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