Atom Man Vs. Superman (1950)

Starring Kirk Alyn, Noel Neill, Lyle Talbot, Tommy Bond, Pierre Watkin
Directed by Spencer Bennet
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

Superman returns in his second movie serial, this time to battle the scientific weapons of criminal genius Luthor, who employs a masked figure named The Atom Man as his partner.

Fans of the original Superman serial from 1948 will be glad to see all the returning players from the first one, as Alyn again plays Superman & Clark Kent, Neill once again is Lois Lane, Bond is Jimmy Olsen, and Watkin returns as Daily Planet managing editor Perry White.  There's also plenty of returning crew behind the camera, including the original co-director Bennet, and the filmmakers again have Superman change into an animated cartoon when flying through the sky.  Lyle Talbot as the comic book villain Luthor is the chief new addition, and he is most welcome, turning in a strong and faithful characterization of Superman's arch enemy.  To the best of my knowledge, the Atom Man never appeared in the comics but was the focal point of a memorable storyline on the Superman radio series, and on film comparatively he's disappointing, with his black cloak and glittery iron mask looking very low budget.  The budget again shows with the stock footage of the fire, earthquake, and flooding disasters Superman faces, which looks at least twenty years older than the rest of the film stock, and it doesn't take an eagle eye to spot use of footage from the first Superman serial.  Despite all that, the results are still entertaining.  It's not a great serial, but if you liked the first one, you ought to like the second.

Superman (1948)

Starring Kirk Alyn, Noel Neill, Tommy Bond, Carol Forman, George Meeker
Directed by Spencer Bennet & Thomas Carr
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

Superman, the powerful hero of Metropolis, tries to defeat the plans of the sinister Spider Lady, who's after a deadly weapon the government has developed.

While not one of the better movie serials produced, I've always found this production tremendously entertaining, due to the Man of Steel's ideal capacity as a cinema hero, first proved in the decade's cartoon productions of the Fleischer brothers, and the splendid characterizations of the cast.  Alyn strongly resembles the hero of the comics as drawn by artists of the the time, particularly Wayne Boring, and Neill would become the pre-eminent Lois Lane for some time, returning in not only another serial, but also the popular The Adventures Of Superman TV series in the 1950s.  Much of the serial's story comes not from the comics, but from the Superman radio series, most notably incorporating the "This looks a job for...Superman!" dialogue that actor Bud Collier used as a vocal transformation from Clark Kent to Superman on the airwaves.  The driving music score was used in several other serials and films for Columbia Pictures, but to me never seemed as well-suited as it is here to the exploits of DC Comics' flagship hero.