SUPERMAN VS. HOLLYWOOD

By Jake Rossen

Chicago Review Press

$16.95

Review by Bruce Dettman

To a large degree Jake Rossen’s recently published SUPERMAN VERSES HOLLYWOOD charts the same basic course as Bruce Scivally’s SUPERMAN ON FILM, TELEVISION, RADIO AND BROADWAY released last autumn. In their own fashion both authors attempt to trace and document the history of the Superman character from his seminal comic book days up to through his most recent incarnations on TV’s Smallville and Brian Singer’s big screen adaptation Superman Returns.

The differences in the books are twofold, tone and detail, with Scivally’s work being the more reverential and nostalgic but lacking some of Rossen’s level of research and documentation.

As far as tone is concerned—and this is particularly of importance to the followers of this web page—a certain glibness and sarcasm often comes through when Rossen is discussing his subject. I found this to be particularly true in his account of the creation and making of TAOS. There is nothing downright mean-spirited or incendiary exactly, but rather a sort of shadowy condescension and veiled disapproval which often creeps into the writing. He constantly harps and makes disparaging comments on the dated aspects of the series and its small budget while rarely if ever coming to terms with its lasting charm, sincerity and engaging performances of the principles—Reeves, Coates, Neill, Larson, Hamilton and Shayne—which not only made it one of the most fondly recalled series of early television but one which continues to resonate with audiences worldwide.

Factual errors creep in as well. For instance, he cites the fact that in the Columbia serials Kirk Alyn as Superman never used a stunt double which, based on several production stills taken at the time, is simply not true. He says that in TAOS Lois (Coates) was accidentally knocked out by a stuntman (it was actor Frank Richards) and he also repeats the erroneous story of a considerable amount of George’s From Here to Eternity footage being excised by studio heads due to Reeves’ association with the comic book character.

As in Scivally’s book, TAOS does not really receive the extent of coverage that lesser but more recent Superman projects do. In my opinion, this is a glaring slight since it really was TAOS—not the serials or Fleisher cartoons or the popular radio series or even the comic books (directed as they were towards a juvenile audience)—with its massive appeal to people of all ages and brought into homes worldwide via the new medium of television that made the character such a cultural icon.

Rossen is a good writer and as somewhat of a Hollywood insider has done his research, particularly regarding events during the Christopher Reeves period as well as later attempts, most of them bungled and ill-advised, to get a new Superman franchise up and running again following the failure of the disappointing SUPERMAN IV, the final and delayed result being 2007’s SUPERMAN RETURNS which opened to mixed reviews and lower box office returns than hoped for. He also touches briefly on the controversial film HOLLYWOODLAND and provides a more or less accurate account of the history and failure of this project although omitting references to early developmental influences by other key figures this reviewer is personally aware of who had a more accurate movie about George Reeves in mind.

As the title of the book suggests, this is not only a book about Superman but one in which the famous character is utilized to showcase how Hollywood writers, producers and directors deal with a successful long-running property, not always in a constructive or attractive manner. This was particularly evidenced several years after Chris Reeve’s final Superman movie was released when various Tinsel Town moguls got into the picture in an attempt to create new storylines and even to blatantly (some might say sacrilegiously) re-vamp the Man of Steel’s mythological persona, some of these concepts absolutely ludicrous and totally at odds with the character and his history. It is often the story of Hollywood back-stabbing, misrepresentation, horrendous judgment and downright stupid decision-making. In the end, compared to some of the abusive suffered at the hands of Hollywood, Superman’s confrontations with the likes of Brainiac, Bizarro and Lex Luther were child’s play.

Rossen’s work, like Scivally’s, although flawed and somewhat deficient in its coverage of TAOS, is certainly deserving of a place on any Superman fan’s bookshelf, if nothing else for the totality of its coverage and insight into the behind-the scenes machinations that were always at work during the 70 year history of this wonderful and ever evolving character.  

January 2008

Superman on Film, Television, Radio and Broadway

Book by Bruce Scivally

Mcfarland Publishers, 2007

Reviewed by Bruce Dettman

Nearly from his inception in 1938, the product of the fertile imaginations of two daydreaming Cincinnati teenagers, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the character of Superman, one of the most recognizable icons in pop culture, has been showcased in a wide variety of mediums which have—in some instances minimally, other times more extensively—served to stretch, redefine and expand upon the initial mythos and fictional parameters of the character. It was only a couple of years after his comic book debut that the Man of Steel was alive and well and featured on an immensely popular national radio hookup starring Bud Collier (which would also introduce such later perennial ingredients of the Superman legend as Daily Planet Editor Perry White, Jimmy Olsen and Kryptonite) followed two years later by his stellar incarnation in a series of brilliant Paramount animated shorts created by the Max Fleisher Studios. Next would be the bargain basement cliffhangers of Columbia Studio’s Sam Katzman starring Kirk Alyn which would in turn give rise to the phenomenally popular long-running TV series starring George Reeves. Other incarnations would follow including additional cartoons, a Broadway production, the tremendously successful big screen versions starring Christopher Reeve, other TV series which explored the Superman theme including Superboy, Lois and Clark and the current trend-setting Smallville as well as what could be a new major franchise with newcomer Brandon Routh in the lead role.

In his new book Superman on Film, Television, Radio and Broadway author/documentary-maker and cultural historian Bruce Scivally has provided an overview of the history of the Man of Steel in all mediums, not only tracing the meteoric rise in popularity of the character and describing his ongoing transformation and cosmetic alternations, but has touched upon those forces, social, political and artistic, that often provided the impetus for these changes.

For readers of Glass House Presents, the majority of who are dedicated fans of George Reeves and the 1950s Adventures of Superman, the book is often somewhat of a mixed blessing. While Scivally does a fine job in providing an entertaining and engaging survey of the Superman saga, I  suspect many will be disappointed and frustrated that Reeves show is not covered in more detail since a good argument could made for the fact that the series was not only a defining moment for the character, but that in the collective minds of a whole generation, George Reeves was the definitive Superman and those weekly television episodes, reaching so many (as they continue to do via cable and DVDS) probably more than anything else—certainly more than the radio series, the serials or the Fleisher cartoons—cemented the character’s reputation in the mind of the general public at large. Scivally owes a huge debt to Gary Grossman’s groundbreaking work from the 1970s, Superman From Serial to Cereal which he draws from for his research, but in doing so he occasionally repeats some of Grossman’s own errors which is disconcerting and undermines the intent setting the record straight. In addition, perhaps because Grossman spent so much of his text detailing what went on in individual episodes, Scivally sidetracks much discussion of these although he does often provide lengthy analysis of standout efforts from later shows like Lois and Clark and Smallville. Some attention to landmark episodes such as Panic In The Sky or Superman In Exile, which braved new grounds for the character, would have been a decided plus as would interviews with personal not usually quoted such as writers and technical people still alive. This reviewer would also have appreciated, particularly in a book with such a hefty price tag, more in the way of illustrations and photographs to visually showcase the historical development of Superman throughout the decades.

These complaints aside, Scivally is to be congratulated for applying his talents and energies to assimilating the considerable pieces of the Superman story into one volume. Unlike Grossman whose book pre-dated the most recent incarnations of the Man of Steel, Scivally is able to present the full breath and range of the character’s appearances right up to the present Brian Singer mega-production and for this reason is extremely useful as a reference tool and barometer showcasing the often circuitous paths that distinguished the multi-faceted media career of our favorite pop phenomenon.

November 2007

Truth, Justice, and the American Way

Expanded Version by Larry Ward

Review by Alfred Walker

Open Letters, Memos, Appreciations, and Apologies

re: Truth, Justice, and the American Way: The Life and Times of Noel Neill  - The Original Lois Lane, Deluxe Expanded Edition (2006) by Larry Thomas Ward

To Carl Glass, my friend and publisher: I'm letting you down big-time, pal. I agreed to review Noel Neill's newly expanded biography for Glass House Presents, but it's not going to happen. A "review" would suggest some semblance of an impartial stance, perhaps a bit of objective distance from the subject matter. You may be Miss Neill's Number One Fan (self-proclaimed), but I hereby confess that I'm a Noel Neill Fan 101: basic issue, hooked since childhood, still buzzing from meeting her three years ago and twice more since. As for Larry Ward, I count him as a loyal friend and a key provider of sustenance and enhancement to the legacy of The Adventures of Superman. So Carl, my objectivity with this book charts at about a third of one per cent. No way I can write a review. Sorry!

To My Basement, the locale of my regular column for Glasshouse: You will not be seeing this book. It has its own special shelf in the living room. You're just going to have to content yourself with the boxes of comic books and that moth-eaten Superman costume.

To Fans of Noel Neill, The Adventures of Superman, and the Golden Age of Hollywood: This book is must-have! Read that sentence several times.

Remember as a kid, you'd scour the shelves at the public library for a paltry few pictures of your favorite stars and shows? Well, growing up has privileges and here's the payoff! Larry Ward has compiled a stunning and overwhelming collection of images, many previously unpublished, often courtesy of scrapbooks diligently compiled by Miss Neill's parents. There are scores of pictures from 1940s Hollywood; page after page of production shots and candids from The Adventures of Superman (TAOS); and an amazing set of photos from George Reeves' touring musical troupe. At or near the center of all of these is, of course, the most lovely and effervescent Noel Neill.

Miss Neill's long and remarkable career (to date) is chronicled here: dance school standout, big band singer, film ingénue, serial star, and TV icon. And that's the first half of the book. There are 150 more pages devoted to life after TAOS: the Christopher Reeve film, the college tours, the Seinfeld webisode, and most heartwarmingly, her present day interaction with the army of boomer fans who, as kids, watched transfixed as she stood toe to toe with Superman.

Many of those fans came to meet Miss Neill at signings for the original edition of her biography, published in 2003. We loved that book. This book is that book on steroids. And whipped cream. With cherries on top. Lots of cherries. Here is an astonishing collection of photos from "The Private Side of Noel Neill" (have you ever seen her husband?). Here is Lois Lane meeting Lois Lane (can you guess how many Miss Neill has met? Check the pics!). And here is her 85th birthday bash, replete with friends and fans from Lou "Hulk" Ferrigno to Jon "Timmy" Provost.

Just as Larry Ward knows that Miss Neill is the star of all their joint appearances, so is the wisdom he employs with this book. He writes admiringly and competently of his subject, all the while knowing that the images are king in this tribute. Color photos abound, some surely colorized but glorious nonetheless. Any of a dozen of these online would command at the very least the cost of this handsome, hardbound volume.

Is this the final edition? Miss Neill continues on an open-ended tour. She's seen major press coverage with the opening of Superman Returns. And Larry reserves the right to cover her 90th birthday party. So maybe you'll want to roll the dice and pass on one of the 120 or so copies left at jimnolt.com In response, I would only quote the usually soft-spoken Mr. Nolt himself: Let this one slip through your fingers, and you'll be kicking yourself for years to come. 

To Larry Ward: You, sir, have an uncanny sense of what we fans like. You must be paying attention at all those autograph sessions! I thank you for this amazing, thoughtful offering. Your efforts count not only as a wonderful act of much needed stewardship of the memory of TAOS, but also as enrichment of the lives of so many who've met and visited with Miss Neill, thanks to you. 

And to Noel Neill: Your ongoing willingness to share your life with us excites and informs. From you we learn there can be chapters unforeseen, with no end in sight. We meet you with a thrill, then learn about your journey with quiet awe. Thank you!

July 2006