Superhero Films - Chap. 1: 'Superman & The Mole Men'

http://www.HaphazardStuff.com
The first chapter in a new series looking at the Superhero Film Genre.

First up is 'Superman and The Mole Men' from 1951. George Reeves makes his debut appearance as the Man of Steel in the characters first full-length theatrical feature film.

I'm not claiming this series will be an 'All Conclusive' look at every superhero film. I'm sure there will be some I'll miss, some I'll decide to skip and some I just never heard of before. I might veer away and focus on a few films that could be argued do not qualify as a 'Superhero Film' and touch on television productions, but hey it's my series so I make up the rules. I'm going to attempt to keep this as chronological as possible.

I might be making a mistake at even trying to start this idea. I'm hoping this will be a somewhat consistent series, one that I can consistently return to. However, things come up and time can become a factor at how much I can spend on these projects. We'll just see how it goes.

Category:

Entertainment

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• Superhero
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• Mole
• Men
• George
• Reeves
• Phillis
• Coates
• movie
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• review
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[WarriorSmurf]

Noelle Neil played Lois in the movie serials and was brought on to play Lois in the tv series.

[therealjoebloggs]

The reason the townspeople were up in arms was that they(mistakenly) believed the strange-looking men were radioactive(they were harmlessly phosphorescent). Superman tells the people there's no danger, but Benson(whom Superman saves from the laser weapon, though undeserving, says Supie), wanted to kill them on general principle. I thought the "nuclear' theme was daring for 1951 as well as the tolerance theme.

[simonmoves]

very well thought -out-put together-excellent picture montage and very good editing and sound mix--very well done--i'd rather watch this classic-rather than that stupid avatar garbage--thanks again

[xJoeEDangerouslyx]

@HaphazardStuff Why didn't you start with a video about the matinee serials? They made Superman, Batman, Captain America, The Phantom, Captain Marvel, The Shadow, Zorro, Green Hornet, Flash Gordon, and others.

Also, the first theatrical feature release with Superman was 1941's "Superman (The Mad Scientist.)" The First live-action theatrical release was in 1948. This was in fact a feature release. It was not played before a full-length feature like some other serials. It was Superman's feature.

[patricmaffei]

I just saw Phyllis Coates on an episode of Leave it To Beaver. She played the neighbor Mom that Beaver thought liked him romantically,and was therefore afraid of her husband. She had blonde hair but I immediately recognized her voice

[JohnnyGNV]

HAVE TO agree with most of your comments - I really thought this and most of the Season One were great - I liked both Noel Neil and Phyllis Coates but Phyllis played a no-nonsense Lois Lane which somehow suited the character better. Of course I loved the whole series but season One really packed a punch to me as a Kid.

[ramblergarage]

Phyllis Coats was a super cool Lois Lane!!

[moiraregis]

my favorite part of that episode was superman's impassioned plea for tolerance before the gathering lynch mob; also LOVED the vacuum cleaner w/ the funnel death ray weapon--

[HeroicNerd]

That movie looked absolutely fantastic. I wish I knew where to catch it. I would strangle a mole man to see it.

[YoungDylanFan]

Must have been BP.