Superman and the Mole Men
Encyclopedia
Superman and the Mole Men is a 1951 superhero film
starring George Reeves
as Superman
and Phyllis Coates
as Lois Lane
. It is the first theatrical feature film based on the DC Comics
character Superman, although two live-action Superman films had already been shown in cinemas, they appeared in a serial format. The film was produced by Barney Sarecky and directed by Lee Sholem
with the original screenplay by Richard Fielding (a pseudonym for Robert Maxwell
and Whitney Ellsworth
), it was shot in 12 days on a studio backlot. Fifty-eight minutes long, it served as a trial run for the syndicated TV series Adventures of Superman
, for which it became a two-part episode titled "The Unknown People".
and Lois Lane
are sent to the small town of Silsby for the inauguration of the world's deepest oil well. Unbeknownst to the drillers, however, the drill shaft has penetrated the underground home of the "Mole Men", a race of small, furry (though bald-headed) beings. The Mole Men come up through the shaft at night to explore the surface.
Their peculiar appearance, plus the fact that everything they touch then becomes phosphorescent and glows in the dark, scares the townspeople into forming an angry mob, led by the violent Luke Benson, in order to kill the "monsters". Superman is the only one able to resolve the conflict, saving one of the creatures from falling into the town's water supply after he has been shot by taking him to hospital, while the other is chased away. Later a doctor reveals that unless the creature undergoes surgery to remove the bullet, he will die. Clark Kent is forced to assist the doctor when the nurse refuses to out of fear of the creature. Soon afterward, Benson's mob shows up at the hospital demanding to have the creature turned over to them, leading Superman to stand guard outside the hospital. Lois Lane stands at Superman's side, until a shot is fired from the mob narrowly missing Lois. Superman sends her inside and begins to relieve the mob of their guns, sending the mob away. Later several more mole creatures emerge from the drill shaft, this time bearing a weapon. They make their way to the hospital. Benson and his mob see the creatures and Benson goes after them alone, but when the creatures see him they use their weapon and fire on him. Superman sees this and quickly jumps in front of the blast, saving Benson's life, which Superman says is "More than you deserve!". He fetches the wounded creature and returns him and his companions to the shaft. Soon after they destroy the shaft completely, making certain that no one or thing can come up or go down it ever again.
The sympathetic view of the strangers in this film, and the unreasoning fear on the part of the citizenry, has been compared by author Gary Grossman to the panicked public reaction to the peaceful alien Klaatu in the film The Day the Earth Stood Still, which was released the same year. Both films have been seen retrospectively as a product of (and a reaction to) the "Red Scare" of post-World War II
. Grossman also cites a later film perhaps inspired by this one, called The Mole People
.
videotape by Warner Home Video
on July 22, 1987 (coinciding with the 50th anniversary celebrations of the Superman
character that year). Both the two-part episode and the full motion picture are featured on the first season DVD
release for Adventures of Superman in 2005. In 2006, the film was released as a bonus feature on the 4-Disc Collector's Edition of Superman: The Movie.
Superhero film
A superhero film, superhero movie, or superhero motion picture is: action, fantasy and science fiction film; that is focused on the actions of one or more superheroes, individuals who usually possess superhuman abilities relative to a normal person and are dedicated to protecting the public...
starring George Reeves
George Reeves
George Reeves was an American actor best known for his role as Superman in the 1950s television program Adventures of Superman....
as Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
and Phyllis Coates
Phyllis Coates
Phyllis Coates is an American film and television actress. She is perhaps best known for her portrayal of reporter Lois Lane in the 1951 film Superman and the Mole Men, and during the first season of the Adventures of Superman television series.-Early life and career:After graduating from high...
as Lois Lane
Lois Lane
Lois Lane is a fictional character, the primary love interest of Superman in the comic books of DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, she first appeared in Action Comics #1 ....
. It is the first theatrical feature film based on the DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
character Superman, although two live-action Superman films had already been shown in cinemas, they appeared in a serial format. The film was produced by Barney Sarecky and directed by Lee Sholem
Lee Sholem
Lee Tabor Sholem was an American television and film director....
with the original screenplay by Richard Fielding (a pseudonym for Robert Maxwell
Robert Maxwell (producer)
Robert Maxwell Joffe was an American radio and television producer, screenwriter, and entertainment executive...
and Whitney Ellsworth
Whitney Ellsworth
Fredric Whitney Ellsworth was an American comic book editor, and sometime writer and artist for DC Comics during the period known to historians and fans as the Golden Age of Comic Books...
), it was shot in 12 days on a studio backlot. Fifty-eight minutes long, it served as a trial run for the syndicated TV series Adventures of Superman
Adventures of Superman (TV series)
Adventures of Superman is an American television series based on comic book characters and concepts created in 1938 by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The show is the first television series to feature Superman and began filming in 1951 in California...
, for which it became a two-part episode titled "The Unknown People".
Plot
Mild-mannered reporter Clark KentClark Kent
Clark Kent is a fictional character created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Appearing regularly in stories published by DC Comics, he debuted in Action Comics #1 and serves as the civilian and secret identity of the superhero Superman....
and Lois Lane
Lois Lane
Lois Lane is a fictional character, the primary love interest of Superman in the comic books of DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, she first appeared in Action Comics #1 ....
are sent to the small town of Silsby for the inauguration of the world's deepest oil well. Unbeknownst to the drillers, however, the drill shaft has penetrated the underground home of the "Mole Men", a race of small, furry (though bald-headed) beings. The Mole Men come up through the shaft at night to explore the surface.
Their peculiar appearance, plus the fact that everything they touch then becomes phosphorescent and glows in the dark, scares the townspeople into forming an angry mob, led by the violent Luke Benson, in order to kill the "monsters". Superman is the only one able to resolve the conflict, saving one of the creatures from falling into the town's water supply after he has been shot by taking him to hospital, while the other is chased away. Later a doctor reveals that unless the creature undergoes surgery to remove the bullet, he will die. Clark Kent is forced to assist the doctor when the nurse refuses to out of fear of the creature. Soon afterward, Benson's mob shows up at the hospital demanding to have the creature turned over to them, leading Superman to stand guard outside the hospital. Lois Lane stands at Superman's side, until a shot is fired from the mob narrowly missing Lois. Superman sends her inside and begins to relieve the mob of their guns, sending the mob away. Later several more mole creatures emerge from the drill shaft, this time bearing a weapon. They make their way to the hospital. Benson and his mob see the creatures and Benson goes after them alone, but when the creatures see him they use their weapon and fire on him. Superman sees this and quickly jumps in front of the blast, saving Benson's life, which Superman says is "More than you deserve!". He fetches the wounded creature and returns him and his companions to the shaft. Soon after they destroy the shaft completely, making certain that no one or thing can come up or go down it ever again.
Cast
- George ReevesGeorge ReevesGeorge Reeves was an American actor best known for his role as Superman in the 1950s television program Adventures of Superman....
as Clark KentClark KentClark Kent is a fictional character created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Appearing regularly in stories published by DC Comics, he debuted in Action Comics #1 and serves as the civilian and secret identity of the superhero Superman....
/ SupermanSupermanSuperman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective... - Phyllis CoatesPhyllis CoatesPhyllis Coates is an American film and television actress. She is perhaps best known for her portrayal of reporter Lois Lane in the 1951 film Superman and the Mole Men, and during the first season of the Adventures of Superman television series.-Early life and career:After graduating from high...
as Lois LaneLois LaneLois Lane is a fictional character, the primary love interest of Superman in the comic books of DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, she first appeared in Action Comics #1 .... - Jeff CoreyJeff CoreyJeff Corey was an American stage and screen actor and director who became a well-respected acting teacher after being blacklisted in the 1950s.-Biography:...
as Luke Benson - Walter ReedWalter Reed (actor)Walter Reed was an American stage, film and television actor. He was born in Fort Ward, Washington. Following a stint as a Broadway actor, Reed broke into films in 1941...
as Bill Corrigan - J. Farrell MacDonaldJ. Farrell MacDonaldJoseph Farrell MacDonald was an American character actor and director. He played supporting roles and occasional leads. MacDonald, who was sometimes billed as "John Farrell Macdonald", "J.F...
as Pop Shannon - Stanley AndrewsStanley AndrewsStanley Andrews was an American actor perhaps best known as the voice of Daddy Warbucks on the radio program Little Orphan Annie and later as "The Old Ranger", the host of Death Valley Days.-Early life:...
as The Sheriff - Ray Walker as John Craig
- Hal K. Dawson as Chuck Weber
- Phil Warren as Deputy Jim
- Frank ReicherFrank ReicherFrank Reicher , was a German-born American stage and film actor, director and producer.-Early life:Frank Reicher was born in Munich, Germany, the son of actor Emanuel Reicher and Hedwig Kindermann, a popular German prima donna who was a daughter of the famous baritone August Kindermann...
as Hospital Superintendent - Beverly Washburn as Child
- Jack Banbury as A "Mole Man"
- Tony Baris as A "Mole Man"
- Billy CurtisBilly CurtisBilly Curtis was an American film and television actor. He was a dwarf who had a 50-year career in a variety of roles...
as A "Mole Man" - Jerry MarenJerry MarenJerry Maren is an American actor and one of only three confirmed surviving dwarf munchkins from the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz. The other two surviving munchkin cast members are Margaret Williams Pellegrini and Ruth Robinson Duccini, making Maren the last surviving male Munchkin from the...
as A "Mole Man"
Themes
As with many of the early episodes of the Adventures of Superman, the film is adult-themed, with a good deal of conflict and violence, or the threat thereof, and is played with total seriousness by all the actors; Reeves's Superman, in particular, is all business, displaying none of the humor that the character would develop over time in the TV series.The sympathetic view of the strangers in this film, and the unreasoning fear on the part of the citizenry, has been compared by author Gary Grossman to the panicked public reaction to the peaceful alien Klaatu in the film The Day the Earth Stood Still, which was released the same year. Both films have been seen retrospectively as a product of (and a reaction to) the "Red Scare" of post-World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Grossman also cites a later film perhaps inspired by this one, called The Mole People
The Mole People
-Plot:The film begins with a narration by Dr. Frank Baxter, an English professor at the University of Southern California, explaining the premise of the movie and its basis in reality...
.
Production notes
- The central image of Reeves and Coates, on the poster shown here, is a painting derived from flipping a publicity photo of the two, with the "S" shield flipped back in order to read correctly. The photo depicts the final scene, shown in the screen capture at right.
- Some elements were trimmed from the film when it was converted into "The Unknown People", including some portions of a lengthy chase scene, and all references to the term "Mole Men".
- The theme music used for this film had a generic "sci-fi sound", with nothing suggesting a specific "Superman theme". The title cards were similarly generic, with low-grade animation of SaturnSaturnSaturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest planet in the Solar System, after Jupiter. Saturn is named after the Roman god Saturn, equated to the Greek Cronus , the Babylonian Ninurta and the Hindu Shani. Saturn's astronomical symbol represents the Roman god's sickle.Saturn,...
-like ringed planets and comets sailing by. - The score was also changed when the film was re-cut into its two-part TV episode. The film featured an original score by Darrell CalkerDarrell CalkerDarrell Wallace Calker was a composer and arranger who worked on films and animated cartoons.-Biography:...
(Woody WoodpeckerWoody WoodpeckerWoody Woodpecker is an animated cartoon character, an anthropomorphic acorn woodpecker who appeared in theatrical short films produced by the Walter Lantz animation studio and distributed by Universal Pictures...
), which was removed and replaced with music from the production music library used for the first television season's presentation. - The laser weapon shown in the poster, which the Mole Men brought up from their subterranean home in order to defend themselves and retrieve their injured comrade, was a prop constructed from an ElectroluxElectroluxThe Electrolux Group is a Swedish appliance maker.As of 2010 the 2nd largest home appliance manufacturer in the world after Whirlpool, its products sell under a variety of brand names including its own and are primarily major appliances and vacuum cleaners...
vacuum cleanerVacuum cleanerA vacuum cleaner, commonly referred to as a "vacuum," is a device that uses an air pump to create a partial vacuum to suck up dust and dirt, usually from floors, and optionally from other surfaces as well. The dirt is collected by either a dustbag or a cyclone for later disposal...
.
VHS and DVD release
The film was released on VHSVHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
videotape by Warner Home Video
Warner Home Video
Warner Home Video is the home video unit of Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., itself part of Time Warner. It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Video . The company launched in the United States with twenty films on VHS and Betamax videocassettes in late 1979...
on July 22, 1987 (coinciding with the 50th anniversary celebrations of the Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
character that year). Both the two-part episode and the full motion picture are featured on the first season DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
release for Adventures of Superman in 2005. In 2006, the film was released as a bonus feature on the 4-Disc Collector's Edition of Superman: The Movie.