The Adventures of Superman (1940-1951) aired “The Mystery of the Little Men” on December 31, 1949 as the 70th 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 seven previous episodes of this program over the past several years 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 Mystery of the Little Men” turns out to be an enjoyable departure from the Man of Steel’s usual adventures, in that the mood and tone is one of humor rather than mayhem, misadventure, or murder. While it poses a curious puzzle to be solved and vexes a number of the Daily Planet staff to no end, the answer to the riddle posed in the story’s title is solved eventually, of course, by Superman. A welcome change of pace well received.
Play Time: 26:38
{This episode of The Adventures of Superman aired on Saturday, New Year’s Eve, 1949. In anticipation of this major holiday the neighborhood gang hit their home away from home, the nearby newsstand, for some of their favorite reading material. They were caught up on all of their favorite science fiction pulps, and knowing an episode of Superman was in the offing, decided to whet their whistles with recent copies of their favorite comics featuring Superman in one form or another. Action Comics (where Superman made his debut) was a monthly in 1949. Superboy, the newest of the Superman family of comics to appear, saw its 5th monthly issue in December of 1949 and was quickly picked up by fans eager to read of their favorite superhero’s early days. And the November/December 1949 issue of Superman was also on their to buy list, and just happened to be the issue which first introduced kryptonite into the Superman canon. What many young fans had no way of knowing was that a fair number of the science fiction writers they would encounter later in their favorite SF pulps would be writing for the comics during the 1940s and later, the medium paying better than the pulp magazines which were on hard times, in part, due to the paper shortage during WW II. Edmond Hamilton, one of the earliest SF pulp writers, known for his galaxy smashing space opera adventures as well as the popular Captain Future stories in his own magazine in the early 1940s, would write many a well-loved adventure in the DC Comics universe even unto the 1960s.}
[Left: Action Comics #139, 12/49 – Center: Superboy #5, 12/49 – Right: Superman #61, 11-12/49]
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