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Rating:  -
I was lucky enough to meet Kirk Alyn several years ago in southern California and he was a gracious, out-going, friendly person. This was the same persona he brought to the original Superman.
The shows, while dated by our standards, are a lot of fun to watch. The effects (for instance the animated flight sequences) are hokey and many of the plot devices, while typical for Saturday matinee serials, seem a bit silly now. Still, the cast had enthusiasm and seemed to really be having fun. (BTW, while these came out at the end of the run of the Saturday afternoon movie serials, they actually were the most profitable of all the serials.)
Kirk Alyn was a great casting choice (even though the producers decided not to give him credit in either serial). Noel Nielle is still the type model for Lois Lane for me and seemed to be almost born to be Lois. Tommy Bond (of Lil Rascals fame) actually helped create the Jimmy Olsen character in these serials. Pierre Watkin as the irascable Perry White undoubtedly influenced the future Perry portrayers.
Carol Forman as the Spider Lady and Lyle Talbot as the first film version of Lex Luthor were well-cast and added their talents well as the sinister villians Superman had to overcome.
These are a nice addition to my Superman collection and fun to watch. Especially Kirk Alyn who seemed to really enjoy himself as well as personify, for a pre-TV generation, Superman.
Rating: -
Finally! the original Superman series on DVD! Well, okay, the original series would be the one on radio, or even Siegel & Schuster's first comics, but this is the one that first put Supes on film. Kirk Alyn does not get screen credit, but does a wonderful job. Just once did I wonder how a man could pull off a dual identity, when Clark runs after a crook, and Kirk runs as Clark just like he does as Superman. They didn't use the motto, "you will believe a man can fly" and it's just as well...the flying is animated, but a vital part of the story. For Superman fans, this is a must -- how to depict x-ray vision without special effects? the original appearance of Lex Luthor (in "Atom Man") etc. I'm just surprised there weren't more, and earlier. By the time "Atom Man" came out, there was TV and George Reeves was just around the corner. It's kind of fun to compare the two, but not really fair to put either next to Reeve or Cain, who had the advantage of special effects. But next to the Tarzans and Zorros of the time, the Kirk Alyn Superman serials are great!
Rating:  -
Quality from WB excellent. Unfortunately, in the Superman serial (1948), they omitted the titles from the start of each chapter after the first one. Their master is probably this way since I have the serial on VHS and it is the same. Otherwise OK. Atom Man vs. Superman is great in all respects (for a Columbia serial).
Rating: -
I held off on buying this set because of the negative reviews. But when I received it as a Christmas gift from my brother, which he ordered through AMAZON, I couldn't wait to see if the three previous reviews had any credibility. AND, THEY DO NOT! The discs have a very good (not perfect) but very good picture quality. On a scale of 1-10, 10 being best. SUPERMAN (1948) averages a 9. ATOM MAN vs SUPERMAN (1950) averages an 8. The picture quality is not always consistant. But it never fell into the category of unwatchable or disappointing. Nor did I experience any freezing, major artifacts or pixelation break-ups, just occasional film scratches and slight graininess from time to time. The sound was clear, powerful, and, dynamic. There was absolutely no sound glitch in any of the four discs, especially Jor-El's speech to the council. My only gripe is, just like the last two boxed sets of the George Reeves series, this also lacks English subtitles. A big kick I get is spotting as many actors as I can that have also appeared in the BATMAN (1943) and BATMAN and ROBIN (1949) serials. More so for Batman and Robin. Both of which are also available on DVD. AND THE PICTURE LOOKS FINE FOR THEM TOO. There's a similar music track for both BATMAN and ROBIN (1949) and ATOM MAN vs SUPERMAN (1950). Some of Superman's flight sequences look like he's (swimming) rather than flying, through the air as you see his legs doing a swimmers' kick. That aside, these serials are packed with suspense, excitement, and fun. A word of warning; Never buy a bootleg copy on the recommendation of another reviewer chances are he's the one selling the bootlegs. Believe me, I have nothing to gain by telling you this. But as a member of the general public, just like you, I hate being duped by cons. Trust me. These discs are as I say.
Rating:  -
I HAVE THE ORIGINAL VHS VERSIONS OF BOTH SERIALS, AND WAS HOPING FOR
IMPROVED PICTURE QUALITY....WRONG.
THE PICTURE QUALITY IN BOTH SERIALS IS JUST NOT GOOD.
SAVE YOUR DOUGH AND GET A BOOTLEG.
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