I don’t know how to make this any clearer. Don’t buy this collection. Just… don’t.

And here’s why…

Let’s start off by saying I like movie serials. As a kid, my father introduced me to the concept of these things and I loved them. My meat and potatoes was Flash Gordon. By the time I was twelve, I had seen all three serials and sections of Buck Rodgers. Years later, I bought not only those but also the well regarded Captain Marvel Serial (a serial that I heartily recommend).

That said, there a bunch of inherent limitations to the form. First off is the sheer amount of work that had to be done to make them. Up to as many as 70 set-ups a day, which if you know anything about film shoots, you know is a brutal schedule. Essentially you have to jump from shot to shot, without practically no rehearsal and no reshoots; one take and then more on. Another problem is that because of the amount of work and low-pay, these things usually hired the bottom of the acting barrel. Most of these guys can barely remember their lines, let alone give a performance. As a result, most of the time when you watch a serial, you feel like you’re watching the outtakes from “Plan 9 From Outer Space”.

The only way to overlook these limitations is to love the source material. Like loving 1940’s comic books, you have to forgive a lot. The Flash Gordon serials make this easy. Buster Crabbe gives his all, and despite the crappy acting and horrible costumes, the sheer number of concepts and freakish characters more than really make the production something special. In contrast, the Superman serials run into a couple pretty big problems. The first is the inevitable comparisons to the Fleischer Brothers cartoons of the early 40’s. These things are terrific. Impressively paced, well-illustrated and despite the racist/period attitudes, really well written. The second stumbling block is comparisons to the television series of the 1950’s. Again, this attempt to bring the Man of Steel to life is pretty good. George Reeves creates a great Kent and although the stories are pretty flaccid, they hold up pretty well in the half-hour format.

Placed in-between these superior versions, the serial, for me anyway, really suffers; and I’m saying this knowing that at the time, these were the biggest money-makers in the history of the format. Kids of the period LOVED this serial, and I’m sure that most of these people who saw them then can’t wait to get their grubby withered hands on this collection and that there’s very little I can say to dissuade them, but for those of you who are still on the fence, here are a couple more reasons to give this collection a pass…

1) Kirk Alyn. He plays the lead and at the time, he was a pretty popular actor in movie serials (He even played Will Eisner’s creation “Blackhawk” in a serial of the same name). That said, his interpretation of Clark Kent/Superman is my least favorite version of the character (and I’ve seen plenty). Heavily influenced by the radio program of the period, he leans pretty heavily on the old “drop my voice an octave” when I play Superman. This makes sense on a radio show, where you HAVE to distinguish between Kent and Superman audibly, but on film it seems fake (particularly since it seems that he’s straining his voice whenever he plays the Man of Steel). Another problem is his general physicality. Alyn was a dancer, and it shows; and not in a good way. His prancing about in tights is a little embarrassing. Lastly, I really don’t like his Clark Kent. For me, the Superman character is defined by his Clark Kent. George Reeves played this to the hilt in the 1950’s TV series. His was a man with a secret, confident in his double-breasted suit as well as in his tights. Alyn’s Kent comes off more like a b-actor reading his lines. Rather than an adult in a man’s job, he comes off like a goofy idiot with a childish grin sort of pinned on his face. Yuck.

2) The Effects. Although I’ve always wanted to see it, I found myself really put off by how they visualized the Superman effect in these serials. In case you didn’t know, all of Superman’s stunts are animated. In other words when Superman is needed, Kirk Alyn in tights prepares to jump and then an animated figure of Superman takes off and saves the day. What a gyp!

VISUAL/AUDIO

Whatever…

SPECIAL FEATURES

The best thing about this collection is that it contains BOTH of the Superman serials (unlike the Flash Gordon serials, that I had to buy one at a time). This allows you to watch the gradual improvement of effects and performances over the course of the series (My award for most improvement goes to Noel Neill, the Lois Lane of the series. She really matures into the role, and I also think she’s kind of hot…

This collection also includes a couple little documentaries; “Saturdays with Superman” and “Look, Up in the Sky” (This second addition is really just excerpts from a larger documentary). Both add nothing to collection, and knowing a little about the character, I found them not only, NOT informative, I also found them a little insipid. Particularly the “insights” of Bryan Singer, who I don’t think gets the character at all…

FINAL WORDS

As I rule I like crap. I like B-movies, comic books, Doctor Who, pulp magazines, Godzilla films; but even I have a limit. Off the top of my head I can name an even half dozen superior versions of the character that I would recommend before these serials. Still, if you like serials, you probably have already bought this baby and if you’re a real Superman fan, than you’re going to buy it regardless of anything that I might say, but as for the rest of you, those who might consider it if it were even the least bit interesting, well, for you, I’m just saying you can give these a pass…

I’m gone…