SUPERMAN! First and greatest superhero of them all. Greatest? In theory at least, as he's taken a bit of a kicking from various writers messing around with his legend down through the years. The only time I read a Superman comic nowadays is if it's an old one in my collection or a reprint in a facsimile edition. The MAN Of STEEL as he is today is just not the same guy I grew up with, name and powers notwithstanding.
If you feel anything remotely like me, you may enjoy reading about the mighty MAN Of TOMORROW's silver screen adventures from these pulsating pages of On The SCENE Presents (The) SUPER HEROES, as it comes from a time (1966) when the MAN From KRYPTON was still recognizable to oldtimers like you and me. ('Scuse me while I gob into the spitoon.)
Let's hope the upcoming big-budget movie from ZACK SNYDER is truly a return to greatness for CLARK KENT and his famous alter-ego. If the world ever needed a superhero to look up to, it needs one now - and ol' Supes is surely the best man for the job. Whether Zack or HENRY CAVILL are likewise qualified, though, remains to be seen.
Don't miss Part Four - FLASH GORDON!
IIRC, this one was reprinted from Warren's Screen Thrills Illustrated #1. It briefly mentions the radio show and the Paramount cartoons, both of which had Bud Collyer as Clark/Superman and Joan Alexander as Lois. They also voiced the characters on the 1966 TV cartoon series. Collyer is probably best known as a TV game show host. The 1950s TV show made a star of George Reeves, but then the typecasting ruined his career. Kirk Alyn also played Blackhawk in a Columbia serial. The two movie serials seem to have been competently done, for the most part, but the scenes of Superman flying were done with painfully obvious line-drawn animated cartoons. Republic Pictures did a much better job in their Captain Marvel and Rocket Man/Commando Cody serials. Reportedly, Republic negotiated with DC to do a Superman movie in 1940, but the deal fell through, so Republic made a deal with Fawcett and did Captain Marvel instead.
ReplyDeleteI read somewhere that Bud Collyer only did the voice for the first six (I think) Paramount cartoons. Do you know if this is true? Also, they used animation for a flying sequence in George Reeve's first Superman movie.
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting.
Wikipedia said that Collyer "initially" played the part, but did not explain who, if anyone, replaced him. I thought the cast might have changed when Paramount and/or Famous Studios took over from the Fleischer brothers, but supermanhomepage.com said that Collyer voiced the character in "all 17" cartoons.
ReplyDeleteIt was only recently I read that he had only voiced six of them - I just wish I could remember where I read it. Funny how there's always conflicting information, eh?
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of conflicting information, for years there were rumors about George Reeves' death. One meme was that he became delusional and believed that he really was Superman, and that he jumped out a high window (or off of a roof), trying to fly. Another was that he shot himself, thinking that the bullet would bounce off. Reeves did die of a gunshot wound, but there is no evidence for the "thought he was really Superman" idea. For years, I believed that he committed suicide because typecasting had ruined his career. But A&E's "Biography" and the movie "Hollywoodland" both made a case that he was murdered, either by his girlfriend or her jealous husband. Still, there is no proof, only speculation.
ReplyDelete'The Fame Formula' by Mark Borkowski devotes a segment to George Reeves death, and if his presentation of the facts is accurate, makes a compelling case for Reeves having been murdered.
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