IMDb RATING
6.7/10
1.3K
YOUR RATING
Superman comes to Earth as a child and grows up to be his home's first superhero with his first major challenge being to oppose The Spider Lady.Superman comes to Earth as a child and grows up to be his home's first superhero with his first major challenge being to oppose The Spider Lady.Superman comes to Earth as a child and grows up to be his home's first superhero with his first major challenge being to oppose The Spider Lady.
Fred Aldrich
- Cop at Museum
- (uncredited)
Phil Arnold
- Cabbie
- (uncredited)
Jimmy Aubrey
- Wave Tracer
- (uncredited)
Robert Barron
- Ro-Zon
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaIn Superman (1978), Kirk Alyn and Noel Neill have cameos as the parents of Lois Lane, in a train that is being passed by a running, teenage Clark Kent. Their scene was essentially cut from the original theatrical release but restored in the subsequent extended edition.
- GoofsIn Chapter 13, as Superman dismounts from the roof of a car, it is clearly visible that the back of his pants have split open, something Superman's super-costume couldn't have done.
- Quotes
Jimmy Olsen: [unaware of approaching derailment] This train is really goin'. The engineer must be late for dinner.
Lois Lane: The way he's traveling he hasn't eaten all week!
[looks out window]
- Alternate versionsOpening chapter credits removed from the video release.
- ConnectionsEdited into Superman (1948)
Featured review
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.
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.
- Vigilante-407
- Mar 25, 1999
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Details
Box office
- Budget
- $350,000 (estimated)
- Runtime4 hours 4 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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