a standard serial villain, and, while not unattractive, is coiffed and dressed like a film noir floozie and would probably have been more at home sidling up to Humphrey Bogart in a gambling joint than fighting Superman.

That said, there are considerable points of interest here. When Superman flies, the effect is created through animation as a fluidly animated Superman cartoon figure takes over for the live actor (Kirk Alyn). This tactic allows the makers to show Superman flying through a variety of locales and settings. While the contrast may be jarring at first, it does acknowledge the comic book origins of the character.

Noel Neill is a perfect Lois Lane and is as spunky as they come. When thugs attack, she recklessly plunges into each fight with the verve and daring normally associated with the standard square-jawed cliffhanger hero. When she's not fighting, she's smiling, always eager to get the story and clearly loving her job. A seedy character named Hawkins (played by Frank Lackteen with undetermined accent) is an informant who gives Lois tips about Spider Lady's activities. Lois is always happy to see him and at one point pays for his tips by taking him to lunch at a restaurant called Luigi's (surely a foolhardy act for an informant). None of the characters gets a single change of costume throughout the serial, but it's more noticeable on Lois. Neill played Lois in a second serial, ATOM MAN VS. SUPERMAN, and later in the TV series, "Superman," opposite George Reeves.

Jimmy Olsen, on the other hand, gets little of consequence to do, other than getting constantly knocked out by thugs and stating the obvious when needed. He's played by Tommy Bond, better known as Butch from "The Little Rascals." (In the TV series, Jack Larson was a vast improvement in the role.) Pierre Watkin makes a good, dyspeptic Perry White, behaving more like J. Jonah Jameson from "Spiderman" than the Perry we know and love.

A point should be made here about the sequel, ATOM MAN VS. SUPERMAN (1950). It improved on this serial greatly and had a more comic book-like villain in Lex Luthor (well played by Lyle Talbot). It also had Superman doing a great many more Superman-like things and offered a new twist in each episode. It had a better story structure and more satisfying resolution. The characters also got to change their outfits.

This low-budget, live-action Superman serial from 1948 is, literally, loaded with all sorts of unintentionally hilarious moments that are sure to keep all of the nostalgia buffs out there thoroughly entertained and chuckling away from start to finish.

Starring actor, Kirk Alyn in the dual-role of Clark Kent/Superman - This multi-chaptered cliffhanger pits our brave caped hero against the sinister Spider Woman (and her equally ruthless henchmen) who has (at her wicked disposal) a Relativity Reducer Ray (Wow! That's some weapon!) that poses all sorts of problems for Superman which he must quickly address and, then, set things right again.

All-in-all - I certainly don't have any hesitations when it comes to recommending this vintage presentation (on DVD) to potentially interested viewers.

I wish to say that ten years ago on this very day I personally met Kirk Alyn when I helped him with a chore. He was quite elderly and frail, but still it was an honor to meet him. So this comment is dedicated to the memory of Kirk Alyn.

This is the first time The Man of Steel ever appeared on the screen. And guess what? It's great all thanks to Kirk Alyn and a cast that makes it good fun. Yeah I grant you, the special effects are hokey, but you don't need rock'em-sock'em visuals to make a movie, just a great sense of pure enjoyment. Along with Kirk there is Noel Neil as a very spunky Lois Lane. Carol Forman makes a great villain (and a very sexy one too) as the Spider Lady. And former Little Rascal Tommy "Butch" Bond plays Jimmy Olsen (which in itself is another beginning... Bond was the first person to have ever played this role!). But it's Alyn that makes it all great. He gives Superman a sense of real superhero pizazz without making the Son of Krypton look pompous. So run, or fly, out and get a copy and pop it in your player. This is one time where your entertainment time really does become "A job for Superman"!

A great serial especially in noting this was made 6 years after the golden era of serials. This serial features an outstanding and large serial cast led by Kirk Alyn as Superman. Mr. Alyn played the role in fine fashion and though he lacked the Roman jaw of George Reeves he easily makes a favorable impression. The rest of The Daily Planet crew also are quite good especially Noel Neill who is as feisty as Lois Lane as Kidder or Coates in later versions. Villains Carol Foreman and Charles Quigley both are memorable. The flying sequences are animated. I think it gave the screenwriters much more flexibility to the character than an actor or dummy on wires would have. This a film that is fun to watch more than once. It has a lot of spunk and humor as well as action.

This is one good serial! There is a lot of action and decent SFX and fairly good (if now stereotypical) characterization.

Kirk Alyn is great as Superman and Clark Kent...a performance that really wasn't surpassed in any media until Christopher Reeve's triumph in 1978. Lois and Jimmy are suitably doltish...though even Lois was a bit more intelligent in the comics than in this serial.

I've been told that the producers had some remorse at the cheapness of the effects (i.e., using animation for Superman flying), but I really don't think it comes off as shoddy...in fact I think it comes off fairly well, or at least better than using a derivative of Republic's effects for making Captain Marvel fly seven years earlier.

Superman is supposedly the most popular chapterplay in history. I don't know about that, but it is very enjoyable and an excellent example of the genre of the movie serial.

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.

I have read that in 1940-41 Republic Pictures was negotiating to make a Superman serial, when that fell through they made their classic "Captain Marvel", the flying sequences in that were done with a combination of shots of actor Tom Tyler, stuntman Dave Sharpe and the use of a slightly oversize dummy (later used in the Rocketman/Commando Cody serials, even today those flying sequences hold up. Historians of the B-movies and serials have said Republic had the best special effects, Columbia tended to cut corners-Lois Lane wears the same outfit in all 15 chapters. That said, the 2 Columbia "Superman" serials are pretty enjoyable, they do a good job within their budget limits, the actors are much better than those in a lot of big budget productions, they take their roles seriously. You can watch this as a period piece or as an adventure in its own right.

This 1948 serial show of "Superman" was the Man of Steel's debut. The production is decidedly low budget and the special effects for the flying scenes are slightly disappointing. However, there is still much to enjoy here. "Superman" captures the essence of the comic book of the era and includes the superhero's origin story in the opening episode. The scenes based on the planet Krypton are very imaginative. Kirk Alyn is a great Clark Kent/Superman and is physically suitable for the dual role. For her first appearance as Lois Lane, Noel Neill displays tenacity and determination in trying and failing to scoop Kent in presenting the latest stories of the mastercriminal known as the Spider Lady. Speaking of whom, that is how the serial's plot unfolds. Superman manages to thwart the evil plans of the Spider Lady and usually saving Lois Lane or Jimmy Olson. As with all programmes of this kind, all episodes finish with the traditional "cliff- hanger" ending. The pace and action are fast and furious.

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.

(note:this is not the 1950's George Reeves series)how this has not been given the MST3K treatment,i don't know.it's astoundingly bad.my roommate and i laughed our a#%es off.it definitely falls under the category of so bad,it's good.i don't want to give too much away,lest i spoil anyone's enjoyment.suffice to say,it is definitely worth watching if you have a chance.i bought the whole 15 chapter serial cheap and i don't regret it for a minute.i'm guessing budget constraints had something to do with how bad the show was,but that doesn't explain away every thing.all i know is,it's endlessly entertaining,and a great cure for depression.for me,Superman is a 10/10

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.

Superman, which originated in D. C. Comic books before the cartoon and radio series on the super hero arrived, was first seen on the screen in Columbia Pictures January 1948 serial's first episode, 'Superman Comes To Earth." The 15-chapter series was the most profitable serial in Hollywood history. After several production studios tried to secure the film rights to Superman since his comic book incarnation in 1938, producer Sam Katzman was able to negotiate a deal.

With movie rights in hand, Katzman's marketing of the super human as a serial to potentially interested Hollywood studios wasn't as easy as he initially thought. Universal Pictures had ceased producing serials in 1947. Republic Pictures refused the producer's proposal, claiming "a superpowerful flying hero would be impossible to adapt." Paramount was contented with its cartoon series on Superman. Only Columbia Pictures, the last Hollywood studio to produce serials extending until 1956, bought Katzman's offer. The serial became so popular "Superman" spawned a sequel, 1950's 'Atom Man vs. Superman,' introducing Lex Luthor as the Atom Man.

Katzman looked to 'B' actor Kirk Alyn, 37, a low-budget film bit-player actor who remembers, "I thought it was a publicity stunt. I didn't think you could ever put Superman on film. They brought the people from D. C. Comics over and they said, 'Hey, he looks just like Clark Kent.' They said take off your shirt, so I did and flexed my muscles. Then the guy said, 'Take off your pants' and I said, 'Wait a minute.'" For newspaper reporter Lois Lane, Katzman selected low-budget Monogram Pictures actress Noel Neil, 27, a Minneapolis, Minnesota native. Says film reviewer Janne Wass on the choice of Neill, she "isn't your classic, peach-faced heroine, but she has a very personal beauty, which has more to do with her personality, expressiveness and attitude." Neill continued her role as Ms. Lane in the serial sequel 'Atom Ant.' She later replaced television's Lois Lane, actress Phyllis Coats, after the first season of 1952's 'The Adventures of Superman' until the series ended in 1958.

Each 'Superman" episode, playing during weekend afternoon matinees, were wedged between cartoons and the main feature film. Besides the first three chapters, every one ended in a cliffhanger. The first episode introduced the super hero as an infant on the planet Krypton, and followed him to his journey to planet Earth. A Midwestern farming couple found the baby and brought him up, seeing him off to his first job as a newspaper reporter for the Daily Planet. Superman differs from other super heroes by coming to the rescue of his two colleagues, reporter Lois Lane and photographer Jimmy Olsen, from villains instead of them directly attacking him. The serial also introduced for the first time the outer space material Kryptonite, which can neutralize the powers of Superman.

The low-budgets allocated to "Superman" forced actor Kirk Alyn to change into his Superman outfit behind bushes. Producer Katzman's vision of creating expensive special effects showing Superman fly through the air was tossed after several attempts to film Alyn hoisted by invisible harnesses in front of processed screens failed. He turned to animators to draw him flying in the sky, using Paramount studio's cartoon unit.

Because of "Superman's" success in the theaters, Kellogg cereal sponsored the 1952 TV series 'The Adventures of Superman,' with George Reeves, an actor the same age as Kirk Alyn, 37, when he began the 1948 serial as the superhero. Superman continues to amaze new generations of viewers with the franchise's updated computerized technology, a far cry from when he was first introduced to the screen.

Superman (1948) is a serial movie based on the Superman character and it was great.

Positives for Superman (1948): As someone who is still very new to serial movies, this one got me excited for what was going to happen in the story with these characters. I like the black and white aesthetic of this movie and it gives everything an old school feel to it. I liked Kirk Alyn as Superman and Noel Neill as Lois Lane and they work off each other very well. The music in these chapters is quite good. I like the animation for Superman whenever you see him flying to other places. And finally, the action sequences are quite silly while also still being fun to watch.

Negatives for Superman (1948): The problem with this serial movie is that I watched it on YouTube and it was kind of incomplete, but all the versions I could find on YouTube were like that and that was unfortunate for me.

Overall, Superman (1948) is a great serial movie for the Superman fan in me and I would recommend this to people who are interested in older movies from the early 1900s.

Superman, the 15-chapter serial, is the best of it's kind. Kirk Alyn is excellent as Superman/Clark Kent, Noel Neill is the best Lois Lane ever to hit the screen, Carol Forman makes Spider Lady one of the most hated serial villains of all time!

Some say that the animation is terrible, but I'd prefer it over using real people. The special effects are very amusing, and Mischa Bakaleinikoff's musical score fits the themes of the movie perfectly.

The story goes like this, Jor-El is the only scientist who knows that the planet Krypton is going to explode. He builds a rocket and sends his son far off to the planet earth before the doomed planet explodes. Clark grows up and moves to Metropolis, where he becomes better known as Superman. As Superman he fights for "Truth, Justice, and Tolerance", but the evil Spider Lady plans to destroy everything he represents.

I give it 10/10 Stars

Kirk Alyn's original Superman serial is honestly still one of the best live action portrayals of the character to date. Being close to 80 years old (at the time of writing this review) the film has aged incredibly well-aside from some subtle misogyny-and proved that even in the 40s with limited technological progress especially in film, superhero movies can still be exciting and well made. Not only is the movie itself exciting like I said, but it's written very nicely and performed incredibly as well. This serial film exceeded my expectations and made me love the character and his history even more.

After Gene Hackman, who played Lex Luthor, died recently I began searching for other older Superman movies. I found the 4-disc set of DVDs of this one at my public library. It is called "The Theatrical Series Collection" released in 2006. It is stated to have a running time of 518 minutes which is just over 8 1/2 hours, some of that is because the 1950 movie "Atom Man vs. Superman" is on one of the discs. Also there are special features on the 4th disc. But the content and chapter names are what is in this movie. For film made in the 1940s the B&W video and the sound are very good.

I remember, as a young boy in the 1950s, the movie theater had short "serials" before the main feature and, while I don't specifically remember these Superman episodes, it seems that is what they were made for. These typically run 15 to 16 minutes and end with an apparent disaster, like Lois Lane getting blown up, and the closing credits state "At this theater next week." Then the next episode shows a slightly different situation where Superman comes in time to save the day.

Aside from the entertainment value of watching these original Superman episodes it is also interesting as a reflection of American life back in the 1940s and early 1950s. Men always wore a hat and suit and tie, even the thugs who captured and beat up people. They had portable phones of sorts that could be used in a car but they were very large. The roads and buildings were primitive compared to the 21st century. And the old cars!

All in all a very worthwhile collection of old Superman episodes.