Hall of Fame: Robert Maxwell

If ever a single television producer put his highly individualized and indelible stamp on a particular season of a TV series it was Robert Maxwell who in 1951 would helm the first 26 episodes of The Adventures of Superman. With Maxwell’s departure and under the creative umbrella of a new producer, Whitney Ellsworth, TAOS would abandon the hard-edged, dark and violent noir style that had initially characterized the show and morph into a softer, tamer, and less adult series.

Given the producer/writer’s early background it’s not surprising that the direction he would take during the first year of TAOS would be a lean, violent and tough one. Born around 1910 (the precise date is uncertain), Robert Joffe Maxwell began as a writer, turning out stories for the various pulp magazines of the day, publications which were generally targeted at a male reading audience that expected heightened and exaggerated tales of the old west, mysterious heroes like the mysterious Shadow and the gun-blazing Spider, and bloody crime yarns featuring hardboiled detectives, brassy women, murder and loads of mayhem.

In the late 1930s Maxwell shifted gears and joined National Periodicals (aka DC Comics) with the job of licensing and merchandising rights to the Superman character. Later, he was partnered with Allen Ducovny in creating the Superman radio series which premiered in 1940. In partner with Frank Chase, Maxwell would co-produce the popular series which starred Bud Collyer as the Man of Steel.

After a long and successful eleven year run on the airwaves and in the wake of the two successful Superman serials produced by Columbia Studios and starring Kirk Alyn, the decision was made to bring Krypton’s favorite son to television by way of a pilot feature film. Employing his pseudonym of Richard Fielding, Maxwell co-wrote the screenplay for Superman and the Mole Men with Whitney Ellsworth (who had come up with the original concept) while also co-producing with Barney Sarecky. Subsequently, Maxwell, in partnership with Bernard Luber, went on to produce the first season of TAOS and was instrumental in the selection of George Reeves for the starring role. Viewing the series as an extension of the action-packed radio show, Maxwell and Luber set their eyes on a prime time TV slot where both children and adults could enjoy it. Contributing some of the scripts himself with the Fielding byline (Superman on Earth, Riddle of the Chinese Jade and The Human Bomb) the first year shows were fast-moving and earmarked by overt scenes of violence, some of it, particularly in the minds of sponsor Kellogg Cereals, too excessive and brutal for the under-seven crowd. In the second season, Maxwell was gone and so was the more adult look and aggressive texture of the show.

Following TAOS Maxwell would be involved in several other TV projects including producing Lassie, National Velvet, Cannonball and Father of the Bride. He also wrote the screenplays for the films Vengeance Is Mine and Bushbaby.

Robert Maxwell passed away February 3^rd, 1971 in Toronto, Canada, but the rich legacy of those first 24 episodes, arguably among the best the series had to offer, will never be forgotten. We take great pride in welcoming him into the George Reeves Hall of Fame.

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