Atom Man Vs Superman

[davidelliott]

All this talk about Kirk Alyn lately got me pulling out my VHS tapes of the 2nd serial, "Atom Man Vs. Superman"...

I just finished watching it for the first time in YEARS and was surprised at how GOOD it was, especially for a serial.  I have the 2 Batman serials and the Capt Marvel one, too...  Cap's serial is a classic and problably the best serial of all time, BUT Atom Man sure holds it's own!

First, Kirk Alyn was amazing.  His facial expressions... when using super hearing or X-Ray vision, well you didn't NEED special effects... his face WAS the effect.  You could tell he was using the appropriate power without flash or glitz.  At the end of the 15th chapter, I was wishing that it was he, and not George Reeves, that was the TV Superman (no slight at Reeves... he WAS classic, but even as a kid I never felt he WAS Superman).  The opening cast credits don't list Alyn... instead it's SUPERMAN who's starring in the serial.  His Clark Kent was manly and meek at the same time.

Noel Neill... nothing else can be said about her... she WAS Lois!

Lyle Talbot, as Luthor, WAS the comic book Luthor.  He looked like him and acted like him. Very much the classic villain and it's too bad future Luthors couldn't follow his act properly.

The effects were spectacular for the time.  Even the "cartoon flying" shots were ahead of their time, forshadowing CGI.  It also gave ther serial a "comic book" feel, in my opinion.  The empty doom was a great phantom zone foreshadow and there were even flashbacks to the origin of Superman, as Luthor explained to his lacky the reason why Superman was around.

I can actually see this serial as fitting into the actual history of the Earth-Two Superman, in a way.

Next, I'll watch the first serial with the diabolical Spider Lady!

[davidelliott]

A couple of other thoughts...

Kirk Alyn came across as a small town guy in a big city... no wonder, he was born in Oxford NJ and I know he lived in Wharton NJ for a good part of his early life (I lived in Wharton for about 8 years... 94 to 02 and it is STILL a small town).  I think he, above all other Superman actors, reflected Supes' small town roots.  The only other actors that came close were Reeve and Rousch.

As other have mentioned, Alyn's Superman looked like he had fun being Superman.  He was like a big brother who was there to help out... His Superman was very human and humble.

I really wish he did more Super projects!

[Super Monkey]

A couple of other thoughts...

Kirk Alyn came across as a small town guy in a big city... no wonder, he was born in Oxford NJ and I know he lived in Wharton NJ for a good part of his early life (I lived in Wharton for about 8 years... 94 to 02 and it is STILL a small town).  I think he, above all other Superman actors, reflected Supes' small town roots.  The only other actors that came close were Reeve and Rousch.

As other have mentioned, Alyn's Superman looked like he had fun being Superman.  He was like a big brother who was there to help out... His Superman was very human and humble.

I really wish he did more Super projects!

He and Noel Neill played Lois Lane's Parents in the 1st Superman film, the scene was cut but if you brought the extended cut of the movie on DVD, you finally got to see it. It happens when young Clark is running pass the Train, they are in the train.

[nightwing]

Depending on who's telling the story, Kirk was either passed up for the TV show, or was offered it and turned it down.  Either way, I think it worked out for the best.  He did a great job playing Clark and Superman as two distinct personalities (without turning Clark into the Nutty Professor, as Chris Reeve did) but if you look at the way the TV show was structured, the typical episode had about 22 or more minutes of Clark and 45 seconds to 3 minutes of Superman.  Frankly I have to wonder if audiences would have sat still for a half hour of a cowardly nebbish getting picked on all the time.

Sure, George's tough-as-nails, two-fisted Clark makes it hard to believe anyone would fail to see through the disguise, but he also comes off as the most interesting and admirable Clark on film to date.

I agree the animated flying effects are fun if you keep an open mind.  But from what I've read, even audiences of the day thought it was a cheap way out, and a disappointment.

Still looks better than any of the CGI work in the last Bond movie, though...

[davidelliott]

I was thinking of the Die Another Day CGI too... very poorly done!

BUT, if Kirk Alyn was picked up for the TV show, things may have been a bit different.  Maybe he would have had the clout to give Superman more screen time (who knows?) and maybe the TV show would have been closer to the comics, like the serials were.  I had often wondered, even as a kid, why Luthor and other villains weren't featured on the TV show....

Oh, and as Monk said, yeah he played Lois' parents and I have the DVD version... but I also had the trading cards and there was one that featured him in that missing scene.  I just meant that I wish he played Superman again!

[nightwing]

BUT, if Kirk Alyn was picked up for the TV show, things may have been a bit different.  Maybe he would have had the clout to give Superman more screen time (who knows?) and maybe the TV show would have been closer to the comics, like the serials were.  I had often wondered, even as a kid, why Luthor and other villains weren't featured on the TV show....

Well, I don't know what "clout" had to do with it.  My understanding is that the TV show was launched by a lot of veterans of the radio program, notably Bob Maxwell, and the rock-em, sock-em sensibilities of that medium came with them.  At the start, anyway, they seemed to want to do "noir" type stories, lots of murders and suspense and horror stuff, as opposed to the serials which were more a case of straight adventure and sci-fi.  It's hard enough making a super-powered guy in his longjohns fit into a film noir setting, but using a buffoonish Clark would've made it fall apart completely.

I'm not sure why Luthor never showed up on the TV show, though he'd have been a natural.  Rather than come up with the umpteenth absent-minded scientist, why not have Luthor responsible for some of those inventions run amuck?  And considering how often the same actors kept being re-used for one gangster role after another anyway, why not have an actual recurring villain? 

I am a huge fan of Kirk's work as Superman, but I love George, too.  It's great to have them both. 

[Aldous]

Nightwing:

George's tough-as-nails, two-fisted Clark makes it hard to believe anyone would fail to see through the disguise

I'm not sure I agree, Nightwing. The problem is, Clark is tough in a completely different way to Superman. As Clark is perceived, he can be injured or killed, whereas Superman, for the most part, is invulnerable. By that I mean Superman is not being "tough". He hasn't anything to worry about.

And even from the earliest shows, Clark was still getting dirty looks from Lois for slithering off when danger threatened. Clark was never consistent, but decided on his course of action depending upon the circumstances.

Rather than come up with the umpteenth absent-minded scientist, why not have Luthor responsible for some of those inventions run amuck?  And considering how often the same actors kept being re-used for one gangster role after another anyway, why not have an actual recurring villain?

Personally, I'm glad they never did this. I think they got it right. The re-use of actors notwithstanding, it would have detracted from the show to have a villian as part of the regular ensemble. This is one thing that doesn't translate well from comic books to the screen... Why would Superman tangle with the same man every other week? The Luthor character would become part of the regular cast, and then you'd never get rid of him. He'd be turning up too often, and I'd be asking myself why George's Superman doesn't just give this guy a tap behind the ear and finish him off, because -- honestly -- if Luthor repeatedly caused havoc and loss of life, the TV Superman would take him out. I have no doubt about this. Look what he did to the one-off villains who found out too much about his double identity in the episode which I think was about the stolen costume.

George (Superman) Reeves didn't muck about, and he would make short, sharp work of Lex Luthor.

[davidelliott]

Rather than come up with the umpteenth absent-minded scientist, why not have Luthor responsible for some of those inventions run amuck?  And considering how often the same actors kept being re-used for one gangster role after another anyway, why not have an actual recurring villain?

Personally, I'm glad they never did this. I think they got it right. The re-use of actors notwithstanding, it would have detracted from the show to have a villian as part of the regular ensemble. This is one thing that doesn't translate well from comic books to the screen... Why would Superman tangle with the same man every other week? The Luthor character would become part of the regular cast, and then you'd never get rid of him. He'd be turning up too often, and I'd be asking myself why George's Superman doesn't just give this guy a tap behind the ear and finish him off, because -- honestly -- if Luthor repeatedly caused havoc and loss of life, the TV Superman would take him out. I have no doubt about this. Look what he did to the one-off villains who found out too much about his double identity in the episode which I think was about the stolen costume.
[/quote]

Well, I don't think Luthor should have been "part of the cast" like he is nowadays (Lois & Clark/Smallville).  That would have been wrong... I was thinking like once or twice a season have him appear... MAYBE the Prankster and/or Toyman ONCE a year, just to balance the run of the mill crooks that were on every episode.

Getting back to Kirk Alyn, I do think the TV series would have had a different flavor with him in the starring role.  Personally, I think the fact that Reeves didn't look like Superman (I always thought he was to thin), but was an awesome Clark was the reason why "The Adventures of Superman" was more "The Adventures of Clark Kent with 2 Minutes of Superman".  Alyn may have meant more Superman airtime.

Don't get me wrong, I grew up watching TAoS... I'm just really turned on to the serials right now.  Even my cynical "Superman is so fake I hate black and white" 14 year old stepson is into it.  We started the first serial today and got through the first 3 chapters...