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Blessed with respected producers (Alexander and Ilya Salkind and Pierre Spengler), a huge budget, a top-notch director (Richard Donner), and a cast filled with Screen Legends (including Marlon Brando, Gene Hackman, and Glenn Ford), what made Superman's feature film rebirth actually succeed was the then-unknown actor cast as Superman/Clark Kent...and in Christopher Reeve (1952-2004), a perfect Man of Steel would win hearts to this day!
Both commanding and innocent, Reeve gave the character vulnerability and humanity, never camping him up, or insulting either the legend or it's fans. Whether flying gracefully over Metropolis, tossing nuclear missiles into space, or freeing a family cat from a tree, Reeve's Superman was everything fans had always dreamed of seeing, someday! And if his interpretation of Clark Kent seemed a bit...geeky...well, at least he made an effort to truly be two distinct characters!
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Joined by a perfect supporting cast (Margot Kidder as a feisty Lois Lane, Marc McClure as Jimmy Olsen, and Jackie Cooper...a last-minute substitute for ailing Keenan Wynn...as Perry White), Reeve's near-decade tenure in the role would be the longest of any of the 'live' actors, to date.
Despite the overwhelming box-office and very favorable reviews of the first "Superman" feature, the Salkinds and director Richard Donner were barely on speaking terms, by the end of the production, as the film ran way over the projected shooting budget (the flying effects, in particular, proved extremely expensive and time-consuming to create). Although 70% of the sequel ("Superman II") had already been filmed by Donner (the two films had been made simultaneously), the director was fired, and replaced by legendary director Richard Lester ("A Hard Day's Night", "The Three Musketeers").
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Lester readily admitted he was not a big "Superman" fan, and would claim he reshot all of Richard Donner's footage (which wasn't entirely true; enough of Donner's contributions remained...including all of Gene Hackman's scenes...that he would be offered a 'co-Director' screen credit...which the first director, furious with the Salkinds, refused). Lester did create a new opening, set at the Eifel Tower, revised the Superman/Lois romance, and expanded the action sequences (creating the 'Fortress of Solitude' climactic conflict), adding his own offbeat humor and penchance for sight gags to the entire production.
The end result, while offering the greatest battles of the entire series, also showed a 'moving away' from the established Superman character (with abilities he'd never had, previously), and a 'dumbing down' of the supporting cast, as well as the citizens of Metropolis (a Lester trademark).
Despite all the 'behind-the-scenes' tension, the film received great reviews, made a ton of money, and the Salkinds proudly announced the next sequel, 1983's "Superman III" (again to be directed by Lester), would co-star America's hottest film comedian, Richard Pryor (who had said on 'The Tonight Show' that his dream was to be in a Superman movie).
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Combining Pryor and Superman was a terrible idea, and the result was disasterous! Pryor's intuitive comic style simply didn't mesh with Richard Lester's satiric approach to comedy, and the mix threw the entire Superman 'Universe' off-kilter. "Superman III" lacked heart and a sense of wonder, the key elements that made the first and second film work. Despite an intriguing subplot (involving Clark's return to Smallville, and rekindling a romance with high school sweetheart Lana Lang, as portrayed by future "Smallville" 'Martha Kent', Annette O'Toole), and an impressive brawl between a Kryptonite-poisoned Superman and Clark Kent that Sigmund Freud would have loved, most of the beloved elements of the first two films were either ignored or discarded. Margot Kidder's Lois Lane only barely appeared (after publicly blasting the Salkinds for dumping Richard Donner), and Christopher Reeve, bitterly disappointed by the film, announced he was 'finished' in the role.
Despite Ilya Salkind's claims that the film was a huge 'hit' (which he still believes, to this day), the terrible reviews and poor ticket sales soured the producers on Superman, and the father/son team decided to explore other members of the Superman Family of characters, in film and on television. When Israeli producers Yoram Globus and Menahem Golan expressed an interest in producing their own "Superman" film, the Salkinds were more than happy to pass the Man of Steel over to them...
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"Superman IV: The Quest for Peace" (1987), produced by Golan/Globus, and directed by Sidney J. Furie, was a failed attempt to establish 'B' movie factory Cannon Pictures as a major studio, and brought back the entire original cast (including Gene Hackman, as Lex Luthor). Christopher Reeve was lured back into the role by the promise of greater involvement in the project, by also co-writing the story. At 35, he had no desire to pump up into a Herculean-physiqued "Man of Steel", again, resulting in his skinniest appearance in the costume, ever...but compared to the MANY other problems with the film, his appearance was only a minor quibble! With a much smaller shooting budget than the previous films, the FX were cheesy and obvious, the script was slow and indecisive (and often confusing, as 45 minutes were trimmed prior to release), and the premise (Superman taking a political stand, deciding to destroy the world's nuclear weapons), while sincere, thrust the Man of Steel into a real-life controversy that ill-suited a comic book hero.
While a comic double-date between Lois and Superman, and Lacy Warfield (Mariel Hemingway) and Clark, was actually quite amusing (and is a film highlight, despite a lack of pacing to make it really 'bounce'), the plot became tedious, and the climactic lunar battle between the Man of Steel and Luthor-created Nuclear Man (Mark Pillow, sporting an 80's bouffant hairdo) was certainly one of the least exciting action scenes of the entire Superman series.
The reviews for "Superman IV" were savage, the box office, negligible, and Reeve would never don the cape and tights, again.
With the role of Superman behind him, Christopher Reeve would move on to other acting assignments, and continue to be a positive role model, until his early death...the victim of a tragic riding accident that left him paralyzed from the neck down, in 1995, he spent the last years of his life, despite his disability, traveling around the world, championing the cause of research for spinal cord injuries...
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He truly was SUPERMAN!
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'Martha Kent' in 'Smallville', 2001-2007) |
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After the less than stellar reviews and box office of 'Superman' III, producer Ilya Salkind decided to take the franchise a new direction, by introducing Superman's cousin, Kara, to the big screen.
Portrayed by young Helen Slater (1963- ), the story of the Kryptonian girl's adventures on Earth, searching for a missing Power Crystal that fueled her (Inner Space? Outer Space?) floating city, offered major stars (including Faye Dunaway as an even campier villain than in "Mommy Dearest", Peter O'Toole, and Mia Farrow), a cameo by Marc McClure as Jimmy Olsen, and a chaste romance with hunky Hart Bochner. Sadly, Christopher Reeve, as Superman, did not appear (having announced he was 'finished' in the role), with his absence explained by saying he was off on a mission to a "distant galaxy", although it was doubtful even HE could have saved this convoluted mish-mash!
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Slater was very sweet and graceful as Supergirl, but the film was just awful, and flopped...although it has achieved a large 'cult' following, over the years.
Salkind would soon turn his attention to television...
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To acknowledge the 50th anniversary of the Man of Steel, Ruby Spears Enterprises produced a new animated series of Superman adventures, in 1987. Helmed by DC comic scribe Marv Wolfman, the previous two decades' poorly-animated, generic Superman TV cartoons, and often campy Superfriends variations were discarded, replaced by more 'up-to-date' characterizations, reflecting many of the changes in the comic book during the 1980s.
Each episode offering two stories (one current, and one, of Superman's 'Early Years'), the series, while not as 'cutting edge' as the next decade's hit series, was praised for it's more mature, believable storylines, and the respect it showed the Superman mythos.
Sadly, poor scheduling and incredibly high licensing fees would end the series after a single season, but it was a truly fitting tribute to a half-century of the 'World's Greatest Superhero'!
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Ilya Salkind produced this syndicated series (first filmed at the Disney/MGM Studios in Orlando, Florida, then at Universal Studios in Orlando), which would foreshadow the next decade's "Smallville" as a look at the years prior to Superman's adventures as an adult. This version, however, used the earlier comic book 'take' on the character, as an already established super hero, now attending "Shuster" University (in a nod to one of Superman's creators).
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With hunky John Haymes Newton (1965- ) initially cast as Superboy/Clark Kent, Stacy Haiduk (Newton's offscreen girlfriend) as Lana Lang, James Calvert (in Season One) as 'Jimmy Olsen'-ish T.J. White (son of Perry, and Clark's best friend), and a rather two-dimensional Scott Wells as Lex Luthor, the series offered better FX than previous "Superman" television incarnations, although most of the plotlines were fairly routine (with a few exceptions). The series did benefit, however, by the casting of veteran stars Stuart Whitman and Salome Jens as Jonathan and Martha Kent, and guest appearances by legendary actors like George Chakiris, James MacArthur, and a perfectly-cast Michael J. Pollard (as the comic book-inspired dimensional troublemaker, Mr. Mxyzptlk).
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Unfortunately, Newton had some publicized traffic-related scrapes with the local police, and combined with problems involving a pay raise (he said he asked for 20%, based of the physical demands of the role; other sources indicated he wanted more, plus a retooling of the series), it was decided he would not return for Season Two (a move that devastated the young actor, although, as time passed, he would build a very respectable career, and renew his friendships with Ilya Salkind, and his former castmates). The lead would be recast, with lifelong Superman fan Gerard Christopher (1958- ) assuming the role (and Sherman Howard taking over as Lex Luthor, providing much more flamboyance to the character). Despite looking a bit old as a teenaged hero, Christopher offered greater charisma and sincerity, as well as a potent sexual chemistry with Haiduk, and soon became a fan favorite. "Superboy" episodes really 'took off', with entertaining, imaginative twists on the classic formula, often featuring villains from the comic books, scripted by established "Superman" writers.
The series would move on, as Clark and Lana began an internship at an agency investigating paranormal phenomena...but the question began to arise, "When will SUPERBOY become SUPERMAN?" (After all, Christopher WAS well into his thirties!)
Perhaps fortunately, "Superboy" was cancelled before that question had to be answered!
There was, however, a sad fate awaiting the series; upon cancellation, Warner Brothers, who owned the rights to Superman and all of his incarnations, took the Salkinds to court, claiming that in releasing the Superboy series through Viacom instead of Warners, the producers had violated their Superman agreements. Winning the case, Warners placed a ban on any further airings of the series, and ended the Salkind association with the franchise. Until the DVD collections were allowed to be released, through Warner Brothers, in 2006, 14 years had passed since the series had been widely seen, costing the production team and Gerard Christopher (who had invested heavily in the series), millions in revenue the reruns might have generated, and the cast, royalties and the career benefits continued exposure could have offered.
An unfair ending for a well-made series, and some very talented performers!
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The brainchild of series creator/producer Deborah Joy LeVine, "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman" was a daring attempt to retell the Superman saga in more adult terms, focusing on the sexual tension between a very sexy Lois Lane (Teri Hatcher), and a more sharply defined persona of an equally sexy Clark Kent (who would be highlighted more than the Man of Steel)...and she further bucked conventional wisdom by choosing more ethnic, youthful Dean Cain (1966- ), over future "Hercules" Kevin Sorbo, and "Superboy" Gerard Christopher. Cain brought charm and an athlete's grace to the role...but his non-conventional 'look' would never achieve the kind of acceptance from die-hard fans that the previous actors in the role had enjoyed.
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Much of the Superman saga would be rewritten (Jonathan and Martha Kent would survive, and remain an active part of Clark's life, Lex Luthor would become a millionaire industrialist...with hair...and enamored of Lois); despite the changes, the familiar characters everyone loved were all present, with Michael Landes, initially, as Jimmy Olsen (replaced by a blond, more youthful Justin Whalin, by Season 2), crusty Lane Smith as an Elvis-loving Perry White, John Shea as Lex Luthor, and the delightful Eddie Jones and K Callan as Jonathan and Martha Kent.
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The most controversial change, however, would be one that comics would embrace, enthusiastically, as well...after 55 years, the couple would finally MARRY!
Vastly entertaining on it's own terms, "Lois & Clark" suffered from a poor time slot, so early in the evening that it never could achieve the level of sexiness LeVine envisioned...plus it suffered from frequent pre-emptions, for sports and news events...and, in marrying off Lois and Clark, a core of 'fundamentalist' Superman fans would quit watching...all of which would result in increasingly mediocre ratings and a cancellation after only four seasons.
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But the series and it's stars continue to have many devoted fans!
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With the astonishing success of "Batman: The Animated Series", the public clamored for an animated revival of the hero who started it all, given the same level of sophistication...and "Superman: The Animated Adventures" delivered!
With plotlines that were faithful to the comic books, major stars providing voices, and a 'look' that paid homage to the classic 1940s cartoons, the series was an critical success, and spawned the Justice League series that is still aired, today...
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...And a NEW era for 'live' Superman adventures was about to begin...
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TOM WELLING and BRANDON ROUTH ~
LINKS ~
KIRK ALYN | GEORGE REEVES | CHRISTOPHER REEVE | DEAN CAIN | TOM WELLING | BRANDON ROUTH |
Click on the names for info on each actor from The Internet Movie Database...
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