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Superman is a film of genre Science fiction directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet released in USA on 15 july 1948 with Kirk Alyn
Superman (1948)
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Add to a movie listReleased in USA 15 july 1948
Themes Films about writers, Films about children, Films about journalists, Superman films, Films about extraterrestrial life, Superhero films, Films about extraterrestrial life
Rating67%
Superman (1948) is a 15-part black-and-white Columbia film serial based on the comic book character Superman starring an uncredited Kirk Alyn (billed only by his character name, Superman; but credited on the promotional posters) and Noel Neill as Lois Lane. Like Batman, it is notable as the first live-action appearance of Superman on film and for the longevity of its distribution. The serial was directed by Thomas Carr, who later directed many early episodes of the Adventures of Superman television show, and Spencer Gordon Bennet, produced by Sam Katzman and shot in and around Los Angeles, California. It was originally screened at movie matinées and after the first three scene-setting chapters, every episode ends in a cliffhanger. The Superman-in-flight scenes are animations, in part due to the small production budget.
Synopsis
Superman is sent to Earth by his parents just as the planet Krypton blows up and is later raised as Clark Kent by a farm couple. They discover that he has great powers so they send him off to use his powers to help those in need. After his foster parents die, the Man of Steel heads to Metropolis under the bespectacled guise of Kent and joins the staff of the Daily Planet in order to be close to the news. Soon after he is sent out to get the scoop on a new rock that a man has found that he calls Kryptonite and Clark passes out, the director thinks that he died but when he sat up, he was wrong. Then and there Superman discovered that his weakness is Kryptonite. Whenever emergencies happen, he responds in his true identity as Superman. This first serial revolves around the nefarious plot of a villain who calls herself the Spider Lady.Actors
Kirk Alyn
(Superman, alias Clark Kent)
Noel Neill
(Lois Lane)
Carol Forman
(The Spider Lady)
Tommy Bond
(Jimmy Olsen)
Forrest Taylor
(Leeds)
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Suggestions of similar film to Superman
There are 113 films with the same actors, 85 films with the same director, 28934 with the same cinematographic genres (including 179 with exactly the same 3 genres than Superman), 4125 films with the same themes (including 3 films with the same 7 themes than Superman), to have finally 70 suggestions of similar films.If you liked Superman, you will probably like those similar films :
Atom Man vs. Superman (1950)
, 4h12Directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet
Origin USA
Genres Science fiction, Action
Themes Films about children, Superman films, Films about extraterrestrial life, Superhero films, Super-héros inspiré de comics, Films about extraterrestrial life
Actors Kirk Alyn, Lyle Talbot, Noel Neill, Tommy Bond, Chuck Roberson, Pierre Watkin
Rating66%
Lex Luthor, the Atom Man, invents a number of deadly devices to plague the city, including a disintegrating machine which can reduce people to their basic atoms and reassemble them in another place. But Superman manages to thwart each scheme. Since Kryptonite can rob Superman of his powers, Luthor decides to create a synthetic Kryptonite and putters about obtaining the necessary ingredients: plutonium, radium and the undefined 'etc.' Luthor places the Kryptonite at the launching of a ship, with Superman in attendance. He is exposed to the Kryptonite and passes out. Superman is taken off in an ambulance driven by Luthor's henchmen, and he is now under the control of Luthor. Superman is placed in a device, a lever is pulled, and the Man of Steel vanishes into "The Empty Doom" (which bears a similarity to the Phantom Zone of the comic books). Most of chapter 7 is a repeat of the origin story from chapter 1 of Columbia's first "Superman" serial, and this serial also finds a way to work in stock footage from Ken Maynard's 1936 Avenging Waters (also directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet). The serial features several elements re-used in later Superman features: the Man of Steel is exposed to synthetic Kryptonite during a public function, as he is in the motion picture Superman III. When he escapes from "The Empty Doom", the headline of the Daily Planet proclaims: Superman Returns, the title of the 2006 Superman movie.
Blackhawk (1952)
, 4h2Directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet, Fred F. Sears
Origin USA
Genres Science fiction, Action, Adventure
Themes Transport films, Aviation films, Superhero films, Super-héros inspiré de comics
Actors Kirk Alyn, John Crawford, Michael Fox, Carol Forman, Don C. Harvey, Rick Vallin
Rating61%
A flying squadron of World War II veterans, The International Brotherhood, is a private flying investigative force led by Blackhawk. They uncover a gang of underworld henchmen, led by the notorious foreign spy Laska, who reports to The Leader, a mystery man. During the a serial's 15 chapters, Blackhawk and his flying squadron set about bringing these criminals to justice.
Stamp Day for Superman (1954)
, 18minutesDirected by Thomas Carr
Genres Science fiction, Fantasy
Themes Films about children, Superman films, Films about extraterrestrial life, Superhero films, Films about extraterrestrial life
Actors George Reeves, Noel Neill, Jack Larson, John Hamilton, Tristram "Tris" Coffin
Rating55%
When Lois and Clark come upon a robbery whilst shopping, Superman apprehends the burglar, who claims to have to steal because he never bothered to save his money.
Batman and Robin (1949)
, 4h23Directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet
Origin USA
Genres Science fiction, Thriller, Fantastic, Action, Adventure, Crime
Themes Films about children, Batman films, Superhero films, Super-héros inspiré de comics
Actors Robert Lowery, Johnny Duncan, Poni Adams, Lyle Talbot, Ralph Graves, Don C. Harvey
Rating58%
The Dynamic Duo face off against the Wizard, a hooded villain with an electrical device which controls cars and a desire to set challenges for the Dynamic Duo, whose identity remains a mystery throughout until the end.
The Purple Monster Strikes (1945)
Directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet, Fred C. Brannon
Origin USA
Genres Science fiction, Action
Themes Films about extraterrestrial life, Films about extraterrestrial life
Actors Dennis Moore, Linda Stirling, Roy Barcroft, John Davidson, Emmett Vogan, Anthony Warde
Rating62%
Astronomer Cyrus Layton is working late one night on his new airplane design in his observatory. He witnesses what he believes is a meteorite landing in the far distance. He contacts his niece Sheila and asks her to bring Craig Foster to the observatory to help analyze his discovery; he then sets out to search for the meteorite crater. Layton instead discovers a crashed spaceship; the ship's pilot emerges and explains that he is from the planet Mars.
Son of Zorro (1947)
, 3hDirected by Spencer Gordon Bennet, Fred C. Brannon
Origin USA
Genres Swashbuckler, Action, Adventure, Crime, Western
Themes Medical-themed films, Superhero films, Films about disabilities, Personne sourde ou muette, Zorro
Actors Peggy Stewart, Roy Barcroft, Ernie Adams, Stanley Price, Edmund F. Cobb, Ken Terrell
Rating62%
A man returning home after having fought in the Civil War discovers that corrupt politicians have taken over the county and are terrorizing and shaking down the citizens. He dons the costume of his ancestor, the famous Zorro, and sets out to bring them to justice.
Congo Bill (1948)
, 4h30Directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet, Thomas Carr
Origin USA
Genres Action, Adventure
Themes Superhero films, Super-héros inspiré de comics
Actors Cleo Moore, Don McGuire, Jack Ingram, I. Stanford Jolley, Leonard Penn, Charles King
Rating62%
A girl is about to inherit a fortune, but she is missing in Africa. Only then, family charges Congo Bill, an adventurer, to find her, and bring her back to civilization. He follows a legend about a mysterious White Queen, but his path is full of difficulties, by an inhospitable jungle, and the man who will lose the fortune if the girl is found alive...
The Masked Marvel (1943)
Directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet
Origin USA
Genres Action, Spy
Themes Spy films, Superhero films, Political films
Actors William Forrest, Louise Currie, Johnny Arthur, Anthony Warde, David Bacon, Tom Steele
Rating71%
In the The Masked Marvel, a hero dressed in a business suit and a face mask fights the Japanese saboteur Sakima and his espionage organization. The hook of the story is that, in a reversal of the common serial "Masked Mystery Villain" stock character, the audience doesn't know who the hero is until the final reel - all the audience is told is that The Masked Marvel is one of a group of special investigators (the same plotline is used in the Republic serial The Lone Ranger).
Zorro's Black Whip (1944)
, 3h31Directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet, Wallace Grissell
Origin USA
Genres Swashbuckler, Action, Adventure, Western
Themes Medical-themed films, Superhero films, Films about disabilities, Personne sourde ou muette, Zorro
Actors Linda Stirling, George J. Lewis, Lucien Littlefield, Francis McDonald, Wally Wales, John Hamilton
Rating61%
In Zorro's Black Whip the word Zorro never occurs, but a female who behaves like Don Diego in Idaho fights a cabal of corrupt politicians as "The Black Whip" after her brother (the original Black Whip) is killed.
Bruce Gentry (1949)
Directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet, Thomas Carr
Origin USA
Genres Science fiction, Action, Adventure, Crime
Themes Transport films, Aviation films
Actors Tom Neal, Forrest Taylor, Tristram "Tris" Coffin, Jack Ingram, Eddie Parker, Charles King
Rating61%
Dr Benson (Forrest Taylor ), a friend of charter pilot Bruce Gentry ( Tom Neal), is kidnapped by the mysterious enemy agent, "The Recorder" who only issues orders through recordings. Benson is used to perfect the villain's flying saucers, launched and controlled by electronic means. Industrialist Paul Radcliffe (Hugh Prosser) hires Bruce to investigate the saucers as he thinks they may have a commercial use.