''Atom Man vs. Superman'' is a 1950 American

film serial A serial film, film serial (or just serial), movie serial, or chapter play, is a motion picture form popular during the first half of the 20th century, consisting of a series of short subjects exhibited in consecutive order at one theater, gene ...

and the second Superman movie serial featuring

Kirk Alyn Kirk Alyn (born John Feggo Jr.; October 8, 1910 – March 14, 1999) was an American actor, best known for being the first actor to play the DC Comics character Superman in live-action for the 1948 movie serial ''Superman'' and its 1950 sequel ''At ...

, credited (as with the previous serial) only by his character name, Superman. When

Lex Luthor Alexander Joseph "Lex" Luthor () is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Lex Luthor originally appeared in ''Action Comics'' #23 (cover dated: Apr ...

blackmails the city of

Metropolis A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications. A big c ...

by threatening to destroy the entire community,

Perry White Perry White is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is the editor-in-chief of the Metropolis newspaper the ''Daily Planet''. The character maintains very high ethical and journalistic standards and i ...

, editor of the ''

Daily Planet The ''Daily Planet'' is a fictional newspaper appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with Superman. The newspaper was first mentioned in ''Action Comics'' #23 (April 1940). The ''Daily Planet'' build ...

'' assigns

Lois Lane Lois Lane is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, she first appeared in ''Action Comics'' #1 (June 1938). Lois is an award-winning journalist for ...

Jimmy Olsen Jimmy Olsen is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Olsen is most often portrayed as a young photojournalist working for the ''Daily Planet''. He is close friends with Lois Lane and Clark Kent, and has ...

and

Clark Kent Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publish ...

to cover the story. The first chapter was released in July 1950.

Plot

, the Atom Man, invents a number of deadly devices to plague the city, including a disintegrating machine which can reduce people to their basic atoms and reassemble them in another place. But

Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...

manages to thwart each scheme. Since

Kryptonite Kryptonite is a fictional material that appears primarily in Superman stories published by DC Comics. In its best-known form, it is a green, crystalline material originating from Superman's home world of Krypton that emits a unique, poisonous r ...

can rob Superman of his powers, Luthor decides to create a synthetic Kryptonite and putters about obtaining the necessary ingredients:

plutonium Plutonium is a radioactive chemical element with the symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is an actinide metal of silvery-gray appearance that tarnishes when exposed to air, and forms a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibi ...

radium Radium is a chemical element with the symbol Ra and atomic number 88. It is the sixth element in group 2 of the periodic table, also known as the alkaline earth metals. Pure radium is silvery-white, but it readily reacts with nitrogen (rather t ...

and the undefined 'etc.' Luthor places the Kryptonite at the launching of a ship, with Superman in attendance. He is exposed to the Kryptonite and passes out. Superman is taken off in an ambulance driven by Luthor's henchmen, and he is now under the control of Luthor. Superman is placed in a device, a lever is pulled, and the Man of Steel vanishes into "The Empty Doom".

Cast

as Kal-El / Clark Kent / Superman *

Noel Neill Noel Darleen Neill (November 25, 1920 – July 3, 2016) was an American actress. She played Lois Lane in the film serials ''Superman'' (1948) and ''Atom Man vs. Superman'' (1950), as well as the 1950s television series '' Adventures of Superman' ...

Lyle Talbot Lyle Florenz Talbot (born Lisle Henderson, also credited Lysle Talbot; February 8, 1902 – March 2, 1996) was an American stage, screen and television actor. His career in films spanned three decades, from 1931 to 1960, and he performed on ...

as Lex Luthor / Atom Man *

Tommy Bond Thomas Ross Bond (September 16, 1926 – September 24, 2005) was an American actor, director, producer and writer. He was best known for his work as a child actor for two nonconsecutive periods on ''Our Gang'' (''Little Rascals'') comedies (fir ...

Pierre Watkin Pierre Frank Watkin (December 29, 1887 – February 3, 1960) was an American character actor best known for playing distinguished authority figures throughout the Golden Age of Hollywood. He is best remembered for his roles of Mr. Skinner the b ...

Jack Ingram Jack Owen Ingram (born November 15, 1970) is an American country music artist formerly signed to Big Machine Records, an independent record label. He has released eleven studio albums, one extended play, six live albums, and 19 singles. Although ...

as Foster *

Don C. Harvey Don Carlos Harvey (December 12, 1911 – April 23, 1963) was an American television and film actor. Life Born in Council Grove in Morris County in east central Kansas, Harvey began his acting career by performing on radio and in tent shows and ...

as Albor *

Rusty Wescoatt Norman "Rusty" Wescoatt (August 2, 1911 – September 3, 1987) was an American supporting actor who appeared in over 80 films between 1947 and 1965. Early life The son of Mr. and Mrs. W.W. Wescoatt, he was born on August 2, 1911, in Maui, Hawai ...

as Carl *

Terry Frost Sir Terence Ernest Manitou Frost RA (13 October 1915 – 1 September 2003) was a British abstract artist, who worked in Newlyn, Cornwall. Frost was renowned for his use of the Cornish light, colour and shape to start a new art movement in ...

as Baer * Wally West as Dorr * Paul Stader as "Killer" Lawson *

George Robotham George Robotham (January 10, 1921 – February 1, 2007) was an American stuntman and actor. Robotham was born in 1921 and played American football at UCLA, where he was awarded a degree in business administration. He started his acting career ...

as Earl

Production

Kirk Alyn as Superman in a publicity still from 1948

Lyle Talbot, who had previously starred as Commissioner Jim Gordon in the 1949 Columbia Serial '' Batman and Robin'', here portrays Lex Luthor (and also Luthor's alter-ego "Atom Man"). In his "Atom Man" disguise, Talbot as Luthor, utilizes a vaguely German accent and wears an ominous mask fashioned from a "Metallogen Man" robot costume left over from 1945's ''

The Monster and the Ape ''The Monster and the Ape'' was the 26th serial released by Columbia Pictures and was released in 1945. Plot The Monster of the title is the "Metalogen Man", a robot created by Professor Franklin Arnold. After displaying his invention, the robot ...

''. Despite their onscreen personas, Talbot (Lex Luthor), who wore a rubber scalp to create the impression of baldness, and Alyn (Superman) spent much of their time, when not shooting, exchanging recipes; both actors shared an interest in cookery.

Special effects

The final set piece shows Metropolis under attack by "poorly animated" flying saucers and a torpedo. The flying effects were somewhat improved in this film than in the original, by the simple expedient of turning the camera on its side. Kirk Alyn stood with arms raised in front of a cyclorama, while a wind machine and smoke pot were placed above him (out of frame). This gave an inexpensive illusion of flight. Longer shots continued to use cartoon animation of the Man of Steel.

Critical appraisal

In their book ''The Great Movie Serials'', Jim Harman and Donald F. Glut describe the serial as "far more gimmicky and gadget prone" than the first Superman serial. In addition to this, they also found it to be "flawed by the same Katzman cheapness."

Home media

In 2006, the ''Atom Man vs. Superman'' serial was still available for purchase on VHS

videotape Videotape is magnetic tape used for storing video and usually sound in addition. Information stored can be in the form of either an analog or digital signal. Videotape is used in both video tape recorders (VTRs) and, more commonly, videocassett ...

, where it was first released back in 1989 as a double tape box set. The serial was also offered available in two separate VHS tapes as Volume 1 (Chapters 1 - 7) and Volume 2 (Chapters 8 - 15). It was officially released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

by Warner Home Video, along with its predecessor, 1948's ''

'', on November 28, 2006 as ''Superman - The Theatrical Serials Collection''. With the previous 2006 DVD release out of print for a few years, on October 9, 2018 the serials were re-released as manufactured-on-demand (MOD) DVD from

Warner Archive Collection The Warner Archive Collection is a home video division for releasing classic and cult films from Warner Bros.' library. It started as a manufactured-on-demand (MOD) DVD series by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on March 23, 2009, with the inte ...

Chapter titles

# ''Superman Flies Again'' # ''Atom Man Appears'' # ''Ablaze In The Sky'' # ''Superman Meets Atom Man'' # ''Atom Man Tricks Superman'' # ''Atom Man's Challenge'' # ''At The Mercy Of Atom Man'' # ''Into The Empty Doom'' # ''Superman Crashes Through'' # ''Atom Man's Heat Ray'' # ''Luthor's Strategy'' # ''Atom Man Strikes'' # ''Atom Man's Flying Saucers'' # ''Rocket Of Vengeance'' # ''Superman Saves The Universe''

References

External links

* * *
Superman.UGO.com
{{Authority control 1950 films Superman films Live-action films based on DC Comics American sequel films Columbia Pictures film serials American black-and-white films Films directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet American science fiction films 1950s science fiction films 1950s superhero films 1950s English-language films Films with screenplays by George H. Plympton Films with screenplays by Joseph F. Poland 1950s American films Films based on DC Comics