Superman's First Full Length Feature Film
With the release of the new Superman movie, I thought it would be a good time to go back in time and tell you about the very first full length feature film about The Man of Steel.
Fans of Superman are familiar with his origin in comic books in the 3Os.
Two Jewish teens in Cleveland, one the writer, Jerry Siegel, the other the illustrator,
Joe Shuster, first published Superman's debut on June of 1938, in Action Comics #1.
Next up, The Adventures of Superman was a syndicated radio program on
February 12, 1940, on New York City's WOR-AM before being broadcast nationwide on the Mutual Broadcasting System and eventually ABC Radio.
In 1948, Superman made the big screen, as Kirk Alyn starred in 'Superman' and in 1950, a sequel 'Atom Man vs Superman.' Both were 15 chapter serials done at Columbia studios.
This brings us to November 6, 1951, when Lippert Pictures released the first full length feature film (58 minutes) of any DC Comics character, to theaters. The title was Superman and the Mole Men, starring George Reeves as the superhero.
The Cold War was heating up.
The House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) was investigating Hollywood in the 40s, and the most prominent hearings took place in 1947 and 1951-52, fueled by fears of communist influence within the film industry....and ruining many lives and careers in the process.
Enter Superman and the Mole Men.
From Wikipedia:
Reporters Clark Kent and Lois Lane arrive in the small town of Silsby to witness the drilling of the world's deepest oil well. The drill, however, has penetrated the underground home of a race of small, bald humanoids who, out of curiosity, climb to the surface at night. They glow in the dark, which scares the local townspeople who form a mob intent on killing the creatures. Only Superman can intervene to prevent tragedy.
Clark Kent and Lois Lane arrive in the small town of Silsby to report on the world's deepest oil well. That night, two small, furry, bald dwarf humanoids emerge through the shaft and scare the elderly night watchman to death. Lois and Clark arrive at the oil well and find the dead watchman. Clark and the foreman explore the surrounding area for signs of foul play, but then Lois glimpses one of the creatures. However, no one believes her when she tells them what she saw.
The medical examiner is summoned, and he later leaves with Lois. Clark stays behind to confront the foreman, who confesses that the well was closed out of fear they had struck radium and not oil. The foreman proceeds to show Clark ore samples that were collected during different stages of drilling; all of them glow brightly.
Meanwhile, the two Mole Men explore the town, but the residents become terrified because of their peculiar appearance and the fact that everything they touch glows in the dark due to phosphorescence. Soon, an angry mob forms, led by the violent Luke Benson, to kill the "monsters". Superman stops Benson and the mob and saves one of the creatures in mid-air after it is shot from the top of a dam. While Superman takes it to the hospital, the second creature returns to the wellhead and disappears down its shaft.
A doctor announces that the injured creature will die unless it has surgery to remove the bullet. When a nurse refuses to do so out of fear, Clark volunteers to assist. Benson's mob arrives at the hospital demanding that the creature be turned over to them. Superman stands guard outside the hospital with Lois, but a shot is fired from the mob and narrowly misses her. Superman sends her inside and single-handedly disarms the mob.
Three more Mole Men emerge from the drill shaft, this time bearing a strange weapon. They make their way to the hospital, where Benson and his mob see them; Benson decides to go after them alone. The creatures fire their laser-like weapon at him, but Superman jumps in front of the ray, saving Benson's life. Superman fetches the wounded creature from the hospital and carries him alongside his companions as they return to the wellhead. After descending back down, the Mole Men destroy the drill shaft, ensuring that no one can come up or go down it.
My 2 cents:
The script writers were Robert Maxwell Joffe and Frederick Whitney Ellsworth.
Maxwell was one of the producers, as well as a writer and director of The Adventures of Superman radio show, and a producer of the early tv episodes. Ellsworth was a comic book editor, and sometime writer and artist for DC Comics during the "Golden Age of Comic Books." He was also a producer and story editor on the tv series.
I can find no information in my research that provides details of these two men's 'message' of this film. Perhaps there's not one.
For me, taken at face value, the message is a direct indictment of mob mentality fueled by fear, which then breeds hatred, of 'the other' i.e. anyone who does not look like or talk like them. Violence and often death or at the minimum, severe injury are the result of these actions.
Superman stands between the mob and these 'mole men' and prevails....but without him, we know what would have happened, and it would have been as ugly as The Ox Bow Incident.
Superman's sympathetic treatment of the strangers, and the irrational paranoia of the majority of the townspeople are most certainly a product and reaction to the Red Scare.
In the closing scene, as the flames spew from the wellhead, Lois Lane speaks the final words: "They seem to be saying, You live your lives....and we'll live ours" as Superman nods his head in agreement.
Today we continue to struggle to overcome our fear of those who do not look like or talk like us, forgetting that we are all members of the human race. We must learn to live together. We need to extend the hand of friendship rather than extending the fist of fear and hate.
Superman and The Mole Men was shot in 12 days on the RKO-Pathe lot, beginning on July 10, 1951. It was a trial run of sorts, setting the stage for The Adventures of Superman tv series.
The film was edited into two parts that were to bring an end to Season 1. The episodes were retitled The Unknown People. The original music score for the film was eliminated and replaced by production music cues.
Actor Jeff Corey, who plays antagonist Luke Benson, was a victim of the Blacklist.
Robert Shayne, who would play Inspector Henderson in the tv series was also blacklisted.
Fans of Superman are familiar with his origin in comic books in the 3Os.
Two Jewish teens in Cleveland, one the writer, Jerry Siegel, the other the illustrator,
Joe Shuster, first published Superman's debut on June of 1938, in Action Comics #1.
Next up, The Adventures of Superman was a syndicated radio program on
February 12, 1940, on New York City's WOR-AM before being broadcast nationwide on the Mutual Broadcasting System and eventually ABC Radio.
In 1948, Superman made the big screen, as Kirk Alyn starred in 'Superman' and in 1950, a sequel 'Atom Man vs Superman.' Both were 15 chapter serials done at Columbia studios.
This brings us to November 6, 1951, when Lippert Pictures released the first full length feature film (58 minutes) of any DC Comics character, to theaters. The title was Superman and the Mole Men, starring George Reeves as the superhero.
The Cold War was heating up.
The House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) was investigating Hollywood in the 40s, and the most prominent hearings took place in 1947 and 1951-52, fueled by fears of communist influence within the film industry....and ruining many lives and careers in the process.
Enter Superman and the Mole Men.
From Wikipedia:
Reporters Clark Kent and Lois Lane arrive in the small town of Silsby to witness the drilling of the world's deepest oil well. The drill, however, has penetrated the underground home of a race of small, bald humanoids who, out of curiosity, climb to the surface at night. They glow in the dark, which scares the local townspeople who form a mob intent on killing the creatures. Only Superman can intervene to prevent tragedy.
Clark Kent and Lois Lane arrive in the small town of Silsby to report on the world's deepest oil well. That night, two small, furry, bald dwarf humanoids emerge through the shaft and scare the elderly night watchman to death. Lois and Clark arrive at the oil well and find the dead watchman. Clark and the foreman explore the surrounding area for signs of foul play, but then Lois glimpses one of the creatures. However, no one believes her when she tells them what she saw.
The medical examiner is summoned, and he later leaves with Lois. Clark stays behind to confront the foreman, who confesses that the well was closed out of fear they had struck radium and not oil. The foreman proceeds to show Clark ore samples that were collected during different stages of drilling; all of them glow brightly.
Meanwhile, the two Mole Men explore the town, but the residents become terrified because of their peculiar appearance and the fact that everything they touch glows in the dark due to phosphorescence. Soon, an angry mob forms, led by the violent Luke Benson, to kill the "monsters". Superman stops Benson and the mob and saves one of the creatures in mid-air after it is shot from the top of a dam. While Superman takes it to the hospital, the second creature returns to the wellhead and disappears down its shaft.
A doctor announces that the injured creature will die unless it has surgery to remove the bullet. When a nurse refuses to do so out of fear, Clark volunteers to assist. Benson's mob arrives at the hospital demanding that the creature be turned over to them. Superman stands guard outside the hospital with Lois, but a shot is fired from the mob and narrowly misses her. Superman sends her inside and single-handedly disarms the mob.
Three more Mole Men emerge from the drill shaft, this time bearing a strange weapon. They make their way to the hospital, where Benson and his mob see them; Benson decides to go after them alone. The creatures fire their laser-like weapon at him, but Superman jumps in front of the ray, saving Benson's life. Superman fetches the wounded creature from the hospital and carries him alongside his companions as they return to the wellhead. After descending back down, the Mole Men destroy the drill shaft, ensuring that no one can come up or go down it.
My 2 cents:
The script writers were Robert Maxwell Joffe and Frederick Whitney Ellsworth.
Maxwell was one of the producers, as well as a writer and director of The Adventures of Superman radio show, and a producer of the early tv episodes. Ellsworth was a comic book editor, and sometime writer and artist for DC Comics during the "Golden Age of Comic Books." He was also a producer and story editor on the tv series.
I can find no information in my research that provides details of these two men's 'message' of this film. Perhaps there's not one.
For me, taken at face value, the message is a direct indictment of mob mentality fueled by fear, which then breeds hatred, of 'the other' i.e. anyone who does not look like or talk like them. Violence and often death or at the minimum, severe injury are the result of these actions.
Superman stands between the mob and these 'mole men' and prevails....but without him, we know what would have happened, and it would have been as ugly as The Ox Bow Incident.
Superman's sympathetic treatment of the strangers, and the irrational paranoia of the majority of the townspeople are most certainly a product and reaction to the Red Scare.
In the closing scene, as the flames spew from the wellhead, Lois Lane speaks the final words: "They seem to be saying, You live your lives....and we'll live ours" as Superman nods his head in agreement.
Today we continue to struggle to overcome our fear of those who do not look like or talk like us, forgetting that we are all members of the human race. We must learn to live together. We need to extend the hand of friendship rather than extending the fist of fear and hate.
Superman and The Mole Men was shot in 12 days on the RKO-Pathe lot, beginning on July 10, 1951. It was a trial run of sorts, setting the stage for The Adventures of Superman tv series.
The film was edited into two parts that were to bring an end to Season 1. The episodes were retitled The Unknown People. The original music score for the film was eliminated and replaced by production music cues.
Actor Jeff Corey, who plays antagonist Luke Benson, was a victim of the Blacklist.
Robert Shayne, who would play Inspector Henderson in the tv series was also blacklisted.
