Film #160 - Superman and the Mole Men (1951)
Superman and the Mole Men is the first Superman feature film (though it runs under an hour). It features the debut of George Reeves as the Man of Steel and Phyllis Coates as Lois Lane, both of whom would reprise their roles in the Adventures of Superman TV series. In fact, Mole Men was made as a sort of pilot for the series, as producers figured that the film could sell the series and if it didn’t, it could still be released theatrically and recover their costs. As things turned out, it was later cut into two pieces and aired as a two-part episode of the show.
As a Superman story, it’s pretty good. It does a great job of balancing the needs of an exciting adventure story and the limitations the production crew had to face. For instance, we never really see Superman fly, actual use of his super powers is kept to a minimum. In fact, this production, unlike the previous serials, focuses a lot more closely on Clark Kent than it does on Superman. It is Clark that does most of the investigative reporting, not Lois and it is Clark that is the real mover and shaker, not Superman. Of course, when a show of force is needed (such as keeping the antsy locals in line), Superman is always on hand.
Superman and the Mole Men is very much in the tradition of other 1950s sci-fi films, showing a clash of opposing civilizations and the troubles that arrive through misunderstanding. Of course, like many of those films, the brunt of the misunderstanding is laid on the people who assume the Mole Men mean harm, not on the inhuman invaders who are intelligent enough to build advanced technology, but can’t seem to figure out how to communicate with humans. It’s something I call the “Day the Earth Stood Still” syndrome - aliens, no matter how intelligent or advanced, can’t figure out how to talk to anyone.
Any deficiencies of the story or visuals are more than made up for by George Reeves’ perfect embodiement of both Superman and Clark Kent. I recently got season one of Adventures of Superman (which includes this film in both its incarnations) and Reeves’ Clark is a revelation. I guess my view of the character had always been colored by memories of Christopher Reeve’s iconic portrayal, but George Reeves put just as strong (if very different) stamp on it. His Clark is strong, assertive and bears more of a similarity to the Clark of more recent comics than contemorary ones. I can only imagine that Reeves was unwilling to play the part as meekly as Kirk Alyn did, especially given how much screen time he had to spend as Clark. His Superman is just as strong, but doesn’t get a chance to show the more playful side that he would develop on the show.
Phyllis Coates was always a really good Lois. I, for one, regret that she left the series after only one season. Noel Neill was fine in the role both in serials and show, but was just a bit to cartoonish for me. Coates always had an edge to her that fit better with the 1940s’ tougher Lois of the comics and foreshadowed the definitive Lois, Margot Kidder.
No one else really gets a lot of screentime except the Mole Men, themselves. Their make-up is a bit of a weak spot, but close-ups are kept to a minimum and they look just fine in most sequences (lots of sneaking around in twilight).
What really lets this film down is the sense of scale that a truly great Superman story needs. The Mole Men are interesting and the story compelling, but there’s no real villain for Superman to face. Even on the show, where they never gave him a true super villain to fight, he at least had real bad guys to stop. So, while it’s a fun film and a solid introduction to Reeves’ portrayal, Superman and the Mole Men could have used a bit more of the spectacular to really fly.