The Adventures of Superman (radio series)


The Adventures of Superman is a long-running radio serial that originally aired from 1940 to 1951 featuring the DC Comics character Superman.
The serial came to radio as a syndicated show on New York City's WOR on February 12, 1940. On Mutual, it was broadcast from August 31, 1942, to February 4, 1949, as a 15-minute serial, running three or, usually, five times a week. From February 7 to June 24, 1949, it ran as a thrice-weekly half-hour show. The series shifted to ABC Saturday evenings on October 29, 1949, and then returned to afternoons twice a week on June 5, 1950, continuing on ABC until March 1, 1951. Because the series never aired any repeats, this means that in all, 2,088 original episodes of The Adventures of Superman aired on American radio.

History

Created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the Man of Steel first appeared in Action Comics #1 in 1938. The following year, the newspaper comic strip began and four audition radio programs were prepared to sell Superman as a radio series. When Superman was first heard on radio less than two years after the comic book appearance, the character took on an added dimension with Bud Collyer in the title role. During World War II and the post-war years, the juvenile adventure radio serial, sponsored by Kellogg's Pep, was a huge success, with many listeners following the quest for "truth and justice" in the daily radio broadcasts, the comic book stories and the newspaper comic strip. Airing in the late afternoon, the radio serial engaged its young after-school audience with its exciting and distinctive opening, which changed slightly as the series progressed. Most familiar today is the television opening, which copied the radio opening from 1945 onward, but the most often heard radio opening through the mid-1940s was:
By September 5, 1945, the opening had morphed into:
That opening, one of the most famous in radio history, was delivered by Jackson Beck, the announcer-narrator for the program from 1943 to 1950. He also had recurring roles, voicing an occasional tough guy and also portraying Beany Martin, the Daily Planet's teenage copy boy. On Superman episodes featuring Batman, he played Bruce Wayne's butler, Alfred Pennyworth. Decades later, Beck portrayed Perry White, Clark Kent's boss, in Filmation's The [New Adventures of Superman (TV series)|The New Adventures of Superman], in addition to serving as the show's narrator.
Just as Superman's true identity remained a secret, the identity of Superman's radio actor also remained a secret from 1940 until 1946, when the character of Superman was used in a promotional campaign for racial and religious tolerance and Collyer did a Time magazine interview about that campaign.
Since there were no reruns at that time, the series often used plot devices and plot twists to allow Collyer to have vacation time. Kryptonite allowed Superman to be incapacitated and incoherent with pain while the secondary characters took the focus. At other times, Batman and Robin appeared on the program in Superman's absence.
The scripts by B. P. Freeman and Jack Johnstone were directed by Robert and Jessica Maxwell, George Lowther, Allen Ducovny and Mitchell Grayson. Sound effects were created by Jack Keane, Al Binnie, Keene Crockett and John Glennon.
Many aspects associated with Superman, such as kryptonite, originated on radio, as did certain characters, including Daily Planet editor Perry White, copy boy Jimmy Olsen and police inspector Bill Henderson. On March 2, 1945, Superman met Batman and Robin for the first time.
Paramount's animated Superman short films used the same voice actors as the radio series, and Columbia's Superman movie serials were "adapted from the Superman radio program broadcast on the Mutual Network".

"Clan of the Fiery Cross"

In 1946, Stetson Kennedy, a human rights activist, infiltrated the Ku Klux Klan and other white supremacist terrorist groups. Concerned that the organization had links to the government and police forces, Kennedy contacted the Superman producers and proposed a story where Superman battles the Klan. Looking for new villains, the producers agreed. Kennedy provided information, including details of Klan rituals, to the writers. The result was a series of episodes, "Clan of the Fiery Cross", in which Superman took on the Klan. The trivialization of the Klan's rituals and natures had a negative impact on Klan recruiting and membership numbers.
Superman historian Michael Hayde has cast doubt on whether actual KKK codewords and details were broadcast in the Clan of the Fiery Cross story arc. He wrote: "ne is hard pressed to uncover anything that might be construed as proprietary to the KKK, with the exception of one – and only one – sequence, heard in episode #2".
The story-arc was loosely adapted for a DC Comics limited series, Superman Smashes the Klan by Gene Luen Yang, which was released in October 2019.

Narrative notes

In the first few episodes, Superman's home planet of Krypton is located on the far side of the sun, as opposed to a distant star system as it is in most stories. During the journey to Earth, baby Kal-El grows into an adult and emerges fully grown from his ship after it lands on Earth. He is never adopted by Jonathan and Martha Kent and immediately begins his superhero career. This was eventually retconned in later episodes to match the narrative of the comic books.
This serial introduced the fictional mineral kryptonite, the radiation from which can weaken and even kill Superman. Aside from giving Superman's foes a plausible way to fight him, it also allowed Superman's voice actor to take the occasional break: Superman would spend the next episode incapacitated, his groans voiced by a substitute actor.

Ratings

In January 1945, the show was listened to on 3.1% of radios. In January 1946, it was listened to on 4.4% of radios.

Stories

The syndicated series, titled simply Superman, first aired via pre-recorded transcription disks over 11 stations beginning on February 12, 1940, with an origin story, "The Baby from Krypton". The series aired in 15-minute episodes three times a week until May 9, 1941, with the conclusion of the "Nitrate Shipment" storyline. By that time, it had expanded to 63 stations.

Start of run: February 1940

The first 19 episodes had individual titles that told three overall stories:

Multi-part cliffhangers: March 1940 – May 1941

The series then moved to multi-part cliffhanger stories, beginning with "The Mystery of Dyerville". Some stories spanned just a few episodes; others, like "The Last of the Clipper Ships", went on for up to 20 parts.
  • "The Mystery of Dyerville"
  • "The Emerald of the Incas"
  • "Donelli's Protection Racket"
  • "Airplane Disasters at Bridger Field"
  • "Buffalo Heights"
  • "Alonzo Craig, Arctic Explorer"
  • "Horace Morton's Weather Predictions"
  • "Hans Holbein's Doll Factory"
  • "Happyland Amusement Park"
  • "Lighthouse Point Smugglers"
  • "Pillar of Fire at Graves' End"
  • "The Mayan Treasure"
  • "Professor Thorpe's Bathysphere"
  • "The Curse of Dead Man's Island"
  • "The Yellow Mask and the 5 Million Dollar Jewel Robbery"
  • "The Invisible Man"
  • "The 5 Million Dollar Gold Heist"
  • "The Howling Coyote"
  • "The Black Pearl of Osiris"
  • "The Dragon's Teeth"
  • "Last of the Clipper Ships"
  • "The Nitrate Shipment"

    End of run: August 1941 – February 1942

Beginning on August 25, 1941, a second series of transcriptions designed to air five days per week aired. These concluded after 26 weeks with the final installment of "A Mystery for Superman" airing on February 20, 1942:
  • "The Grayson Submarine"
  • "Dr. Deutsch and the Radium Mine"
  • "The White Plague"
  • "Fur Smuggling"
  • "Dr. Roebling and the Voice Machine"
  • "Metropolis Football Team Poisoned"
  • "Crooked Oil Association"
  • "The Silver Arrow"
  • "The Pan-Am Highway"
  • "The Mechanical Man"
  • "Lita the Leopard Woman"
  • "The Ghost Car"
  • "A Mystery for Superman"
In February 1942, the syndicated series ceased production. At that time, it was airing in 85 North American markets.

First revival: August 1942 – June 1949

In June, the Mutual Network discovered it would be losing its #1 juvenile show, Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy to NBC's Blue Network at the end of August. To counter, MBS decided to revive the show, now officially titled The Adventures of Superman, on August 31, 1942. The new series aired live, five days a week. The revival began with two individual episodes, and then returned to the cliffhanger serial format.
The stories were of varying lengths—some stories were only five parts, while others could go into the dozens. Some of the longer stories include "Looking for Kryptonite", "The Hate Mongers' Organization" and "Superman vs Kryptonite".
All stories broadcast from August 31, 1942, to September 3, 1945, are either wholly or partially missing. For those stories where some episodes are available in circulation, it will be noted which parts are available.
  • "Superman Comes to Earth"
  • "Eben Kent Dies in Fire, Clark Goes to Metropolis"
  • "The Wolfe"
  • "The Tiny Men"
  • "Mystery in Arabia"
  • "The Black Narcissus"
  • "The Headless Indian"
  • "The Midnight Intruder"
  • "The Lost Continent of Atlantis"
  • "The Mystery Ship"
  • "The Tin Men"
  • "Trouble in Athabascus"
  • "The Island of Ghost Ships"
  • "The Model Plane Mystery"
  • "Dr. Cameron's Helicopter"
  • "The Vulture and the Thunderbolt Express"
  • "The Bainbridge Disaster"
  • "Master of the Dream World"
  • "The Ghost Squadron"
  • "The Meteor from Krypton"
  • "Society of the Flamingo"
  • "Mr. Prim and the Dragonfly Adventure"
  • "The Genie in the Bottle"
  • "The World of the Future"
  • "The Civil Air Patrol"
  • "Penrose Salvage Company"
  • "The Mystery of the Death Plane"
  • "Adventures in the Capitol City"
  • "German Submarine Menace"
  • "The New German Weapon"
  • "The Mystery of Prince Philip"
  • "Military Espionage"
  • "Stolen War Information"
  • "Lois and Jimmy Disappear"
  • "The Green Death"
  • "The Mystery of the $100,000 Stamp"
  • "The Mystery of the Transport Plane Crashes"
  • "Lighthouse Point"
  • "The Rocket Plane"
  • "The Mystery of Clifftown"
  • "The Golden Homing Pigeon"
  • "The Mystery of Desert Springs and the Birdmen"
  • "The Hurdy-Gurdy Man"
  • "The North Woods Story"
  • "The Seagull, North Pacific Adventure"
  • "The Mystery of the Aviation Freight Lines"
  • "The Society of the Crimson Robe"
  • "Ghosts of the Air"
  • "The Scorpion"
  • "Der Teufel's Atomic Pistol"
  • "The Mystery of the Mummy Case"
  • "Dr. Roebling and the Voice Machine"
  • "Planet Utopia"
  • "Lois' Uncle John and the Missing Plans"
  • "The Missing Santa Claus"
  • "The Man in the Velvet Shoes"
  • "The Mystery of the Sleeping Beauty"
  • "The Space Shell"
  • "The Mystery of the Waxmen"
  • "The Mystery of the Golden Nail"
  • "The Ghost Car"
  • "The Boy King of Moravia"
  • "Lair of the Dragon"
  • "The Mystery of the Counterfeit Money"
  • "Valley of the Giants"
  • "The Desert Adventure"
  • "The Underseas Kingdom"
  • "The Flood"
  • "The Black Market"
From September 4, 1945 to September 2, 1948 all stories are fully available in circulation except for "The Hate Mongers' Organization", "Pennies for Plunder", and "Hunger, Inc." which are all missing a handful of episodes. For these three serials, it will be specified which parts are missing.
  • "Dr. Bly's Confidence Gang"
  • "The Meteor of Kryptonite"
  • "The Scarlet Widow"
  • "The Atom Man"
  • "Atom Man in Metropolis"
  • "Looking for Kryptonite"
  • "The Talking Cat"
  • "Is There Another Superman?"
  • "The Radar Rocket"
  • "The Mystery of the Dragon's Teeth"
  • "The Story of the Century"
  • "The Hate Mongers' Organization"
  • "Al Vincent's Corrupt Political Machine"
  • "Clan of the Fiery Cross"
  • "Horatio F. Horn, Detective"
  • "The Secret Menace Strikes"
  • "Candy Meyer's Big Story"
  • "George Latimer, Crooked Political Boss"
  • "The Dead Voice"
  • "Counterfeit Money"
  • "The Disappearance of Clark Kent"
  • "The Secret Letter"
  • "The Phony Song Publishing Company"
  • "The Phony Housing Racket"
  • "The Phony Restaurant Racket"
  • "The Phony Inheritance Racket"
  • "Drought in Freeville"
  • "The Monkey Burglar"
  • "Knights of the White Carnation"
  • "The Man Without a Face"
  • "Mystery of the Lost Planet"
  • "The Phantom of the Sea"
  • "Superman vs. Kryptonite"
  • "The Secret Rocket"
  • "The Ruler of Darkness"
  • "Pennies for Plunder"
  • "Hunger Inc."
  • "Dead Man's Secret"
  • "Batman's Great Mystery"
  • "The Kingdom Under the Sea"
  • "The Mystery of the Stolen Costume"
  • "The Skin Game"
  • "The Crossword Puzzle Mystery"
  • "The Ghost Brigade"
  • "The Mystery of the Sleeping Beauty"
  • "The Secret of Meteor Island"
  • "The Voice of Doom"
  • "The Secret of the Genie"
  • "The Mystery of the Letter"
The remaining serialized stories are all either wholly or partially missing. For those stories where some episodes are available in circulation, it will be noted which parts are available.
  • "The Mystery of the Silver Buffalo"
  • "The Secret of Stone Ridge"
  • "The Mystery of the Unknown"
  • "Murder Scores a Touchdown"
  • "The Riddle of the Mystery Message"
  • "The Vanishing Killers"
  • "Superman's Secret"
  • "The Return of the Octopus"
  • "The Mystery of the Spellbound Ships"
Beginning on February 7, 1949, The Adventures of Superman episodes expanded to 30 minutes each. All were transcribed. Each episode was self-contained and had an individual story title. Only "The Mystery of the $10,000 Ghost", "The Mystery of the Flying Monster", and "The Case of the Double Trouble" are available in circulation.
  • "The Frozen Death"
  • "The Mystery of the Golden Eagle"
  • "The Riddle of the Chinese Jade"
  • "The Curse of the Devil's Creek"
  • "The Lost Civilization"
  • "The Mystery of the Voice Machine"
  • "The Mystery if the Little Men"
  • "The Story of Marina Baum"
  • "Death Rides the Roller Coaster"
  • "The Mystery of the Singing Wheels"
  • "The Case of the Poisoned Town"
  • "Mystery of the $10,000 Ghost"
  • "Mystery of the Flying Monster"
  • "Case of Double Trouble"
  • "Superman's Mortal Enemy"
  • "The Mystery of the Disappearing Diamonds"
  • "The Cat as Big as an Elephant"
  • "The Mystery of the Walking Doll"
  • "The Return of Terror"
  • "How Time Stood Still"
  • "The World's Greatest Secret"
  • "Crime by the Carload"
  • "Fangs of Fury"
  • "The Mystery of the Citadel of Doom"
  • "The Mystery of the Death Train"
  • "Terror Under the Big Top"
  • "The Man of a Thousand Faces"
  • "The Lost King"
  • "The Mystery of Skull Cave"
  • Untitled story
  • "The Secret of the Sahara"
  • "A Voice from the Grave"
  • "The Deadly Double"
  • "The Adventure of the Impractical Joker"
  • "An Experiment in Danger"
  • "The Mystery of the Phantom Fleet"
  • "The Triangle of Crime"
  • "The Mystery of the Vibrating Death"
  • "The Mystery of Butte Valley"
  • "The Eye of Balapur"
  • "The Horseman of Doom"
  • "The Mystery of the New Face"
  • "The Vengeful Ghost"
  • "The Mystery of the Flaming Forest"
  • "The Winged Horse"
  • "Death on the Diamond"
  • "The Riddle of the Tapestry"
  • "The Mystery of the Singing Wheels"
  • "The Speedway of Terror"
  • "Crime at a Bargain"
  • "The Vanishing Ships"
  • "The Case of the Double Double Cross"
  • "The Portrait of Satan"
  • "The Ghost of Shipwreck Island"
  • "Eleven for Death"
  • "Forecast for Crime"
  • "Murder on the Midway"
  • "The Borrowed Corpse"
  • "Killer at Large"
  • "The Mystery of the Frozen Monster"
The series left MBS with the 60th half-hour show, "The Mystery of the Frozen Monster", on June 24, 1949.

Adult themed revival: October 1949 – January 1950

It returned as a mystery program targeted toward adults on Saturday, October 29, 1949, at 8:30pm over the ABC network. ABC aired this adult-themed version for 13 weeks, concluding with "Dead Men Tell No Tales" on January 21, 1950. This broadcast marked the final radio appearance of Bud Collyer as Clark Kent/Superman.
  • "Mystery of the Walking Dead"
  • "One Minute to Death"
  • "Puzzle of the Poison Pomegranate"
  • "Death Rides the Roller Coaster"
  • "Diamond of Death"

    Re-used scripts revival: June 1950 – March 1951

On June 5, 1950, ABC revived The Adventures of Superman as a twice-weekly afternoon half-hour series. This version reused the scripts for the 60 MBS half-hour episodes and the 13 "adult" ABC episodes but with new cast members. Michael Fitzmaurice replaced Collyer as Kent/Superman, Jack Grimes replaced Jackie Kelk as Jimmy Olsen, and Ross Martin replaced Jackson Beck as narrator. A total of 78 episodes were produced, with the final broadcast, "The Mystery of the Prehistoric Monster", on March 1, 1951. By then, producer Robert Maxwell was actively preparing Adventures of Superman for television.

Cast

From 1949 to 1954 there was also an Australian version of the series. This series included 1040 15-minute episodes. It was cast with Australia actors such as Leonard Teale as Superman and Margaret Christensen as Lois Lane.