Adventures of Superman - Czar of the Underworld

episode 1.22

USA 1953
produced by
Bernard Luber, Robert Maxwell, Barney Sarecky (associate) for Motion Pictures for Television
directed by Thomas Carr
starring George Reeves, Robert Shayne, Anthony Caruso, Paul Fix, John Maxwell, John Hamilton, Jack Larson, Roy Gordon, Thomas Carr, Joe Kirk
screenplay by Eugene Solow, based on the comicbook created by Joe Shuster, Jerry Siegel, published by DC Comics

TV-series
Superman, Superman (George Reeves), Adventures of Superman

review by
Mike Haberfelner

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Underworld Czar Luigi Dinelli (Anthony Caruso) has evaded arrest for years - which is why reporter Clark Kent (George Reeves) and police inspector Henderson (Robert Shayne) try a slightly different approach to get him: Make an exposé movie. Dinelli doesn't like that one bit, so besides several attempts at Kent's life, he has the leading man of the movie killed right on set.

Kent and Henderson investigate, and soon they find out that Dinelli has to have an undercover accomplice right on set, no other than his own brother ... which doesn't make investigations any easier since nobody knows what Dinelli's brother looks like after extensive plastic surgery. So Kent comes up with a plan: He claims he will spend the night in the dead actor's on-set trailer, just to lre Dinelli's brother into the open, then he - as his alter ego Superman - pays Dinelli a visit, knocks him out and abducts him and gives him his place in the trailer ... and when Dinelli's brother, no other than the studio security man (John Maxwell) makes his move, Superman and the inspector are already there waiting for him - and during a hasty escape, he falls off a scaffolding to his death.

All this has finally woken up Dinelli, and startled, he fires a shot at point blank - right at his dying brother and right in front of the inspector and Superman ... and now they finally have conclusive (eye-witness) evidence against the underworld Czar.

The Adventures of Superman is always at its best when it's doing pure crime drama shows without much whackiness (though the whacky elements tend to have some camp charm as well) - and thus this is a pretty nice episode of the series, even despite occasional narrative inconsistencies or leaps of reason.

review © by Mike Haberfelner

 

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