Adventures of Superman - It's a bird! It's a plane! It's the official DVD announcement for The Adventures of Superman!
In 1948, Kirk Alyn burst onto the scene - and screen! - as Superman, in the first of the Columbia serial films, with Noel Neill playing the part of Lois Lane while the superhero faced off against the "Spider Lady". Alyn and Neill would return in 1950 for the second Columbia serial, Atom Man vs. Superman. After that, though, Columbia's serials were over and a little-remembered-today company called Lippert Pictures assembled a new cast for 1951's Superman and the Mole Men, which was advertised as "The All-Time Ace of Action in His First Full-Length Feature Adventure!" That film featured Phyllis Coates as Lois Lane, and Clark Kent/Superman was played by George Reeves.
Faster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive! Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound! Look...up in the sky! Yes, a year later it was Reeves and Coates once more starring together, this time in the new television program, The Adventures of Superman (actually, the show began filming in 1951, but didn't start to appear on-air until it secured sponsorship from Kellogg's in 1952). There was 26 episodes each in the first and second seasons, and then 13 episodes each for the 3rd through 6th seasons. After the first season was over, Phyllis Coates received a better offer for a different show, and so producers went back to Noel Neill, who returned to the role of Lois Lane in the second season and would stay through to the series end in 1958. A seventh season was being considered when George Reeves was found dead in 1959, putting an end to a live-action Superman on any screen - big or small - until 1978's Christopher Reeve film...which had a very brief cameo by Kirk Alyn and Noel Neill as a tribute to the early days. Speaking of cameos, Phyllis Coates also reappeared years later in an inspired bit of super-casting. That was in Lois and Clark, where she played the mother of Teri Hatcher's Lois Lane during the final episode of the first season.
Now Warner Home Video has sent out their formal announcement for the long-awaited DVD release The Adventures of Superman - The Complete 1st Season. Yesterday we gave you our heads-up that the set is now planned for an October 18th release, and the nice list of extras that are planned for this set:
Superman and the Mole Men theatrical movie (Reeves and Coates' first team-up)
Featurette: "From Inkwell to Backlot" retrospective
Vintage George Reeves short
Original Kellogg's Cereal TV spots
Commentary Tracks by Super-Experts (details to be announced)
And there you see the hi-res cover art we promised you! This 5-DVD set runs 662 minutes in the original full-frame black-and-white video and mono audio soundtrack. Subtitles in English, French, and
Spanish are flying your way along with closed captioning for the hearing impaired. Cost is $39.98 SRP. Here's the official description of the release:
It's a bird! It's a plane! It's Superman! The legendary Man of Steel, last survivor of the doomed planet Krypton lives on earth, assuming the secret identity of Clark Kent, mild-mannered reporter for the Metropolis Daily Planet. But with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men, he battles for truth and justice as Superman. This is the first Superman TV series! Originally aired in the 1950's, it featured George Reeves as Superman and enjoyed tremendous success during its broadcast. The TV series premise was established a year before its broadcast via the theatrical release of "Superman and The Mole Men" in 1951.
Disc 1
"Superman on Earth"
"The Haunted Lighthouse"
"The Case of the Talkative Dummy"
"The Mystery of the Broken Statues"
"The Monkey Mystery"
"A Night of Terror"
Disc 2
"The Birthday Letter"
"The Mind Machine"
"Rescue"
"The Secret of Superman"
"No Holds Barred"
"The Deserted Village"
Disc 3
"The Stolen Costume"
"Treasure of the Incas"
"Double Trouble"
"Mystery in Wax"
"The Runaway Robot"
"Drums of Death"
Disc 4
"The Evil Three"
"Riddle of the Chinese Jade"
"The Human Bomb"
"Czar of the Underworld"
"The Ghost Wolf"
"Crime Wave"
Disc 5
"Unknown People, Part 1"
"Unknown People, Part 2"
Link to this page:
http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/newsitem.cfm?NewsID=3610