SUPERMAN (1948 serial). Director: Spencer Gordon Bennet.
The first Superman cliffhanger serial from Columbia pictures stars Kirk Alyn (pictured) as the super-hero from the doomed planet Krypton. Although most of the really great villains of the comic book didn't appear until after this serial was released -- Braniac, for instance -- surely the writers could have come up with a more interesting antagonist than the witchy Spider-Lady (Carol Forman). Although Forman wasn't bad as The Black Widow, and she doesn't actually stink in Superman, she comes off more like an especially bitchy cocktail waitress or B girl than a serious super-villainess. Noel Neill is appealing as Lois Lane -- Neill was one of the more distinctive serial heroines -- and Tommy Bond, while initially off-putting, grows on you as Jimmy Olsen. Alyn doesn't exhibit much more charisma as Superman than he does as Clark Kent, but at least he doesn't portray Kent as a coward. There are a couple of decent cliffhangers in the production, but for long stretches Superman is pretty dull stuff. Not the worst of Columbia's serials, but a far cry from the best.
Verdict: The Man of Steel deserved better. **1/2.
The first Superman cliffhanger serial from Columbia pictures stars Kirk Alyn (pictured) as the super-hero from the doomed planet Krypton. Although most of the really great villains of the comic book didn't appear until after this serial was released -- Braniac, for instance -- surely the writers could have come up with a more interesting antagonist than the witchy Spider-Lady (Carol Forman). Although Forman wasn't bad as The Black Widow, and she doesn't actually stink in Superman, she comes off more like an especially bitchy cocktail waitress or B girl than a serious super-villainess. Noel Neill is appealing as Lois Lane -- Neill was one of the more distinctive serial heroines -- and Tommy Bond, while initially off-putting, grows on you as Jimmy Olsen. Alyn doesn't exhibit much more charisma as Superman than he does as Clark Kent, but at least he doesn't portray Kent as a coward. There are a couple of decent cliffhangers in the production, but for long stretches Superman is pretty dull stuff. Not the worst of Columbia's serials, but a far cry from the best.
Verdict: The Man of Steel deserved better. **1/2.
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