Superman

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.

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 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"!

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.