The Adventures of Superman (1940-1951) aired “The Case of Double Trouble” on March 9, 1949 as the 14th episode of its run in the 1949 season (all of which from February to December save one were of the half hour variety as opposed to the many multi-part, 15-minute serials that ran through most of the 1940s). Since we’ve showcased only eight previous episodes of this program since 2020 and the last in July of 2024, I felt it would be helpful for newcomers to this fun adventure series if I reprised the generic background information that preceded these earlier episodes.
The Superman character, created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, first appeared in Action Comics #1, dated June 1938. That superhero strip in the comic was one of several strips in that now famous first issue, but turned out to be popular enough that a newspaper comic strip debuted in 1939. It also proved immensely popular, popular enough that a stand alone comic book was spun off and added to the ever-growing franchise, with the now iconic title of Superman #1, with a cover date of Summer 1939 (cover below left).
But the comic strip and magazine were only the beginning for the Man of Steel. Things were moving quickly, and as Wikipedia explains: “The serial came to radio as a syndicated show on New York City’s WOR on February 12, 1940. On Mutual, it was broadcast from August 31, 1942, to February 4, 1949, as a 15-minute serial, running three or, usually, five times a week. From February 7 to June 24, 1949, it ran as a thrice-weekly half-hour show. The series shifted to ABC Saturday evenings on October 29, 1949, and then returned to afternoons twice a week on June 5, 1950, continuing on ABC until March 1, 1951. In all, 2,088 original episodes of The Adventures of Superman aired on American radio.” Wikipedia also notes that many of the elements that have become staples of Superman’s fictional world were first introduced in the radio show, among them kryptonite, Daily Planet editor Perry White, copy boy (later cub reporter) Jimmy Olsen, and police inspector Bill Henderson. Also worthy of mention is the first meeting between Superman and Batman (and Robin) which took place in the March 2, 1945 episode.
Bud Collyer (1908-1969, photo top right) was the voice of Clark Kent and Superman on radio, lowering his voice slightly when speaking as the Man of Steel. He is arguably best known, however, as the host of the popular television game shows of the 1950s, Beat the Clock and To Tell the Truth.
Joan Alexander (1915-2009, birth name Louise Abrass) played the spunky Lois Lane character for more than one thousand episodes of the program’s 11-year run.
From 1940-47 Jack Kelk (1923-2002) would play Jimmy Olsen, and from 1948-1950 it was Jack Grimes (1926-2009) who would play Jimmy Olsen. An interesting bit of trivia concerning Grimes is that though he was an old man of 22 when he began playing Jimmy Olsen, by the age of 12 he was acting in 35-40 radio shows a week. Grimes also worked in film and television in later years. A film of note in which he appeared was 1945’s noir crime film Lady on a Train (starring Deanna Durbin and Ralph Bellamy), based on the Leslie Charteris story. His television work included roles in Tom Corbett, Space Cadet, Maude, and All in the Family.
(Left: Joan Alexander – Center: Jack Kelk – Right: Jack Grimes)
“The Case of Double Trouble” is a most curious episode. A number of robberies and other unexplained occurrences are taking place in Metropolis, and in every case all of the available evidence points to friends of Superman being the thieves. Clark Kent is charged with stealing precious works of art while Lois Lane has been identified as stealing expensive furs. And this is only the beginning, for soon Inspector Henderson and Daily Planet editor Perry White are mixed up in a series of false alarms that are in danger of creating havoc throughout the city. But who is at the heart of these potentially harmful misdirections, and to what end? Only Superman can shed light on the mysterious goings on, and when he finally reveals the unlikely answer to everyone only then can “The Case of Double Trouble” be considered closed.
Play Time: 29:51
{This episode of Superman aired on a Wednesday in early March of 1949. Though the neighborhood gang loved their science fiction, fantasy, and detective pulps, they also were indefatigable superhero comic lovers, with Superman holding sway over their other competing superhero favorites. From the oldest comic to feature Superman (Action comics) to the next oldest (Superman) and on to the newest featuring the first issue of Superboy, the gang couldn’t get enough of the Superman family of magazines, and now they were fortunate enough to be at the newsstand to cop that very first issue of Superboy, which today at least one comic seller has priced at a mere $48,000! It’s a fair bet that at the time, the gang didn’t know that some of their favorite SF pulp magazine writers also wrote for the DC superhero line. For but one example, popular early SF pulpster and author of the Captain Future magazine (1940-44) and many other early SF tales from magazines such as Weird Tales and others, Edmond Hamilton wrote early Batman stories before writing for any number of Superman titles like the ones shown below. And in the late 1960s Hamilton would return to write about the Legion of Super-Heroes for Adventure Comics. About the same time he would pen stories for other DC titles, including favorites Strange Adventures and Mystery in Space. When I interviewed Hamilton in April of 1976, shortly before his death in February of 1977, he said that he wrote little for the SF pulps during WWII because the comics paid so much more. I still have fond memories of reading all the great stories featuring Superman and Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes. Those were the days, as the neighborhood gang was finding out for themselves even if they didn’t know it at the time. From such are memories born.}
[Left: Action Comics #139, 3/49 – Center: Superman #57, 3-4/49 – Right: Superboy #1, 3-4/49]
To view the entire list of weekly Old Time Radio episodes at Tangent Online, click here.