Superman on Film,
Television, Radio and Broadway by Bruce Scivally. McFarland & Company,
Inc., Publishers; 2007.
In many ways, this is a book about a succession of
tragedies. On the surface it is a scholarly
hardback publication from author Bruce Scivally (who co-wrote the superb The James Bond Legacy and other
film-related works) and it’s a welcome, informative addition to the vast amount
of available Superman literature. While
there is plenty of material out there on the Superman comics and the character
himself, there has never been much written about the Man of Steel’s films and
even less on the character’s appearances on television, on the radio, and his
one-time attempt at a Broadway musical.
Scivally spends a brief early part
of the book on the comics’ Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster and how they created a
legend… and lost it. For me, the first
true tragedy of the Superman saga lies in the story behind these two men, for
they were treated with disdain and received no appreciation from the corporations
and entertainment business that eventually made millions off of their
character. Much of this tale has been
recounted elsewhere, so Scivally quickly moves on to the meat of the
book—Superman’s evolution from comics to a radio program, the Columbia serials
in theaters, and the television series (which enveloped yet another tragedy in
actor George Reeves, who may or may not have committed suicide in the late
fifties). Does anyone remember the
unsuccessful Broadway Superman musical from the sixties? It was called It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s Superman!, and the author
enlightens the reader with its tales of woe.
After covering the Saturday morning cartoons, Scivally recounts the
successful blockbuster motion pictures starring Christopher Reeve in
fascinating detail, treating the reader to the sometimes ugly machinations
behind such Hollywood productions. And, of course, Reeve’s story ends in tragedy
as well. The book ends with somewhat
happier tales of Superman’s return to television—Lois and Clark and Smallville.
This is a terrific book and a must-have for anyone remotely
interested in Superman and his life beyond the comics. There is one problem though, and it’s not the
author’s fault. McFarland, the
publisher, considers its books to be “textbooksâ€; thus, the retail prices are
frightening. This thin, 240-page book
with no color illustrations costs $49.95.
I’m not sure how McFarland expects to sell this book to the fan
community and I suspect they’re shooting themselves in the feet by charging so
much. While it may be a “textbook,†and
a good one at that, sadly it’s not being appropriately marketed to its primary
audience. --Raymond Benson
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