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| The Adventures of Superman | |
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| Topic Started: Oct 25 2005, 07:42 AM (2,333 Views) | |
| Laughing Gravy | Oct 25 2005, 07:42 AM Post #1 |
Revered in the UK
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Well, I've been living with this one for over a week now, savoring the beautiful package of one of my fave TV series of all time. And the kids love it as much as I did when I was their age. Oddly, watching them in order, the cast hasn't spent much time together. Perry White and Jimmy Olsen weren't in the Superman and the Mole Men feature, most of Superman on Earth was a flashback and the cast appeared only briefly at the end (I dunno the guy's name who played Pa Kent, but he's in It's a Wonderful Life and was a regular on Green Acres, too), and Lois and Perry aren't in The Haunted Lighthouse. Ah, well, at least the guy in the grey suit, tortoise-shell glasses, and fedora hat is around in every episode. (And in all the years I've been watching this thing, I never noticed before the Kent wears a ring on the pinky of his left hand, a ring that disappears when Superman appears. No wonder nobody ever recognized him.) A few things about the DVD set: first, some of them apparently shipped with Disc 4 looking like Disc 4 but actually having the same stuff on it as Disc 5. It seems this problem is limited to DVDs in Canada. Also, I'm told The Stolen Costume is from an inferior 16mm print; the 35mm has not survived. (I haven't watched this episode yet.) There have been complaints from some quarters that the set doesn't include the "Kellogg's, the greatest name in cereals, presents..." opening or the trailers for the following week's episode; apparently, these were added by Kellogg's later, and weren't part of the original 35mm shows, which is why they're not here now. What's most interesting to me is that the episodes I've seen so far have no "fade outs" for commercial breaks in the middle; each episode just zips right along. I love this show! |
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| George Kaplan | Oct 25 2005, 05:21 PM Post #2 |
Balcony Gang, Foist Class
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Ol' Eben Kent (Jonathan elsewhere) was played by Tom Fadden, whose name I couldn't come up with either until I realized he was Wilma's Uncle Ira in Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956). Uncle Ira is one of the spookiest pod people in that movie. Interestingly, Dabs Greer, who plunges from the dirigible in "Superman on Earth," also turned up in Invasion of the Body Snatchers. He was the service station attendant who planted a couple of pods in the trunk of Miles's car. He appears in two later Adventures of Superman episodes, "Five Minutes to Doom" and "The Superman Silver Mine." Lara in the opening Superman episode was played by Aline Towne, familiar to those who have sat through Radar Men from the Moon and Zombies of the Stratosphere. She did another Superman later on: "The Big Squeeze." The Season One set of Adventures of Superman is a pleasure to watch. I haven't made it to "The Stolen Costume" yet, but even the earliest episodes look better than they ever did on my parents' fuzzy RCA 24-inch console TV, "built to look like fine furniture." This was the single most important TV show of my childhood. Not to mention my adulthood, whenever that was. Informal poll: How many of you owned a Superman suit in the 1950s? I had two. The first was courtesy of several boxes of RIT dye and the patience (never to be repeated) of my mother and sister, who stood at the kitchen sink soaking my homesewn cape and drawers. The least attractive parts of the suit were the giant S, which had to be laboriously drawn by hand--it never looked right--and the briefs. I was not gonna wear my Fruit of the Looms outside my pants, no matter what color they were dyed. So I settled on a swimsuit, which unfortunately was decorated with orange goldfish swimming left and right. The second suit came (sans boots) from Montgomery Ward, I believe, and looked brilliantly like the real thing (if the real thing was hung on a broomstick and not on George Reeves). The only thing Wards didn't get right was the S. It was the right color but it lacked that delicious stretched-out-of-shape quality. I didn't care. Until I grew out of that suit, I was the kid of steel. |
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| Inspector Duff | Oct 25 2005, 06:22 PM Post #3 |
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Charter Member
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This set has been an absolute delight. I don't have that many TV DVDs and those I do get watched over a long period of time. Not this one. I have found myself watching 4 or 5 episodes at a time. I told my wife that watching this and looking at the vintage comic-style Superman picture that's behind the discs makes me feel like a 10 year old again; that's the best way I can describe it. These really are like mini movies especially with the fade to black for commercials removed. The reports on Stolen Costume had me fearing the worst, but it really is quite watchable even if it a noticable drop in quality. It has been the only subpar episode out of the 20 or so I've seen. Most of the episodes look fantastic. So much so that you can see things like shadows of cameras and lighting equipment  In the "Evil 3" episode a cameo appearance is made by the springboard that Superman jumped off of when starting flight (the commentator made note of it). I will buy every season that WB puts out. |
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| The Batman | Oct 26 2005, 08:08 PM Post #4 |
Charter Member
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I picked up this set, as well, and I can't wait to dive in. Unfortunately, I did get a defective set; with disc 4 marked correctly, but having the same contents as disc 5. I have sent my email to the appropriate address at Warner Bros., but I have not received a response. Hopefully they will respond soon. Interesting stuff, regarding the quality of THE STOLEN COSTUME episode. This episdode was included in the series of VHS tapes of THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN, released by Columbia House Video a few years ago. I will have to compare my copy against the DVD version, I am curious to see what the difference, if any, there is in the quality. About Clark Kent's pinky ring, that was actually George Reeve's own ring, which he wore for years. |
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| Tony Bolton | Oct 28 2005, 08:44 AM Post #5 |
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Balcony Gang, Foist Class
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Adventures of Superman I am enjoying the series on DVD quite a bit. I have noticed the springboard, the plyboard brickwall Jimmy Olsen is slammed against in The Monkey Mystery. I wish they would have had more George Reeves commercials on this set; there are 3. Crime Wave is finally seen complete. I think Phyllis Coates was knocked out in Night of Terror and she appears to have split lip on zoom. But her beauty is even more evident on DVD in the 21 episodes she appears. I may be the only one but I think Ghost Wolf is not complete. I seem to remember Garagan looking out his window with binoculars and seeing Pierre setting fires at which time Gargan comes out with gun in hand looking for Pierre. Unless I dozed off for a second this does not happen on the DVD presentation. Warner could have did a better job honestly. They screwed up the episode description on the box, put the wrong DVD's in the box hopefully they will do a better job next time. Still this is a must have. |
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| panzer the great & terrible | Oct 28 2005, 09:58 AM Post #6 |
Mouth Breather
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Got to agree -- this was the single most important show of my childhood, with ROBIN HOOD in second place. It is a joy to see this stuff again. Especially fun are the heavy-handed gags about Supie's secret identity. |
| We Wear Short Shorts Flying Purple People Eater | |
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| Laughing Gravy | Oct 28 2005, 10:08 AM Post #7 |
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Revered in the UK
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Last night, I watched "The Case of the Talkative Dummy", and found three great serial stars as guests: Pierre Watkins, Tris Coffin, and the screen's greatest serial comic relief, Sid Saylor. |
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| panzer the great & terrible | Oct 28 2005, 10:50 AM Post #8 |
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Mouth Breather
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I can't talk about it without violating the Spoiler rule, but wasn't the criminal plot in that one the most hare-brained, unnecessarily complicated conspiracy ever? |
| We Wear Short Shorts Flying Purple People Eater | |
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| George Kaplan | Oct 28 2005, 12:22 PM Post #9 |
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Balcony Gang, Foist Class
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Considering the show's shooting schedule (Gary Grossman says between 10 and 20 pages of dialogue were shot per day), I'm amazed that so much care went into each episode. Some fans have complained that the first season's stories were too tightly plotted and that the onscreen action had to be rushed just to get everything in. But so many things were done so well! Grossman mentions the sometimes extraordinary lighting in "The Haunted Lighthouse." The kitchen set that Jimmy crosses at night is lit as strikingly as anything in Double Indemnity--and who had the time? Seeing that degree of care go into a brief but important shot makes you forgive the painted clouds and sky "outdoors." I just watched "A Night of Terror," and while it's not especially terrifying it does deserve a tip of the hat for sheer cinematic savvy. I had to back up and watch one of the opening shots twice: After showing us a motel sign, the camera puts us inside the office, where keys hang from a placard and a cigarette smolders in an ashtray on the counter; it pans to show a countrified lobby with cigarette machine, pennants on the wall from various northern states, a card table where a game has been in progress, and so on--but the place appears to be deserted until the camera floats us back to the front counter and beyond, and, lo and behold, there's the body of a woman, evidently the clerk (dead? sapped?), lying on the floor. One continuous shot. You can't NOT think of Hitchcock's opening shot in Rear Window, which wouldn't be seen until 1954. And while many movies have since made even more sophisticated use of a moving camera, how many television writers and directors have made the effort to advance a plot through means other than dialogue? This is good stuff. |
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| Laughing Gravy | Oct 28 2005, 12:43 PM Post #10 |
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Revered in the UK
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Absolutely. And I love the shot in Talkative Dummy where Clark and Lois are sitting next to each other in a car, watching the safe (with Jimmy in it) falling from a window. The shot quickly pans from Clark to Lois and back to Clark... or so we thought, except Clark's seat is now empty. And watching the early shows again renews my respect for George Reeves, who in these early episodes is so perfect as the Man of Steel that it's hard to believe that anybody could ever successfully follow him. He's amazing. |
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| Frank Hale | Oct 28 2005, 01:36 PM Post #11 |
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Balcony Gang, Foist Class
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Really, all five leads are just about perfect, and it makes me smile just thinking about all the old pros in the supporting casts. The shot in the Talkative Dummy that I had remembered down through the years was when Henderson is leaving the theatre, suddenly sees the usher and backtracks, shows him his badge and says “Let’s go”. The usher doesn’t say anything; just drops his pile of programs and follows meekly. An economy that would have made Jack Warner proud. |
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| Laughing Gravy | Nov 1 2005, 10:39 AM Post #12 |
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Revered in the UK
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Thanks to our homies at tvshowsondvd.com, we now know that Vol. 2 will include commentary on a couple of episodes by Noel Neill and Jack Larson, a short bio of Miss Neill, and best of all the Stamp Day for Superman promotional short, which brought back a LOT of memories when I saw it on VHS. The U.S. Savings Stamps program for kids was in its waning years when I went to school, but it was still promoted in my formative years. |
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| Rogmeister | Nov 1 2005, 12:58 PM Post #13 |
Charter Member
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I have Stamp Day For Superman but I have it on Super 8 Sound film...since I've been without a projector for years, it's been some time since I've been able to see it. |
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| The Batman | Nov 1 2005, 07:51 PM Post #14 |
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Charter Member
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That's great news about the inclusion of STAMP DAY FOR SUPERMAN. What isn't so great news is the fact I have not heard back from Warner Bros., concerning replacement of my defective disc 4. It has been 2 weeks, without a word. I will probably just have to return the whole set to the store and wait for corrected sets to be shipped up here. |
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| Laughing Gravy | Nov 3 2005, 08:04 PM Post #15 |
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Revered in the UK
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Watched "Night of Terror" tonight. Wow. First of all, this is the first time in 30 years of watching this show that I ever noticed an obvious stunt double for George Reeves. What a crushing disappointment! Darn that big-screen TV! Second, listen very carefully (or turn up the sound) just after Superman belts the last villain (the one who has just bent a knife on Superman's chest). After the bad guy hurtles backwards, you can hear him say, "God... damn it!" Third... Did anybody else notice Popeye's cameo appearance in this episode?!?!? |
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