Category: 1950

Atom Man vs. Superman (1950, Spencer Gordon Bennet), Chapter 13: Atom Man's Flying Saucers

All throughout Atom Man’s Flying Saucers, I was waiting for the flying saucers. Why would Atom Man–Lex Luthor (Lyle Talbot)–have flying saucers? Because, as Talbot explains at one point, the final phase of his plan is to go up in his spaceship and attack Earth. He’ll be taking some of his goons with him on the mission.

The chapter does at least address the cave thing. Apparently they’re going from cave to cave, not just the same cave. Or I’m choosing to believe they’re going from cave to cave, just so the good guys aren’t so stupid as they haven’t found Talbot’s hideout (again) yet.

The cliffhanger resolution is lackluster. Then it just turns into Noel Neill and Tommy Bond pursuing some of Talbot’s goons. Kirk Alyn, in tights, shows up to help out Neill and Bond (after Neill nonsensically ignores Alyn’s warnings).

Pierre Watkin is once again proven wrong this chapter and once again gets away without a comeuppance. Ignorance is rewarded in Atom Man vs. Superman; ignorance keeps the serial moving. After a string of rather strong chapters, Flying Saucers is a return to disappointing form.

Worse, the flying saucer (singular, no need for the plural in the title) is an animated effect. Alyn–piloting the Daily Planet plane as Clark Kent–isn’t even surprised by the saucer. It’s just a regular thing.

Blah. Hopefully Atom Man vs. Superman doesn’t do too much damage more to itself in the remaining two chapters.

Atom Man vs. Superman (1950) ch12 – Atom Man Strikes!

Most of Atom Man Strikes! is Noel Neill’s. After an awesome cliffhanger resolution–awesome in terms of the Superman special effects (easily the best in the serial thus far)–Neill starts secretly investigating her coworkers. Kirk Alyn finds the secret compartment in the TV van, where the bad guys spy on everyone and get safe combinations. Because Lex Luthor’s criminal empire is built on money from retail story robberies.

There’s one silly scene where Neill introduces Alyn (in his tights, not spectacles) to her stunned coworkers and just beams at him. George Robotham plays Neill’s cameraman; he doesn’t have a lot to do, but he’s a fine enough sidekick for her. Better than Tommy Bond for sure. Even if Robotham is in on some of Lyle Talbot’s scheming, though seemingly not all of it.

The cliffhanger has Talbot ready to kill everyone at the Daily Planet and probably on the city block to hide the truth about his burglary ring.

There’s a second action sequence for Superman involving a burning building. Despite a little more effort than usual as far as dynamically integrating the flying animations, it doesn’t impress. Not like the opening. Because the opening mixes the flying animation with actual optical effects, not stock footage.

Overall, it’s a rather strong chapter. Neill getting to play reporter is great. Even director Bennet wakes up a little for when the goons are chasing her down the streets of Metropolis and through various buildings. And the cliffhanger is solid. Though the Atom Man doesn’t strike. Talbot strikes. Luthor strikes. No Atom Man visible. Not since Alyn broke the bedazzled planter serving as Atom Man’s head a few chapters ago.

Atom Man vs. Superman (1950, Spencer Gordon Bennet), Chapter 12: Atom Man Strikes!

Most of Atom Man Strikes! is Noel Neill’s. After an awesome cliffhanger resolution–awesome in terms of the Superman special effects (easily the best in the serial thus far)–Neill starts secretly investigating her coworkers. Kirk Alyn finds the secret compartment in the TV van, where the bad guys spy on everyone and get safe combinations. Because Lex Luthor’s criminal empire is built on money from retail story robberies.

There’s one silly scene where Neill introduces Alyn (in his tights, not spectacles) to her stunned coworkers and just beams at him. George Robotham plays Neill’s cameraman; he doesn’t have a lot to do, but he’s a fine enough sidekick for her. Better than Tommy Bond for sure. Even if Robotham is in on some of Lyle Talbot’s scheming, though seemingly not all of it.

The cliffhanger has Talbot ready to kill everyone at the Daily Planet and probably on the city block to hide the truth about his burglary ring.

There’s a second action sequence for Superman involving a burning building. Despite a little more effort than usual as far as dynamically integrating the flying animations, it doesn’t impress. Not like the opening. Because the opening mixes the flying animation with actual optical effects, not stock footage.

Overall, it’s a rather strong chapter. Neill getting to play reporter is great. Even director Bennet wakes up a little for when the goons are chasing her down the streets of Metropolis and through various buildings. And the cliffhanger is solid. Though the Atom Man doesn’t strike. Talbot strikes. Luthor strikes. No Atom Man visible. Not since Alyn broke the bedazzled planter serving as Atom Man’s head a few chapters ago.

Atom Man vs. Superman (1950, Spencer Gordon Bennet), Chapter 11: Luthor's Strategy

About the last third of Luthor’s Strategy is Superman trying to save people during a big flood. The sequence is a mix of composite shots, flying shots, newsreel footage of actual floods, and then some connective shots. Kirk Alyn and Noel Neill, separately, driving to the flood location. They just happen to be in an obviously mountainous area while the flood is on flat land.

But it’s pretty exciting stuff, especially since the previous special effects extravaganza in the chapter was Lyle Talbot setting off timed sparklers in his office to throw suspicion from himself.

The cliffhanger resolution is all right, with the “Lois works for Lex” plotline far more diverting than some of the previous ones in Atom Man. Neill doesn’t get much to do this chapter–except tough it out during the flooding while her cameramen run; instead, it’s Pierre Watkin yelling at Alyn about how Talbot’s really a good guy.

Speaking of Talbot, Strategy has some of his worst acting so far in the serial. He’s not terrible, he’s just not good opposite a bunch of nondescript reporters. No personality.

And the Tommy Bond and Alyn Daily Planet dynamic is kind of interesting. Far better than the Neill and Bond dynamic, as Bond’s not a condescending jackass to Alyn. Though Alyn is a condescending jackass to Bond.

Atom Man vs. Superman (1950) ch11 – Luthor's Strategy

About the last third of Luthor’s Strategy is Superman trying to save people during a big flood. The sequence is a mix of composite shots, flying shots, newsreel footage of actual floods, and then some connective shots. Kirk Alyn and Noel Neill, separately, driving to the flood location. They just happen to be in an obviously mountainous area while the flood is on flat land.

But it’s pretty exciting stuff, especially since the previous special effects extravaganza in the chapter was Lyle Talbot setting off timed sparklers in his office to throw suspicion from himself.

The cliffhanger resolution is all right, with the “Lois works for Lex” plotline far more diverting than some of the previous ones in Atom Man. Neill doesn’t get much to do this chapter–except tough it out during the flooding while her cameramen run; instead, it’s Pierre Watkin yelling at Alyn about how Talbot’s really a good guy.

Speaking of Talbot, Strategy has some of his worst acting so far in the serial. He’s not terrible, he’s just not good opposite a bunch of nondescript reporters. No personality.

And the Tommy Bond and Alyn Daily Planet dynamic is kind of interesting. Far better than the Neill and Bond dynamic, as Bond’s not a condescending jackass to Alyn. Though Alyn is a condescending jackass to Bond.

Atom Man vs. Superman (1950, Spencer Gordon Bennet), Chapter 10: Atom Man’s Heat Ray

Atom Man’s Heat Ray does not feature a heat ray. Unless it’s the machine Luthor (Lyle Talbot) uses the pump smoke into the room where he’s trapped Noel Neill, Kirk Alyn, and Tommy Bond.

Now, it turns out Neill is only working for Talbot’s TV station to get the goods on him for Superman (and the Daily Planet, presumably). Alyn reveals it, aloud, only for a goon to overhear. For whatever reason, no one thought to tell Bond about Neill’s secret mission. They catch the goon, so he couldn’t report back. Meaning Talbot just decides to kill Neill along with Alyn and Bond; it’s almost like he’s not interested in her journalism skills (he just wants her to make him look legitimate).

There’s some brief, fun Superman action–though the cliffhanger resolution seems to be a process shot reused from the first serial, which I suspected at the setup last chapter–and, again, it’s great to see Neill get so much to do. Besides mooning over Alyn in his long johns.

Heat Ray, with Neill’s subterfuge and Talbot’s attempts at looking legit, has some of the serial’s best ideas for plotlines. Shame it’s the tenth chapter of the serial (and the subplots seem resolved, one way or the other, by the cliffhanger).

Atom Man vs. Superman (1950) ch10 – Atom Man’s Heat Ray

Atom Man’s Heat Ray does not feature a heat ray. Unless it’s the machine Luthor (Lyle Talbot) uses the pump smoke into the room where he’s trapped Noel Neill, Kirk Alyn, and Tommy Bond.

Now, it turns out Neill is only working for Talbot’s TV station to get the goods on him for Superman (and the Daily Planet, presumably). Alyn reveals it, aloud, only for a goon to overhear. For whatever reason, no one thought to tell Bond about Neill’s secret mission. They catch the goon, so he couldn’t report back. Meaning Talbot just decides to kill Neill along with Alyn and Bond; it’s almost like he’s not interested in her journalism skills (he just wants her to make him look legitimate).

There’s some brief, fun Superman action–though the cliffhanger resolution seems to be a process shot reused from the first serial, which I suspected at the setup last chapter–and, again, it’s great to see Neill get so much to do. Besides mooning over Alyn in his long johns.

Heat Ray, with Neill’s subterfuge and Talbot’s attempts at looking legit, has some of the serial’s best ideas for plotlines. Shame it’s the tenth chapter of the serial (and the subplots seem resolved, one way or the other, by the cliffhanger).

Atom Man vs. Superman (1950, Spencer Gordon Bennet), Chapter 9: Superman Crashes Through

There’s a lot going on in Superman Crashes Through, starting with some power company guys beating up on the Atom Man’s thugs. The power company guys are out on a call about an explosion in the cave base. But when the cops get there (again), it’s empty (again).

It seems like another of the serial’s logic oversights, but then later on Pierre Watkin is talking with Kirk Alyn about it. Lex Luthor (Lyle Talbot) really is teleporting his equipment out of the cave and then back again. Why no one stakes out the cave–not just the police (who are always off screen in Atom Man vs. Superman) but maybe Superman? Only no. Alyn’s got more important things to do.

Like get Noel Neill fired. She’s happy with it–happy enough it seems like a plot twist waiting to be revealed–and goes to get a job at Talbot’s television station.

But before Neill can get fired, Watkin has to be wrong about something else (he’s majorly wrong twice in Crashes) and Alyn has to trick Talbot into reopening the dimensional portal. It’s not a particularly exciting escape for Superman, but it does get the serial moving again.

It’s nice to see Neill do something different. Though Alyn gets something different too; he gloats about Neill losing her job and teases her at her new one. After it was his fault she got fired.

Alyn’s a bit of a jackass here, which probably explains why he and Tommy Bond get on so well in this chapter.

Bond gets the cliffhanger, foolishly chasing down thugs by himself. So he deserves getting it. He doesn’t deserve the cliffhanger’s silliness however. Atom Man vs. Superman’s cliffhangers all seem to have been left laying in the Kryptonite too long.

Atom Man vs. Superman (1950, Spencer Gordon Bennet), Chapter 8: Into the Empty Doom!

Maybe I was wrong about the desk swapping in the earlier chapters. Into the Empty Doom! is mostly a Daily Planet chapter–mostly Noel Neill’s chapter too–and she looks very comfortable at the desk I was sure used to be Kirk Alyn’s.

Both Clark Kent and Superman have disappeared–though Superman pops up occasionally as an immaterial ghost who can’t figure out why he’s unable to fight crime. Again, Superman being a doofus is really a hindrance to the serial. He doesn’t have some plan to stop Lyle Talbot’s scheme–the cliffhanger resolution leads directly into Talbot sending the Kryptonite groggy Alyn Into the Empty Doom. I thought Talbot’s plan was to teleport Alyn into outer space and atomize him, but apparently turning him into a ghost was intentional. At least based on Talbot’s later super-villain bragging (while in his Atom Man outfit).

Much of Neill’s time at the Planet is spent arguing with boss Pierre Watkin about writing a “Clark Kent is Superman”–the staff has figured, since Kent has disappeared too, he must be Superman. She eventually acquiesces, hoping Tommy Bond can convince Watkin otherwise.

Bond’s real annoying this chapter. He’s just hanging around and whining a bit, plus there’s a throwaway condescending moment about Neill’s electric typewriter being unplugged. It seems like it’s going to go somewhere, but no, it’s just Bond showing Neill she’s not so smart.

Also: the story confirms Talbot is in the same hidden cave base as before. He didn’t move anything. The filmmakers forgot the cops supposedly raided the place.

Still, it’s a decent chapter for Neill and she hasn’t had many. Besides the Planet stuff, facing off with Watkin, she also gets a great moment at the cliffhanger. It’s not a good cliffhanger–though there are at least explosions. Alyn’s occasional ghost appearances aren’t dramatic so much as frustrating. He’s such a doofus.

Atom Man vs. Superman (1950, Spencer Gordon Bennet), Chapter 7: At the Mercy of Atom Man!

At the Mercy of Atom Man! has one of the serial’s laziest cliffhanger resolutions so far. And Atom Man vs. Superman, now seven chapters in, has had some really lazy resolutions. This one has the added bonus of Kirk Alyn not using his superspeed to catch the bad guy. Because of course not.

Later it has him defying Lyle Talbot’s threat of synthetic Kryptonite–ignoring Noel Neill’s questioning him about it too–only to be downed by the stuff. And kidnapped.

It’s not a terrible ending, actually. At least the kidnapping tries to be grand; Superman’s at the dedication of a new ship–Man of Steel–and the Atom Man’s gang takes him down. There’s stock footage for most of the crowd shots, but there are a handful of real ones. Scale helps Superman quite a bit.

Most of the chapter is actually Talbot telling Don C. Harvey the history of Krypton. Talbot was able to translate Jor-El’s journal transmissions about the planet’s demise. There’s flashback footage (from the first serial) while Talbot and Harvey wait for the Kryptonite to bake.

It’s far from a recovery for the serial, but at least it’s not terrible. And Alyn’s such an overconfident goof as Superman, his terrible planning is more than believable.

Also fun–this time Alyn’s got Lois Lane’s usual desk at the Planet. Sadly none of the shots are wide enough to see who’s name plate is on his regular desk.