Very First Live Action Superman
- Ron Clyburn
- Jun 29
- 1 min read
Superman – 1948 & 1950
The first appearance of Superman on film is in a 15-part black and white movie serial simply titled Superman, produced by Columbia in 1948. It stars an uncredited Kirk Alyn as Superman (he was credited on the promotional posters) and Noel Neill as Lois Lane. Superman’s origin in this serial is more aligned with his current backstory: Superman comes to Earth after his home planet Krypton blows up and is raised on a Kansas farm by the Kents. His mother is shown sewing his Superman costume from baby blankets found in the rocket ship.
Another 15-part Superman serial was produced by Columbia in 1950, called Atom Man vs Superman. Kirk Alyn returns as Superman, and we meet Lex Luthor (secretly the Atom Man), played by Lyle Talbot. Noel Neill once again plays Lois Lane, and Perry White, editor of the Daily Planet, is played by Pierre Watkin. We also meet Jimmy Olsen, played by Tommy Bond. In this series, Superman takes on Lex Luthor, who invents dangerous devices and blackmails Metropolis by threatening to destroy the entire city.
You can actually purchase a four-DVD set that includes both the 1948 & 1950 serials on Amazon.
Tune in next time (tomorrow) when I’ll cover the very first feature film based on Superman.
Comments