EP1028: Voices of the Dead

Lois and Clark are sent to interview interview Professor Roebling aboard the train. However, before that happens, he disappears from his own locked compartment. Original Air Date: January 14, 1950

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
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Check it out at classy coomics guydot com. That's classy coomics guy dot
com. Now Today's episode of Supermanthe original air date January the fourteenth,
nineteen fifty and this one is Voicesof the Dead. I don't a fitting

(01:34):
bullet, Hey, the de leaguepull building got a thing, go bold,
look up on the thigh at thebird, hit the plane, at
Hooper Man than your Duperman. Whenthe planet dripped on home of a race

(02:05):
of Superman expliments, does the wholesurvivor was an infant boy who had been
shot to Earth in a seal rocket. Today, that boy, grown to
manhood, is known as Superman.Sworn enemy of the forces of evil to
weigh him in his never ending fightfor truth and justice, he masquerades as
Clark Kent, crime reporter for agreat metropolitan newspaper. His secret is carefully
guarded. No one is aware thatKent is Superman. No one but you.

(02:31):
Jine with us now on ABC,as Superman prevents a brutal murder and
solves a baffling mystery in an excitingtranscribed adventure entitled The Voices of the Dead.

(02:54):
In his never ending quest for knowledge, Man has dug deep into the
long buried secrets of the past.On the walls of crumbling caves. He
has found crude picture writing in thedead cities of Persia and Assyria, and
the dark and musty tombs of ancientpharaohs. He has discovered curiously shaped letters
and words back through the centuries.Man has traced the written language. But

(03:21):
what of the spoken tongue? Arethe voices of Caesar, Socrates, Alexander,
yes, even Lincoln lost to usforever? Is there no way of
bringing them back from the dim anddistant past? Perhaps there is listened to
the voices of the dead. Thecrack express the golden comets feeding through the

(03:57):
night toward the city of Metropolis.Mark Canton Lois Lane, who boarded the
train of his glass to stop.We're about to enter the banning car careful
platforms really wooing? Oh why not, kid you go? I hope we
time in had the dinner cards.No, we've certainly waited alf a lot

(04:18):
of time an evening sir too.No, we've had dinner, thank you.
We're looking for some I see youlooking yell. He is on the
left of the end of the carand it's back too. She could tell
him from his mop of white hair. Who's the woman with him? I
know? Maybe his daughter? Come? No, excuse me, I'm sorry,

(04:40):
I tell pass Clark off called somebodystupid than right? All right,
hard to keep your balance flying aroundthose shirts curtainly, isn't it okay?
Lois? He goes doctor Roblin.Are you dressing me, young man?
Yes? Doctor, I'm Clark Kenneth, I troublous Daily Planet. This is
miss Lane. How you do weunderstand? You perfected an amazing new electronic

(05:04):
voice machine, and we wondered whetheryou'd spend a few minutes with us and
tell us about it. I'm shy, young man, but I don't know
what you're talking about, aren't you, doctor Roebling of the Electronic Institute.
No, No, you shouldn't provemade the mistake mistake in identity. If

(05:24):
you don't mind, we'd like tofinish odds in there. I'm sorry,
terribly sorry. Let's go, Louis. We're too at the club car.
Got to figure this out. Somethingrotten in Denmark. Oh you know,

(05:46):
Clarde you could be wrong, orisn't that perfect? It's possible, but
not in this case. He's notdoctor Robling. I'll eat my hat,
remember that, I'll remember, andI eat it with mayonnaise or without.
That's not funny. Apartment in cartwenty two, the compartment they went into
after they left the dining car.Relaxed, clog jog the ride have done,

(06:06):
they existed house and anyway, evenif he is doctor love me.
I don't believe that voice machine story. What don't you believe about it?
I don't believe anybody can build amachine capable of re creating voices of well,
taking the right out of thin air? Where do you think Adams come
from? Well, Adam's don voicesold book? Do you mean to sit

(06:29):
there and tell me that with doctorWelding's machine you can hear the voices of
dead people? If it's what Ithink it is, Well, I don't
believe. Your grandfather wouldn't have believedtelevision. Your great grandfather wouldn't have believed
radio and the telephone. And you'regradic difference why. I don't know why,
but it is. It's just inconceivablethat a person can sit down at

(06:51):
a machine. And let's say here, well, George Washington's voice, or
or Thomas Jefferson's voice, or anybodywho's when a curtain died? Boy died
when doesn't he doesn't it not thewords he spoke when he was alive.

(07:12):
Well, you needn't look. Youcan hear me talk. Lois right,
because the words that leave my mouthbecome sound waves that strike your ears and
are translated into what we call speech. You're cant in, no, heays
the same with radio waves. Theytraveled through the air and are picked up
by a radio receiver which translates theminto speech and music or what have you?

(07:32):
Yet that did hasn't explained. Waita minute, now, if you
were in the next car of thistrain and I tried to talk to you,
you wouldn't hear me. That's abrilliant complain. But why wouldn't you
hear I give up only because you'rereceiving equipment. Your ears aren't sensitive enough.
My sound waves would be in thenext car, but you couldn't pick

(07:54):
them up. Now, my dogs, for instance, have far more sensitive
hearing than humans, all of whichhad up to time. I think then
Robeling evidently has invented a machine sosensitive that it can pick up and reproduce
sound waves. Clear did years ago, maybe even centuries ago. Boys of
Washington thing, farewell, it istrue Lincoln at Gettysburg. Sorry, I
still don't believe that that's why thatshe'd had us fly out to pick up

(08:16):
this train, because it's important thatwe get to rolling, and we can't
get to him. That he's noton the train. We're not going to
think of it. Maybe he didn'twant to talk in front of all those
people in the dining cup. Clocknow, why you could you up?
Look, we're coming into Marsden City. As soon as we get rolling again,
I'm going to take another stab atRobling, try to corner him in

(08:37):
his compartment. Let has been it'supper waves at Darling with a shogun of

(08:58):
low head time. He's pretty happyin the dining cars. If you don't
mind, we yell to finish.I didn't you. I'm used to women
blowing in the top. You'll trainme. Never, i'd low me and
needs a good race compartment, greatScott, but never there's no one in
there. How do you know conceit? I mean they're just a so now
cut down there, the doors lockedbut so why having people a right to

(09:22):
leave the compartments that they'd be likeit unless they had yours. And they
just don't understand doors. These doorscan only be locked on the inside,
except why to conductor and acting thatonly coming as the conductor? Now,
I'll good, How can you don'tmake any wild teating worse? Good evening?
Good evening. I want to cutyou help me. And it's like
some friends of mine are in thiscompartment, the doors blocked, and I
can't even get any response. Iwondered whether they could have gotten off at

(09:45):
the last stop Wison City, notif the doors locked. I carry the
only g that the lock or unlockedthese compartment doors from the outside, That's
what I thought. We tried thebuzzer. No, but I rattled the
door and try the buzzer on thelift there. Okay, it needed to
be anyone in there, because it'sgot to be at the doors locked.
Mister, you know them folks arehard weeks, you know. I'm sure

(10:13):
there's no one in that compart tryingknocking. Sometimes the local wakened when the
buzzer walked, came, can youunlock the door? One of our friends
as an elderly gentlem know, we'reconcerned about it. I don't know unless
it's an emergency. We don't usuallya lock these doors. And let's try
knocking once more. What seems likethat banging and waked the bed. You

(10:35):
better use the key when I getssold. Yeah, the first time I've
had to do this in ten years. Anyone mean there clock no, and
look at the window. Great dayin the morning. The window pane is
cut out with a glass pot windowall the way, he said Walter.
Obviously to avoid being seated. Youmean that old man and that woman climbed

(10:58):
out of the window just to getaway from I know there was another reason,
and I'm going back to find outwhat it was. That way the
last stop, Marston City, yougo out of a trap and Nandy hell
us. I'll call him if Idig off anything. Hold on the lad
wait leaving Lois Lane and Perfullman conductorpuzzles and confused Sparks can't hurry through the
observation platform at the rear of thetrain in the darkness. He quickly removes

(11:20):
his hornrimmed glasses and with a fewmoments makes of change. From a mild
mannered crime reporter to the heroic redand blue clad figure of silkworm manner.
Then leaving from the platform, theyowned the human being numbers among his other
amazing powers, the power of flightfollows the gleaming railroad backs back through the
station at Marston City. At thestation, once more in his guise of

(11:48):
Clark, can't he steps up throughthe ticket window? Could you help me,
sir? Ain't no more trains atme here at night? Mister,
I'm not looking for a train.I like some information. What can I
do for you? The Golden Cometsstopped here about ten minutes ago, didn't
it? He pulled it at sevenforty pulled out at seven forty four.
You didn't happen to see some people, an elderly man and the woman get

(12:09):
off the train. No, shehad four or five pickups and connections from
the six fifty to the west,but nobody got off sept in the stretcher
case, What one of them stretchercases had an ambulance here to pick him
up? To him off the trainthrough the windows. Say that again,
you're hard of hearing, young pheno. I don't know. I just want
to make sure you say an ambulancewas here at the station to pick up

(12:31):
a sick man who was taken offthe train through a window. Dead right.
Didn't see him myself, Candor,I had to load the mail.
Where the ambulants come from. We'reonly one private ambulance out sitting town Legans
r E GA and dead right Othe square off at the Marlborough Hotel.
Thanks, thanks a lot. I'msorry, mister, but we don't give

(12:56):
out of the information about patients werecarrying our ambulances. That stops private and
confidential, like it is with doctor. But don't you see, it's important
that I locate doctor Roebling. Whodoctor Robling, the elderly man you met
at the train. Oh that wasn'this name, mister, Oh what name
did he use? Oh that won'twork there. Who are you anyway?
My name is Can't I'm with aMetropolis Daily Planet. Yeah, there are

(13:18):
my credentials, buy a card,police card. I wish I could help
him, mister Ken, But likeI said, in our business, we
don't talk. All we know iswe gotta call to meet the train to
pick up a stretcher case. Yougotta name, didn't you? Yeah,
we got a name, but believeme, it's nothing like robing or rolling,
or whether it was you saying,oh, where did you take him?

(13:39):
Oh? We don't give that outeither. Maybe he doesn't want to
be disturbed. Maybe he's too sickto be bothered by reporters. Who knows
buzz of a woman with him?Look, mister canned, I I'm just
a guy who works for all.Why should I stick my neck out?
I see? Well, let's putit this way. Well, twenty dollars.

(14:01):
Get me the answers to a coupleof questions. Whoa what depends on
the questions. Okay, let's trya few. Did you take doctor Roebling
or the sick man, whatever nameyou got to a hospital? No,
but don't ask me where we couldhim there? Enough? Question number two?
Did the woman go with him?No, only dropped her off,

(14:22):
Flaire, you said a couple ofquestions the couples too. I'll add ten
for the third. Where did youdrop her off at the marble tell across
the square? All right, now, twenty more. That will make it
an even fifty for the name shegave you. No deal, I promise
I won't reveal the source. Still, no deal. Okay, here's your

(14:46):
thirty. Thank you, Uh,you going over to the hotel. That's
right. Well, the night clerk'sname is Joe Hummels. You tell him.
Barney over to Regan said to helpyou out. They don't get many
check ins after eight o'clock. Heought to remember, Oh, why are
you telling me this after refusing togive me her name for an extra twenty
dollars. Oh, guy's gotta havesome ethics. I can see your point.

(15:13):
Thanks. Crossing the square, classcan't enters the almost deserted lobby of
the Marlborough Hotel. A few momentsof conversation with the night clerk and he
has the information he wants. Steppinginto an elevator, he gets off at
the ninth floor. See nine eleven. That's to the left. Bom Moving

(15:39):
silently along the carpeted corridor, hestopped before the door of room nine eleven.
His hand is raised and he isabout to knock, when suddenly his
eyes White Man the Color dreams fromhis safe quite Scott, what has can't
making use of Superman's X ray visionseen behind the door of nine eleven.

(16:02):
We'll be back in a moment tofind out. But first, here is
your ABC announcer most of us aren'tcontent to just sit back and think about
a desperate situation. We want toknow what we can do about it.

(16:22):
And right now America faces a desperatecrisis in its public school system. There's
been a sharp rise in the enrollmentin our elementary schools without sufficient teachers to
handle the new enrollments. And thisis a situation which experts predict will continue
for at least the next seven years. What can we do about it?
Well, here's the best way learnhow you can work in your own community

(16:45):
to help you. A new commissionto just been formed to study conditions in
schools. The National Citizens Commission forthe Public Schools is composed of prominent men
to help transform interest in the schoolsituation to action. Currently, they're telling
citizens how to work to improve theirlocal schools. If you're interested in assisting
them, write for information and here'sthe address, National Citizens Commission for Public

(17:11):
Schools to West forty fifth Street,New York, New York. And now
back to the adventures of Superman andArt two of the Voices of the Dead.

(17:33):
What started as a routine assignment tointerview doctor Walter Robling, a famous
electronic scientist, has turned into astrange and baffling mystery tracing the woman who
was with doctor Robling aboard a Micropolisbound claim to room nine eleven at the
Marlborough Hotel in Marsden City, bartKent. Was about to knock at the
door when suddenly he blank, GreatScott bow boy, what do you want?

(18:02):
I have a telegram for you?Miss Oh? Just a minute?
Why claw? Yes? Is thatall you got to say? In miss
lane? Is that all I've gotto say? I left you want to
train and headed for Metropolis? Howdid you get off the trainer? What
are you doing here in someone else'shotel room? Well, I might ask
you exactly the same questions. Whydon't you come in? No? And
you'd better get out of that roombefore Missus Smith returns and catches you red

(18:25):
handed. Oh so you know thatMissus smiths too? Well? How cold
isn't it? Why I'm through inhere anyway? So we'll just close the
door, walk up and return thekey to the desk. How did you
get the key? Ask boy tothe desk? Coming alois? Don't get
smart? Maybe if you didn't tryto get so smart, things like this
wouldn't happen. And maybe if youhadn't rushed off like a madman without any

(18:45):
explanation whatsoever, you wouldn't have hadto jump off a moving train. I
assume that's what you did and walkback to Marsden. Think how did you
get back? And how did youget off the train? And why?
I'll answer the last question. First, I found a telegram in that compartment.
Here eat it missus Carr Smith's compartmentE golden comment on route Metropolis Hanbulance
will be waiting Marsin City with fullinstructions. You are registered Hotel Marlborough,

(19:10):
room nine one one, wait therefor my call Jack? Does that answer
one question? How did you getoff the train? Talk the conductor into
stopping her way station and made acall from my general store and got a
taxi to drive me back to MartinCity for ten dollars. When I reached
the hotel, I walked up tothe desk, asked for the key to
nine eleven and got it. Whotook an awful chance? Well, nothing
ventured, nothing gained. What didyou find in the room something that might

(19:33):
be interesting? Oh? What?Missus Nith evidently got her call from Jack.
Now she wrote an address down ona piece of paper but she was
probably an awful hurry and forgot it. What is it two eighteen vander Vistree.
I'll check it. Oh, no, you won't. You're not chucking
out on me again. Car canIf there's a story here, and it
looks like there is, I'm inon it. Okay, let's go.

(19:55):
Linking her arm in kemp Lois Lanestarts down the corridor toward the bank of
elevators. Meanwhile, in the secondfloor room of a dilapidated boarding house at
two eighteen Vandivere Street, a strangescene is taking place. The elderly,
white haired man can't identify it asDoctor water Robling is bound to a chair
in the center of the room.Facing him as a man with small,

(20:18):
close set eyes and a sallow,unhealthy complexion, and standing beside him is
the woman, the mysterious Missus Smith, who is doctor Robling's companion on the
train. The sallow complected man asa sheaf of papers in one hand and
a fountain pen in the other.Are you going to sign these papers,
Uncle Walter? Or do I haveto try a little persuasion? The voice

(20:40):
machine cannot be used for private prophetbelongs to the public. To older people.
Don't give me that holieth the bowstuff. It belongs to me.
I'm your nephew, your only livingrelative. You're an old man. You're
going to die still. Now findthese papers before I lose my temper.
Take it. Shut up one ofwhat I'm doing. Even your way,
who has no blood days with me, revotes against your knees. Understand you

(21:02):
won't fish it out. I gotanything more to say, Uncle Walter.
You didn't have to hit him.I know what I have to do.
I'll kill him unless he comes across. I'll get that voice machine one way
or the other. Did you hearthat, Uncle Walter, Yes, Jake,
I heard it all right. Thenfine, put the signature on these
papers and we'll leave you alone.We won't bother you again. I'm not

(21:25):
concerned about myself, as you saidthe moment ago, I am an old
man. I haven't longed to live. It's you, Jake, but about
me. You're my dead brother's son. I held you in my arms as
an infant, you said at myknee as a child, and I read
you stories. I watched you grownmature. Cut out the sob stuff and

(21:49):
no, without sense of feeling,you stand there and threatened to kill me.
It's more than just a threat.You'll sign or you'll never leave this
room alive. I'm sin Go ahead, cook, Come on, it's only
to save you through yourself, onlyto keep you from becoming the murderer.

(22:22):
Hey, our driver, keep thechange r my neighborhood. I must say
sorry, I didn't take it.Now that's too eighteen The Gray House,
New Cork. I think we shouldhave had that taxi weight chapters all.
We won't find a thing him.We're just in the end with Scott.
What's the matter? Come on quickly, you'll better than our doctor, Robin.

(22:48):
Oh, yes, thank you,much better. Now can you tell
us what happened? It's a loomstory. What did the monster? Is
it? My nephew? You postme to sign over all rights to my
voice machine. He's on his wayto Metropolous now with his wife, Cora.
Where is the voice machine in thebasement of my home and Metropolous?

(23:11):
How would your nephew and his wifebe traveling? They have a color,
you know the color the making pocket. I lead to blue and then Doug,
I don't suppose you know the licensenumbers. I'll go into town and
send a cab back here. Youand doctor Roebling drive to the airport and

(23:33):
take the first plane out to Metropolis. Now, don't leave him, not
even for a minute. I'll needyou at his house in metropolit Why can't
you get the play with us.I've got to find that lucid at you.

(23:55):
You've got to get there always.But you don't have to do any
more. Relaxed tomorrow, we've gotnothing to worry about. You're on in.
We'll have money the first we won'tbe able to burn it in the
day. We're just beginning to live. You know what we're gonna do.
First, there's a wold that isn'tget out of the world. Hello,

(24:21):
you kill white? Who are you? Don't do me? Thanks for the
recognition. I'll take those assignment papersin your jacket pocket palace. You don't
mind. This is what you'll takemine with a pretty automatic. It is
a loaded Try again, but becareful. When the bullets bounced back stop
it that you can't hurt you.I'm hurt him. I'll kill him that

(24:41):
enough target back this first tile,take the gun down. Now the assignment
pay you'll ever get them all,won't I oh you don't hurt it.
Take the papers out of his pocket. The mind at last give me if
it wouldn't mean dragging your unod's goodneighb my mother. I turned you over
to the police and seat to itus. They got a couple of years

(25:02):
behind bar stuff. They can overthose paper I'll give you nothing except a
little warning get out of Metropolis andstay out. I don't know how to
thank you, mister Kens for recoveringthose assignment papers. How did you possibly

(25:25):
accomplish it? Yes, you can't. How well, frankly, I don't
look at me like that, LordLuca Man. Yes, he stopped their
car on the road of Metropolis.Well you let your nephew go, doctor
Robling, out of consideration for you, I'm deeply grateful. Now, how
about bringing me up to date onhow this all got started? Well clad,
doctor Rulding told me the hostoy that'snot asking to tell, right,

(25:48):
I'll give you a highlight. Hisnephew's wife, and incidentally, their name
is Reggling too and not Smith metthe doctor in Chicago and condemned. Then
he had to travel the Metropolis incognitobecause some one was to the voice machine.
Oh so that's why you denied youridentity in the dining car. Yes,
it must have seemed very foolish toyou. Not so much foolish or
strange. Go ahead, loss Therect is simple. When mister Roblin got

(26:11):
the doctor into the compartment, shegave them what he thought was one of
his stomach pills. Well, itwas obviously something else, because he remembers
nothing at all until he woke updown to a chair in the Marsden City
rooming house. And miss Lane toldyou, I suppose how they got you
off the train and into an ambulance. Yes, it was all evidently carefully
planned. If not for you,mister Kent and Miss Lyne, twenty years

(26:33):
of work would have gone for nothing. Well, I don't know about mister
Kent, doctor Roblin, but there'sone reward that I'm going to ask for
which within my power, you shouldhave it. I'd like to see your
voice machine, and I'd like tohear it, because well, thank me,
and he don't be hurried. Ijust don't believe that you can bring

(26:56):
back the voices of the dead.Come are you sure? You? Oh?
Someone the dog? Will you excuseme? Please excuse me? You
do you do it kind, Iwill know in a few minutes. You
got the bomb and you don't holdbaby niece. Come on, what are
you joking? I'm stopping shop.Who yet Keven the beatement because the slash

(27:18):
your voice machine? How I gotthe basement door behind the stews run and
so I'm a player at you?What that dog? Oh, don't come

(27:41):
near me. But if you havethis crowbar, do I thank you my
defense, this machine. Drop thatcrowbar. I'll drop it on your head.
Un I don't even going to killyou with my co a brieve man,
mister King was too late? Yourvoice machinist rule? Can it be

(28:04):
rebelled? I'm not in my lifetime. Oh, someone else left to carry
on? What a shame. Theplace of progress, miss lane is often
outrageously high and maddens average sometimes makesit tirer. I'll drop you off at

(28:38):
your apartment. Loss always let meI had an exciting night, and let
me out. And the pardoning onetoo puzzling, meaning what well when you
ran down those tests of the day, Yes, I followed you, Clark,
and I staid at the head ofthe test without the robling. Well

(29:00):
anyone could tell that as yet hewas doing the stick, and yet you
walk right toward him without any flinching, as though nothing could possibly happen to
you. Not much good, Ohno, not much at all. That
the splits go. And you knowwhat, Well, I couldn't see your
face, but from the back ashe walked across that faceman, getting closer

(29:22):
and closer to that lunatic with acrowbar in his hand, well you look
like Superman. I did. Iknow it's silly, and I know I
shouldn't be telling you it because it'sjust kind of give you a swelled Hey,
not at all. I'm used toit by now. You're used to
what being mistaken for Superman? Reactif you promised to keep it quiet,
I'll tell you a little secret.What come of my best friends can't tell

(29:48):
us apart? I'm going the voicesof the dead um the Adventures of Superman,
which come to you now each weekat the same time over many of
these same ABC station Listen again nextweek to another explaining Superman adventure. Superman

(30:12):
is a copyright of Transcribe speak toappearing in Superman DC comic magazines, and
brings you radio's most mapulous character infilling stories of actions, mystery and adventures,
So be sure to listen when youhear the familiar cry. Master than
a speeding bullet, or powerful thana locomolia, able to lead whole buildings

(30:33):
at a single bounds. Up onthe sky, it's a bird, it's
a plane, it's Cooperman. Therole Superman is played by Bud Colla.
Lowe's lamed by Joe Alexander. Musicis composed and played by John Guard.
This is Jackson Beck reminding you tobe sure to listen next week too,
The Adventures of Superman the American BroadcastingCompany Welcome Back. The end with the

(31:10):
Voice machine was, shall we say, a bit disappointing, and the plot
reason why the nephew comes back todestroy it and an insane fit of rage
is basically so that we don't actuallyhave to deal with producing what this machine
promises. James Lawnson his review,praised the episode, but he said it

(31:36):
felt a bit rushed, and Ithink that that that's the case. This
was originally a longer serialized story anddone twice on the Superman radio program,
and I think the fact that youdo just have it in a half hour
format makes actually having some resolution orpoint to the machine more portant. If

(32:00):
you're listening to the Void to theDoctor Roebling's voice Machine Cereal, then you
have all the adventure and the runningabout, and therefore it really just doesn't
matter what happens with the machine inthis episode. You only have the half
an hour, so to have themachine just end up being senselessly destroyed,

(32:24):
that really does the tract from thestory. Plus it the talk about scientific
progress seems a little bit silly ina lot of the fact that apparently he
didn't save any plans and that's whythe machine can never be rebuilt. So
this was not one of my favoriteof these half hour stories. Now I

(32:45):
do have something else to cover,and I wanted to be sure and watch
the second Superman Cereal with Kirk AllenAdam Man versus Superman, and I'll go
ahead and share my thoughts on thatit was at one point very similar to

(33:06):
the previous Superman Cereal as well asthe nineteen forty nine Batman Cereal, where
you have a villain with a secretheadquarters and a bunch of henchmen in suit
who go out to do their biddingas they come up with more and more
crazy plans. I wonder if everycereal was like this, because the only

(33:32):
ones I've actually seen are the Batmanand the two Superman cereals, and they
had the same production team, sothis may have just been a pet formula.
But this one featured Luthor at thispoint, not going by Lex Luthor,
just Luthor as the villain, witha Lile talbot playing the role.

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And it was something to say becausethey really went full bore science fiction.
Luthor's men had coins that they couldthey could be teleported in and out of
trouble, and so they rarely endedup being caught. Now, unlike the

(34:23):
Spider Lady, Luthor did not seemto have one single plan. He just
kind of drifted from plan to planto plan. Like at the beginning he
tried to extort one hundred million dollarsfrom Metropolis, and then he went onto
transporting Superman's atoms into deep space.He'd get Superman to stand in this machine

(34:50):
and it would separate his atoms throughoutthe universe, and Luthor does eventually succeed
at this, but Superman Man isable to get back by even though he'd
been invisible and insubstantial. He cancontrol electric typewriters, so when Lois tries

(35:10):
to use one, he takes possessionof the electric typewriter to give her a
note. And in fact Superman isstanding there in this insubstantial form, and
Luthor, he doesn't seem to runout of devices. He's got earthquake machines
and rocket ships, and he launchesa missile at Metropolis to destroy it,

(35:37):
and Superman at one point ends upriding on the back of the missile like
Slim Pickens in Doctor Strangelove. I'mnot quite that excited. He's still smiling,
Kirk Allan, Superman just smiles allthe way through. And then we
find out that when all else failsfor Luthor, he's got a rocket ship

(36:01):
and he's got flying saucers, andhe's got a plan to evacuate the Earth
and whip out at least the cityof Metropolis, leading to the slightly overstated
final title Superman Saves the Universe.But Luthor is just a lot of fun

(36:22):
as a villain. He's just aperfect B movie villain. And then there's
Lois and Jimmy watching this film.Based on what we see here, it's
a miracle that Lois and Jimmy surviveto adulthood, not to mention living long
enough to actually meet Superman, whohas to save them multiple times. In

(36:45):
the radio program and TV shows,Lois and Jimmy get into trouble a lot.
In the serials, it's just absurd. One cliffhanger involves Jimmy getting his
footstock on a railroad track as atrain is approaching. And of course there
is some really absurd movie serial magicthat comes in, like when the villains

(37:10):
kidnap Jimmy and have him drive intothe middle of a bombing range and just
at that time and a bomber happensto be offline over at. Jimmy mostly
gets into trouble because of carelessness andclumsiness. Lois Lane is different. She

(37:31):
gets into trouble more for a lackof basic survival instincts. My favorite instance
of that is when she is outworking for a TV station covering flood and
she thinks that the cameraman wanting toleave the side of the flood in response

(37:57):
to the advice of the policeman isjust being a whimp, and so she
refuses to take down the camera untila flood comes and Superman has to save
her and It's hilarious how many timesthese things happen. Probably my biggest disappointment
with the Cereal is the fact thatyou don't really have the Atomman from the

(38:20):
radio show in there, you know, the not the nuclear powered Nazi.
The Atomman is just Luthor wearing aridiculous mask. And so there's a lot
of unintentional comedy in this. ButI think it's really is good fun.
They're on the serious side. Ithink they did actually have some really good,

(38:45):
ambitious ideas for the science fiction elementthat kind of press the boundaries of
what Superman was doing at that point. Consider the top of villains Superman was
facing on the radio or even inthe comics, most didn't challenge them at

(39:07):
the level that Luthor does in thisfilm. I found myself wishing a couple
of times that they had just beenable to produce this with some greater effects,
but still even using your imagination.It's it's fun. It's by no
means great cinema up but I enjoyedit all. Right. Well, that's

(39:27):
it for now. Next week ourfinal episode with Bud Coller. If you
do have a comment, email tome Adam at adamsweb dot us. Be
sure and rate the show on iTunesand follow me at my new podcast,
the Classic Comics Podcast Classic Comics Guidedot com. From boise Idahole, this
is your host, Adam Graham.Sign and off, I'm going to take

(39:50):
an online cooking class so I cansurprise Ruth with that brown linguini Like we're
back in Venice. It will meanthe world tour. That's your intentions.
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