The Adventures of Superman: the early radio years

The last month or so, I have gone back and started re-listening to the Adventures of Superman.

There is a dark, stark difference in the first couple of years of the series and the other years.  The beginning of the series is very serious.  The two obvious things that are different is the music and the commercials.  That blasted organ and the sugar-hyped commercial spokesman in the later years are at times completely non-existent and what we are left with is a somber and serious play about Clark Kent.

Although, after having said that, Superman seems to be more cartoonish than the later years and not near as strong.  Sometimes it seems as though he cannot see through walls (maybe that came along later in the comics?)   He had a tough time breaking a padlock in an early episode I heard yesterday.  Come on Superman, it's a padlock!

Lois Lane is not the more aggressive figure of the later years, in fact she seems frail at times.  I heard an episode yesterday where she told Clark, "I'm afraid."  That's not the Lois of later years for sure.  (And that's not Joan Alexander playing Lois either in the early days - not sure who it is.)

Julian Noa, who plays Perry White, is very serious.  The hyper reactions to Jimmy Olson are not there.  He is serious and somber -the world is about to end -Perry White.

And to me, this makes the first couple of years of the series as good as anything on radio.  Not that the other years are terrible - they aren't, but there is a major difference in the tone of the series.


©Jimbo 2010/2011

One of the best: The Adventures of Superman

Bud Collyer made a perfect Clark Kent/Superman

When a radio series lasts over two thousand episodes and most survive (giving us all the opportunity to hear a good portion of the series) it can be hard to accurately describe it.

Such is the case with the juvenile series, The Adventures of Superman. Starring Bud Coyller as Clark Kent/Superman, the show must have seemed like an endless adventure for kids back in the 1940's.  I call the show "juvenile" but it was usually on late enough in the evening so that dad could listen in as well.

You all know the story of Superman but you may not know that this series shaped even the comic book image of Superman (and the fabulous cartoons of Superman that ran during the radio show's run.)

While Superman is filled with American propaganda which sometimes makes the show kind of corny, it was so different than anything else on the air at the time - even compared against the shows for adults.

The radio show was dynamic on many fronts, including having Superman fight the Nazis, track down members of a Ku Klux Klan-type of gang and almost-daily preach against intolerance of religions and race.

Aiding Superman (played perfectly by Bud Collyer)  are Joan Alexander as Lois Lane, Jackie Kelk as Jimmy Olsen and Julian Noa developed the character of editor Perry White.  The White character had not been in the comic book version so Noa's presentation set the character up "for life."

There are some bad story arcs among the lot of these shows but the vast majority of them are superb in retrospect.  The Adventures of Superman allowed Superman to come to life.  The Superman legacy has grown much since then but the radio serial has as much or more to do with it than anything.

The sound on 95% of the shows seem to be passable. the outrageously loud organ music will annoy you as will the somewhat long Kellogg's Pep comericals - but it's all a part of the package.  But this show is one of the best out there - and most adult men will enjoy this show.  I'd have to give it 4 stars.  (If not for the annoying organ, I'd probably give it 5 stars.)