Hollywood Studio Magazine (April 1972)

Is it a hit or a miss? That’s what Superman seems to be asking Perry White (Pierre Watkin), Lois Lane (Noel Neill) and Jimmy Olsen (Tommy Bond) as he shows them a broken record that provides a vital clue during the last episode of the serial adventure. Superman (Alyn) in a familiar situation; rescuing pretty Lois Lane (Noel Neill) one more time. When the electrical gadgets were turned on, the electrical lightning turned that moment into a “shocking” sequence. started chapter-play production for that studio in 1944 with “Brenda Starr, Reporter.” Katzman had produced several independent serials in the ’30s, and, under his Banner Productions in the ’40s, produced features for Monogram, many featuring Bela Lugosi and the East Side Kids. “Superman” earned a special distinction that few chapter-plays had. When released it was booked into the RKO first-run theater chain in New York for its initial presentation. Superman’s Beginning The first episode, “Superman Comes to Earth,” began with a detailed refresher course on the origin of the Man of Steel. In the depths of space, the planet Krypton, home of a race of men and women of amazing physical -and intellectual powers millions of years beyond the people of Earth, experienced a series of quakes that rocked the planet. One of Krypton’s leading scientists, Jor-El, discovered the cause of the quakes - the planet was gradually being pulled out of its orbit toward its sun. The end result would be an explosion that would blast the planet to bits like a gigantic bubble. Already, subterranean pockets of gas were exploding, igniting long dormant volcanoes. Fearing for the safety of his wife Lara and his infant son, Jor-El tried to make the planet’s supreme council realize the danger their world faced. But he was scorned as an alarmist. In vain, Jor-El attempted to persuade the council to build a fleet of space-ships for the people of Krypton to take to another world similar to their own — our planet Earth. His plan ridiculed, Jor-El returned to his home-laboratory where he had been working on a scale-model rocketship. As he continued to prepare, aware that only one of his family could go into it, the fatal quake rocked the planet. Seeing that the end had come, Jor-El and Lara put their infant son, wrapped in a blanket, inside the rocket and launched it into space. The spaceship hurtled into the void momemts before Krypton exploded. Superman Arrives On Earth The ship raced through space and landed on Earth in the year 1927 along a country road. An elderly couple, Mr. and Mrs. Kent, driving along that road, spotted the rocket landing and found the missile and its tiny passenger. The spaceship burst into flame, no doubt from the friction of entering Earth’s atmosphere, but the Kents managed to get the child out in time. Determined to raise the child as their own, the Kents gave him the name of Clark Kent. As he grew to maturity, young Clark soon became aware that he was very different from his friends. Let’s face it, it’s not every youngster who can run faster than anything moving, look through objects with X-ray vision or see things far away with super-sight, as well as hear the slightest sound with super-hearing. After saving his father from a tornado, Clark is told of his origin by his parents. Naturally, in those days, a person with young Kent’s abilities was given a choice as how to use his powers - for good or evil, with no anti-hero tendencies. Naturally, he chose to use it for “justice, truth and tolerance.” A plan was made. When he would eventually leave the farm, Clark would get a job to keep in touch with world events (a reporter on a newspaper). As for a costume, Mrs. Kent saw to that, making a uniform out of the blankets in which Clark had been wrapped. A uniform of blue and red, with swirling cape. On the chest was a large red “S”. With this, Superman, the Man of Steel was born. When the Kents passed away, Clark, grown to manhood, made his way to the train station to catch the Limited bound for Metropolis, one of the major cities in the country. Arriving at the train station, he noticed several people clustered around a section of railroad track. With his super-sight and hearing, Clark learned that a section of track had come loose — the bolts holding had either been cut or broken off. If the Limited hit the gap in the track, it would derail, causing great damage and loss of life. Seeing that his first job as Superman is at hand, Clark dashes behind some bushes and proceeds to change. Chapter II As the first chapter ended, it was a race against time. Would Superman complete his change in time to save the train as it hurtled toward the