Super Mole Men

Spin back once more, to 1951, and the earliest Superman movie I've ever seen. It's in black and white!

An oil well is the deepest ever... and it digs into the hollow centre of the Earth! ('Cos that's a thing that happens.) And up from the ground came some bubbling crude... crude mole men that is! Get short actors, put hair on them and top with an obvious looking bald cap, and bam! Mole men! And barely plural men at that. And then for most of the episode it's the random hick town chasing down the mole men and spending a lot of time doing it. Actually, a huge amount of time, as it goes from night to day to night to day depending on the angle of the shot! Fortunately Superman is there to save the day and stop the hicks from being hicks.

And... I liked it! Yeah, the chase of the mole man went on far too long, but George Reeves makes a great Clark Kent and Superman (I'm not sure, but I think he might be a little padded in the chest area to bulk up as Superman?). And he doesn't act nice to everyone, which, as a small touch, gives him a lot of personality. Phyllis Coates as Lois Lane is... on screen often, but doesn't get anything to do, her big moment being her screaming at the mole men.

This movie was made to show how Superman could be brought to television, and it worked (and this was made into a two-parter for the eventing series). While being rather low key with the effects and the costumes... I'm impressed and might try to find the series itself some time.

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