Bullet, four poles, and people at least four buildings of a single bounds.
Yes, it's Superman, strange visitor from another world who came to work
with powers of abilities far beyond those of hotel men. Superman who can change
the cause of mighty rivers, then the steel in his bare hands, and
who disguised as Clark Kent, mild manned reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper,
fights a never ending battle for truth, justice, and the American Way.
But before we joined Superman, here is an important method. Say, gang,
here's an adventure that's so fantastic you'd hardly believe it's really true. It's
the story of one young marine who all by himself survived three whole weeks of
fighting in the jungles of Guadalcanal. He'd gotten lost from his platoona morning and
was hiding in the grass. Hey, bir, why here? Hey?
I wonder where they could have gone? Maybe up this trail you smoke?
Or gang of Japs? I can't get around. I'm gonna gee, I
wonder what I Hey? I bet this trick will work? Ye, yes,
sir, That marine stampeded a large group of Japs by pretending he was
a whole platoon, and then he went on through the jungle and at last,
one rainy night, geez lights ahead, I must at the camp.
I should wish I could tell whose it is. I'll crawl a little closer.
Well, I say that looks like my own gang. Hey, Sam,
Yo, Hey falas is see hey here I am, yes, sir.
After three weeks fighting the jungle and the Japs, that marine got back
to camp safely. Now, I don't have to tell any of you how
much endurance that marine had to have in order to come through his ordeal as
well as he did. So I'll just point out something that all of you
will be mighty glad to know. None of you can expect to have plenty
of zip and energy unless you eat right, which includes getting all your vitamins.
And I know hundreds of fellas and girls are starting to get two mighty
important vitamins D one and D in a mighty grand tasting way. It's by
sitting down to a big bowl full of delicious Kellogg's Pep for breakfast every morning.
And believe you me, anybody who's had a taste of those swells super
crisp golden flakes can tell you what downright good eating pep is, So ask
your mother to get you a package of Kellogg's pep tomorrow. And now the
Adventures of Superman. Superman and his guise of Claw Tent is now fitted against
the mass the criminal of his time on the farious Underworld character who calls himself
the Vulture. The Vulture, as you remember, has in his possession the
model of the most human mechanical Man invented by doctor Cameron. In our last
episode, we heard how the Vulture carried out what he called an experiment in
horror after holding a conversation with Jimmy Olsen Daily Planet copy boy, whom he's
holding prisoner. The Vulture made a phonograph recording of Jimmy's answers and sent it
to editor White and Clark Kent. The record made it appear as if the
Vulture were harming Jimmy, although actually, as we know, Jimmy has been
well cared for. As our last episode ended, Clark Kent suddenly realize the
record gave him just the clue he was looking for, and as Superman set
out to track it down. As our story continues, now, Superman and
his guise of Clark Kent arrives at the Worldwide Recording Company. I'd like to
see the manageably, says he expecting you, sir, no, but I
must see him at once. This is a matter of great importance or an
it? Please I'll find out. I'm sorry, I can't wait twenty eight
I wish to say that what's the devil? It's a meeting of this.
How dare you breaking? I'm like tost apologize for insuring like this, but
I've got some business with you and it's got to be done. Well,
I'm afraid you'll have to wait until I can't wait. It's a matter of
life and debt, life and debt, that's right. I'm assisting the police
and tracking down a dangerous criminal and you are How do I though? You
represent the police, and you have to take my word for it. You
sell machines for making records at home, don't him? Yes, they haven't
been very successful. Not many people have bought them. Narrows my search.
I want a list of the people who bought those machines. Well, that
ought to be zimple. We've only sold three or four of them. Actually,
they're very expensive, you know. I've got to know the names of
the people who bought those machines at once. Now, please hurry one moment.
I think we can accommodate your patios. Would you mind telling me why
you need these names? And there's hardly time for that. Yes, get
from the files the name of all customers who have bought model X four seven,
nine three. I believe the home recording outfit. Well, I'm afraid
that's impossible. What do you mean, Well, that's ridiculous. Why is
it impossible? Well, have you forgotten, sir? All those files were
destroyed in the fire we had here six weeks ago. Great Scott, of
course I've completely forgotten that, haven't you duplicate files? I've got to get
the names of those customers. I've just got to I'm afraid we can't help
yourself. All out files were completely destroyed. Put me in a fine spot.
Isn't there any way you can trace the criminals you speak of? I
don't see how you see he sent us a recording with a special message on
it, A recording made on one of your machines. If you have no
record of the people who have bought these machines, I don't see what I
let let's what. It's just one way I can think of. It's my
only chance, in fact, but it's got to work. It's got As
Kent prepares to follow a last desperate course of action, another scene is taking
place in the hideout of the Vulture. We join him now in the sumptuous
study, where he has seated across the table from Jimmy Olsen. On the
table is a portable record player, and the Vulture has just finished playing a
copy of the record he sent to Kent and Perry White. Listen you you
mean you sent that record to mister Cannon. Mister White, Yes, mere
boy, I consider it rather ingenius of me to have thought of tricking you
into playing that scene. Far maybe, but you made it sound as that
you've been torturing me. Exactly. That is how I planned it. My
idea was to winflict mental torture on your friends, revenge for their hounding me,
and incidentally, to demonstrate that I am best left alone. I'd rather
you kill me than do a thing like this. Oh really, well,
it may interest you to no young man that your wish is about to be
granted. You're trying to bluff me. You wouldn't there wouldn't. I but
why why kill me? Why don't you just let me go so you can
go back to your friends and let them know you're all right? Oh no,
that would fund everything. Now, wait a minute, torture. This
is different from the other clients you've committed. You're taking a chance. It's
very clever of you to stall for time like this. It will do you
no good. I'm tired of this playing Captain mount. But I warn you,
wait a minute, what are you tiy in as cheer for it?
Because of the mechanical man is going to do this job for me, it
is necessary for you to remain perfectly motionless. I doubt if you'll do that
under the circumstances. If you're not tied in. Yeah, that will do
for your arms. Now these roots from your body. You're gonna kill me?
Why go to all this trouble? Why not? I have a sort
of meania for doing things in an unusual fashion. Yeah, I think that
will do. You can't move, can you? I'm warning you, falter,
you're sticking your neck way out. Your concern from my neck is very
very amusing. Ah. Now to get that rifle down off the wall from
over the fireplace. I believe it's loaded. Yes, and now descend on
the desk so it's disappointing, straight across at you and the mechanical man who
will fire it from me. You're crazy, I tell you. When that
rifle goes off, it will be heard out on the street. Oh no,
it won't. This is a sound proof room, especially constructed with double
window. Come warning you again. You see, whenever I've been in danger,
my friend's Superman has always managed to arrive in the neck of time,
and he will this time too, I hope. Well, if your friend's
Superman, I'm just going to help you eat better. Hurry now. Then
all is ready. The guns pointed straight at you. The mechanical man is
standing at the end of the table. I shall pick this control panel into
the next room with me. From there, I shall order him to walk
across the table and pull the figure. You rap. You'll pay for this,
We shall see good bye, young Osans Gony. Only Superman would show
up. How can you know about this? I'm afraid I can't count on
him this time. Try to get out of these ropes. If I can't,
No, it won't work. He tied me to this chair punny type.
I can't budge it. I guess I'm a gunner. Holy smoke.
The eyes of the mechanical man are lit up. That means he's ready to
work. He's trying to walk straight across the table toward the gun. Oh,
you gotta get out of his chair. I just got to him.
I can only toll my body around it and move the chair. No,
cheers, too heavy. You can fludge it getting closer to that rifle.
Superman. If he's gonna help me, you better do it quick. He
never failed me before. But can't I go Man and stopped. Standing right
next to the trigger of that rifle. He's leaning down towards the trigger.
He's hand is moving toward it. He's gonna pull it. Just in time,
I think to Superman. All I knew that. I knew you'd save
me. Oh God, were close for comfort him. Thank Heaven, I
made it in time to catch that bullet. Here. Let me get those
ropes off ow in the world. Did you find me how your friend Clark
can't trace you here by means of that record the vult you said him you
went to the company that makes home recording machines made him out there your arms,
but the files had been burned out. Well how did he manage?
Then? Hell is only remaining chance was to get in touch with a man
who repairs such machines. He did, and as luck would have it,
the man had repaired this one. Oh wait a minute, gonna have you
out of this? There we are, golly sure it is good to stand
up and the door the bag is coming back, So far as I'm concerned,
that's just perfect. Where did you pilthy swile? Look out the table,
the mechanical man, it smashed the place. Let me see quick,
m Yes, that's too bad. Afraid it's smashed beyond repair and the parts
can't be replaced. Well, Jim, that's the end of the mechanical man.
I'm afraid I can't say I'm sorry. What do you mean? A
mechanical man such as this is a powerful instrument. And as you've seen,
Jim, the danger of this invention being used for evil purposes has been ever
present. Well that danger is removed now It'll never be used for evil again.
And I'm glad. I guess you're right. Any Lay, you've saved
my life and captured the vulture. Yes, Jim, the vulture is our
prisoner once again. And there's one thing this time that we've got to be
sure of. What's that We've got to make sure the vulture never escapes again.
And so ended the adventure of the Mechanical Man. But that certainly didn't
mean the end of adventures for a superman, because at five o'clock the following
morning, Clark Kent was roused from bed by the sound of a telephone ringing,
Well, you're cheap that you What the word are you calling me at
this hour? For it was just five o'clock in the morning. Yes,
but wait a minute, get down of the office right away. Well what
on earth for pack bags with clothes for sub zero weather? Well, now,
yes, of course I'll be right down. But Chief, what this
about? What's up? And where am I going? Hello? Hello?
Hung up? I better pack and get right down of the Daily Planet.
I wonder what trouble we've got ourselves in? Or now? Puzzled by Perry
White strange phone call, but sure a new adventure is beginning. Can't hurriedly
pack's warm clothing and rushes down to the Daily Planet office. His mind afurl
with unanswered questions and just a moment will return to the adventures of Superman.
But right now here is another important method. Say, Gang, I've told
you how golden in tempting Kellogg's pep looks, and how crisp and crunchy and
flavorsome pep taste. But the other day I got to thinking that I'd never
told you why pep is such a super breakfast cereal. Oh, I found
out from the Kellogg company how pep is made, and I can hardly wait
to pass the story along to you. You see, in the first place,
the Kellogg people choose only extra choice parts of sun ripened wheat so as
to be sure you get every bit of that grand flavorsome goodness. And then
they carefully toast pep till it comes out a lovely, tempting golden brown and
so wonderfully light, and Chris, you can hardly wait to fall on the
milk and go to it. So be sure your mother gets you a package
of Kellogg's pep tomorrow, and remember he get in death make your Dario's Kellogg
path. And now back to Superman. What is the meaning of Editor White's
early morning call for Ken to report for work at once? And why did
mister White specify the Kent pack clothes for sub zero weather. There's a new
and very exciting adventure beginning for Superman tomorrow, so don't fail to tune in
and be with us every day, Monday through Friday, same time, same
station for the thrilling adventures of Superman. Bullet more car holes than a locomo
in the least whole buildings in a single bound. Follow the adventures of Superman
everyday, Monday through Friday, same time, same Satan. Superman is directed
by George Loth and is a copyrighted feature appearing in Action Comics magazine. This
is virtual welcome back. I will begin with a word of caution that this
is gonna be a bit of an extended commentary section, because I'm going to
go ahead and you know, comment on those two episodes as well as the
serial, as well as answer some questions people might have about the podcast and
Superman on Radio uh and acial future stories. Okay, so let's go ahead
and talk about the Vulture and his experiment in Terrible. When I first listened
to this, I thought this was a bit silly, the idea of faking
the torture. But I think particularly when you get to what he said in
Part fourteen about having this mania about doing unusual things. It certainly makes sense.
It's like, okay, anybody who wants to can just tie somebody to
a chair and beat them senseless and record them screaming. However, only someone
with mad nineteen forties sound editing skills can go ahead and take a record and
create a mix and not only get the people on the other end as angry
as they would be if you'd actually tortured their friend, but you get to
fool them into thinking you did that. I can totally see his appeal in
doing that, and that mania for doing off the wall things. It does
make him make more sense as a villain, if for no reason of the
reason, then it gives an answer to the why don't you just shoot him
a question? Then we typically get and the answer from the Vulture here he
is because I'm a bit of a nut, and I'm okay with that.
Now. They end by saying that they need to make sure the Vulture never
escapes again. Of course, the Vulture does escape, and he appears in
one other serial that we know of from nineteen forty three, The Vulture and
the Thunderbold Express. We don't have the full cereal. It's a bit of
a longer run, and so I don't know if the Vulture could be as
interesting or as entertaining as he is in this cereal, where essentially he's got
eight episodes. He kind of goes back and forth on what his goals are
and just is probably one of the more entertaining Superman villains we get over the
radio. But this may be the best serial to remember him by, even
if the Vulture and the Thunderbolt Express somehow became available. He also did appear
in the nineteen forty five Kryptonite Saga, along with other Superman villains from this
era, such as the Laugher as for the ten Man or the Mechanical Man,
as he kept being referred to, which is confusing because there was another
or Cereal called the Mechanical Man from nineteen forty one four to two. But
I think that becomes more of a mcguffin and a novelty than something that plays
a big role in the story. I wasn't particularly happy with the way they
built this whole thing up and essentially disposed of it by having it get broken
and not be able to get more parts Superman's happiness at its demise, I
think is somewhat interesting because destroying it obviously had never been his object, but
he saw it nearly kill his friend, which I think gave him a bit
of hesitancy, which I think says something about Superman, even in the midst
of World War Two, where the country was looking for any military advantage it
could get. Now, even if made it full size, you know,
and I think that when it comes to dealing with something like Superman in World
War Two, you're you're dealing with both the fantastic and the practical. I
think at full size it would have been a dubious investment for the War Department.
The voice control was a great feature, but the country was putting all
of its its manufacturing capabilities behind the war, and they were making tanks and
guns and planes and military vehicles. Countrary was at capacity. You had people
working double shifts. I mean, I think the only way you could have
made something like the Mechanical Man is to divert from some of the more conventional
weapons that the US was making at the time. So I would imagine even
if it had survived, would not have made a huge impact on the war.
In Superman's world. They might have made a few prototypes, but it
probably would have just fallen into the hands of some super villain after the war
was done. One interesting point in here is how bankes Lois Lane, one
of his enemies and responsible for his woes, on the same level as Clark,
Kent and Perry Watt. Now, of course, we are missing parts
nine and parts twelve, so we can't say for sure that Joan Alexander didn't
appear, but I would almost bet that she did not appear in the serial
after part six. That was part of why I played part two and a
little bit of Part six at the beginning, because it was the only way
we were going to get to hear a little bit more Lois Lane, and
with Lois his phone call to Parry, we got to hear how they managed
to have Lois at least tangentially involved in the plot, even if she doesn't
appear in a given episode. Of course, there is reference in the recap
of Part thirteen to Clark having gotten a call that he thought was from Lois.
However, when the Vulture called Clark before part seven, we didn't hear
that necessarily, so it doesn't mean Joe Alexander had to appear. There were
a few Superman cereals where you would have Superman and you'd have the entire Daily
Planet family in there, with Lois, Perry and Jimmy. That's not typical
because in short episodes it can be a challenge to have something for everyone to
do, so more typically it tended to get one or two members of the
Planet family, and later that would expand when Superman met up with Batman and
Robin and had his private detective friend Kendy Myers and of course Inspector Henderson.
You would have, you know, maybe two or three of them in a
given episode, and you would have whole blocks of weeks and months where there
would be no Lois Lane or no Jimmy Olsen. And that didn't mean that
the actors weren't working. They might take a vacation during the period, but
there was a lot of radio work in New York City at the time,
so they might say, Okay, I'm not doing any Superman this week.
I would be happy to appear in the Silver Theater, or I'd be happy
to go on Grand Central Station, or I can go over and do a
guest stop on Mister Kean tracer of lost persons. It's kind of rare to
have a case where someone is on in one episode in a given week or
a given block of a story, because I think the writers do tend to
realize, Okay, let's go ahead, we're going to be working with mainly
these two or three members of Superman's a supporting cast. But I also think
it can be a good idea to at least have the Vulture some way already
having a knowledge of and a hate for Lois Lane if you're planning on bringing
him back so that he can interact with her and not be like who are
you or people be like, wait, how does he even know who she
is? Well, I think that's probably more what happened in this case.
Now, I guess I as we're getting to the end of this and this
will end up at the top of the feed. I didn't want to answer
questions for anyone who came across a Superman A podcast as to how this typically
works, Like, do I usually go on for seven eight minutes after an
episode? Are there usually this many missing episodes in a given cereal? What's
the typical format? I'll go ahead and answer those briefly. The answers.
No, I don't usually go on this long. I'm going on this long
just because we're at the end of the cereal, and also kind of when
you get to the end of a serial, it's an opportunity to look at
some of the bigger themes and issues, as opposed to if you're commenting on
one of the earlier episodes in the story. We typically don't deal with near
as many missing episodes. Most of cereals were quite complete. The original run
of Superman episodes from nineteen forty to the spring of nineteen forty two, every
single episode is available and included on the feed. It's just during the war
years when there tends to be quite a few and a lot of gaps.
This is the only story we have for nineteen forty three that we can't even
do nothing at all for nineteen forty four, and as I'm going to talk
about in a second, a lot of gaps and stories from nineteen forty two
and forty five, and then from the fall of nineteen forty five for about
three years, there are very few missing episodes at all. There's a couple
missing episodes in one serial, and I think the first three episodes of Penny
for Pennies for Plunder, and then there's I think one or two other serials
that haven't missing episode or two. But other than that, that period of
nineteen forty five to nineteen forty eight, the starting in the Fall is remark
arkably complete and most of the episodes that we're going to have on this feed.
When it's all said and done, there should be one thousand thirty nine
episodes available to listen to, and we have one thousand and thirty five of
those starring Bud Collyer as Superman, with one thousand and nineteen of those being
a serial episodes. There are some complete half hour episodes that star a Collier
as Superman. There is one half hour episode starring Michael FitzMaurice succeeded Collier as
Superman in nineteen fifty and then we have about three different episodes that are kind
of exceptions. There's one which was a command performance parody of Superman starring Bob
Hope as Superman, a Superman promotional record including an interview with Jerry Siegel,
and then Blaine Dowler, who filled in for me as a guest host back
in twenty fourteen, did one episode with some commentary on Superman and his impact.
So that's your sort of table of contents of the podcast. Now.
As of right now, this is the last episode I'll be recording, but
if there are any lost cereals that become available to do or lost episodes of
the half hour program, will be all in for that. Now, looking
at what we have in existence, there are a number of cereals from nineteen
forty two that are missing the last episode and have several episodes leading up to
the last episode, but are missing just that final chapter. There's the Tiny
Men, the Black Narcissists, and the one that I would most love to
the Lost Continent of Atlantis. That one's all a nine part or it's also
missing part six. But if we got eight of nine parts of the Lost
Continent of Atlantis, including the final episode, I would absolutely be back for
that. From nineteen forty five, there's The Mystery of Sleeping Beauty. Now,
this was a serial that they later did again in nineteen forty eight,
but I kind of think it would be fun to do the original version.
It's missing the first nine parts, but kind of like this one, at
least if it was true. If the nineteen forty eight, Cereal was true
to the original. There's a lot of stuff in the first half you don't
need to understand to understand the second half of the story, So if the
last episode of that came out, I would definitely do that. There's also
a serial call The Midnight Intruder from nineteen forty two does have the last episode,
but doesn't have the beginning episodes and goes from part ten to part fourteen,
which and it comes from, you know, the same era of the
program as this one, and it would be like going from them finding the
bank vault open in part ten to the final part, and that just wouldn't
work. I think I'd need at least one or two of the three lost
episodes in the middle to come forward, so you'd have at least a narrative
that you could base a return around and from later on in the show's run.
In nineteen forty eight, after the run of all the shows having all
of their episodes, there's the Mystery of the Silver Buffalo, which has five
of its eleven parts, but it's missing parts ten and eleven. So I
could definitely end up doing that one if you know, at least we got
part eleven and maybe just enough context for it to make sense as a serial.
And of course there are other serials with no episodes in existence which somebody
might find the entire thing, and we could do that. And there were
well more than a hundred half hour Superman episodes recorded between Mutual and ABC,
and those were all self contained. So if any new half hour programs come
forward, I will go ahead and we'll do another episode a Superman. But
for now, I think we've got it covered. If you're listening to this
in twenty twenty one. We still have to restore some of these episodes that
were deleted in a server issue, and that'll be done by the end of
twenty twenty one. But this podcast is going to be the most complete pository
of listenable Superman drama from the golden age of radio, and I'll continue to
work to make sure it remains that way whatever changes come along. Now to
listener comments and feedback, and we have a couple quick reviews on Apple Podcast
and V two fifty two rights. If you like old time radio, then
you will like this spoiler. Any villain who discovers Ken's double identity dies Good
to Know, and then Cooldessa gives a file star rating and rites make Batman
versus Superman welcodess. I don't think they necessarily went there, although there are
some cases where it looks like Batman and Superman might have confrontations, so you
want to listen to those episodes, But there are actually quite a few Batman
and Superman team ups once you get into the post World War two episodes.
But thanks so much for the comments that are greatly appreciate it, and that
will wrap it up for today. If you do have a comment, email
to me Adam adamsweb dot us. But that's all for now from Boise,
Idaho. This is your host, Adam Brahamson and all