The Early History of Superman
The Man of Steel in Film and Television From The Golden Age to Today
Nov 16, 2008
The story of Superman's creation by two young men is well documented, as is the history of the character in comic books and graphic novels over the last seventy years. The character as contained in the static pages of comic books is only part of the story. The Last Son of Krypton has conquered virtually every other media form on the planet as well.
Radio
Superman's first foray into multi-media happened not long after his initial introduction to the public in 1938. On February 12, 1940, The Adventures of Superman, starring Bud Collyer transmitted to radio sets across the United States for the first time. It ran until 1951 and added bits and pieces to the Superman mythology, including the substance that weakens Superman, kryptonite and the young man who would eventually become Superman's pal, Jimmy Olsen. Superman also teamed up with Batman and Robin on the radio long before he ever did so in the comics or anywhere else.
Early Animation
In 1941, Fleischer Studios secured an unheard of sum from Paramount Pictures, hired most of the cast of the radio show, poured the then large budget of $50,000 per episode into the animation and released nine short films that featured Superman fighting various monsters and mad scientists. The first in the series, Superman, was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Short Subject -Cartoons, but lost to a Disney short. Paramount took over Fleisher Studios in 1942, renamed it Famous Studios and produced eight more films, mostly World War II propaganda pieces. The animation style was so stunning that fifty years later it would influence Bruce Timm as he created Batman - The Animated Series. All seventeen films are now in the public domain and are therefore legally free to download from various sources.
Film
The radio adventures of Superman also influenced his first live action appearances on film. In 1948, Kirk Alyn was the first actor to portray the Man of Steel on the silver screen, in a serial with a script adapted from the radio broadcast. Simply entitled "Superman", it was successful enough to spawn a sequel of sorts in 1950. Atom Man Vs. Superman introduced Lex Luthor to the movie going public for the first time.
Television
In 1951, a television series was created which began airing in 1952. It starred George Reeves, who would play the character almost continuously until his death in 1959. A total of 104 episodes were made, including the pilot "Superman Vs. The Mole Men" which also was released in theaters. The show began filming in black and white, but in 1954 it was upgraded to a colour broadcast.
Broadway
In 1966 It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman turned the mythology of Superman into a musical production. The show wasn't terribly successful and closed after just 128 performances. The cast recorded an album of the show.
Back to Television
Just before what is considered the dawn of the modern era of Superman, a television production of the Broadway musical was made for television. Lesley Ann Warren, who would later unsuccessfully audition for the role of Lois Lane opposite Christopher Reeve, played Lois for the special. Superman was played by actor David Wilson. It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's Superman was broadcast in 1975.
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