Random Coolness from Superman: The Movie (Part 2)

 

 

Earlier this week, I took a look at the little things that made a big impression on me from Superman: The Movie. In  Part One, I covered the beginning of the film through its unforgettable Smallville scenes. Let's pick things up as Clark concludes his journey to the frozen Arctic (click on the photos for a larger view)...

13. The Blankets: As Clark opens his backpack to remove the glowing Green Crystal, a sharp eye will catch a glimpse of the red, blue, and yellow fabrics stuffed inside. These can only be the Kryptonian blankets sent along with baby Kal-El's rocket ship. According to the comic book origin, these were the same fabrics used to create Superboy's indestructible costume...and it's likely that the backpack blankets were the fabrics used for the Superman costume we'd be seeing shortly.

14. "Speak." One of my absolute favorite sequences is the mysterious communion between Kal-El and the pseudo-spirit of his father Jor-El. After emerging from a cascade of light, the image of Jor-El assures his son that he will answer his many questions about his true heritage. Just before turning the conversation over to Kal-El, Jor-El says, "So, my son. Speak." With only this brief line, Marlon Brando (with face slightly upturned) conveys a regal, even imperious bearing...which perfectly sets the birth father apart from the humble adoptive father who raised Clark Kent.

15. Superman Revealed: After twelve years (!) of Jor-El's mentoring, Kal-El is now ready to enter the world with full knowledge of his Kryptonian heritage and power. I still recall the thrill of seeing Christopher Reeve take flight for the first time and soar so smoothly past the camera, giving us viewers enough of a thrill to wait another half hour before seeing any Superman action scenes. Keeping him somewhat in the shadows as he flew past was also a great move, simultaneously revealing him while retaining a bit of mystery. Combined with the heraldic blast of the Superman March, the origin story arc ends on an epic, triumphant note.

16. Speeding Bullet: Seemingly shot by a mugger, Clark reveals that he "must have fainted" to an underwhelmed Lois. As she walks away (without offering her new co-worker a hand up), Clark reveals the bullet he snatched from its path with a knowing smirk. In an instant, the core appeal of the Clark Kent character is revealed: "There's more to me than what appears".

17. "Um...Lois?" Of course, another major aspect of the Clark Kent character (in the sense that Clark is now very much a "performance" of Kal-El's) is the lengths of humiliation he willingly subjects himself to. Without getting too much into the amateur analysis, I believe Superman's willful buffoonery as Clark is actually an important (and very necessary) psychological safeguard for the most powerful being on the planet.

A textbook example of this practiced humility begins when Lois slips into the ladies room and is followed (almost puppy-like) by a clueless Clark. Shooing him out and shutting the door, Clark's coat gets caught in the door. Perfectly in character, Clark softly knocks on the door for Lois to open it. After freeing the captive coat, Clark proceeds down the hall, misses an elevator, gets yelled at by a guy in another elevator, then is completely ignored by two coworkers he bids "good night" to. The sequence ends with Clark standing alone in that dreary hallway, hands at his side...able to destroy the building with the stamp of a foot, yet choosing to remain the fool.

18. Straight Outta the Comic Book and Onto the Screen: Although Christopher Reeve was Superman in every frame he appeared in, the close-ups on the roof of the Daily Planet following the helicopter rescue are quite simply the comic book come to life. Not just the look, but the earnest & positive personality Superman should exude.

 

 

19. Got a Light? Perhaps even more perfectly cast than Superman himself was Perry White, flawlessly played by the great Jackie Cooper. A defining moment of the character came as he rallied the Daily Planet staff to continue their coverage of this new "Caped Wonder". After blustering that an interview with Superman would be "the most important interview since God talked to Moses", Perry sticks a cigar in his mouth, leans forward, and...without missing a beat....gets a light from a Planet staffer. As if Perry White would expect nothing less from his newsroom. Picture-perfect characterization.

 

20. "Do you...eat?" Of course, Lois Lane was the one to snag the interview, but who would've guessed Perry's best reporter would turn to Jello when she met the spit-curled celebrity? During the meandering conversation, she wonders aloud:

"And I take it the rest of your bodily functions are what we'd consider....normal?"

Superman: "I beg your pardon?"

Lois: "Well–putting it delicately–do you...eat?"

21. The Catch: Of all the things that can go wrong on a first date, I think "dropping your date from 10,000 feet" ranks near the top of the list. Ah, but leave it to Superman to make catching said date an incredibly romantic moment. As Lois falls like a blue chiffon anvil, the mortified Man of Steel can be seen diving down past her...then suddenly appearing at her side as the soundtrack crescendo subsides. Sure, Margot Kidder's spoken-word monstrosity "Can You Read My Mind?" begins shortly after the catch, but for a second or two, it's clear these two crazy kids have fallen in love (no pun intended).

22. A Rare Moment of Menace: The camp-fest that was the 1960's Batman TV show cast a long shadow over superhero adaptations for years afterward. So much so, that even "serious" treatments of the source material like Superman couldn't resist the black hole-like pull of campy humor. Without fail, any scene featuring Lex Luthor, Otis, and Miss Tessmacher turned my interest off like a light switch (well, maybe not Miss Tessmacher), and they remain scenes I fast-forward through to this day. A super-genius like Lex Luthor hanging around with a barely-functional dullard and a bored floozie? Really?

Ah, but through the campy haze, one tiny moment of true menace emerged after Lex revealed his Kryptonite necklace to a trembling Superman. Dangling his deadly prize, Luthor gloats, "You were great in your day, Superman. But it just stands to reason, when it came time to cash in your chips, this old...diseased...maniac would be your banker." A line good enough (and delivered convincingly enough) to almost overcome the clown suit and Orphan Annie wig.

23. Mythic Might: Of all the movie's impressive super-feats, this single long-shot of Superman muscling tectonic plates back into place is my favorite. Once again, I prefer the original sound mix of this scene to the cluttered excess of the DVD release, but the visuals are still strong enough to overcome the mild irritation. Sure, the concept of Superman singlehandedly reassembling the San Andreas Fault was pretty crazy, though compared to the notorious "spin the world backward" trick twenty minutes later, it's downright sensible! Whatever the case, I love the image.

24. A Job Well Done: After stopping a deluge of water with a dam of giant boulders, Superman surveys his handiwork with hands on hips and a relieved smile. It lasts only an instant, but it's one of the most surprising, vaguely corny, yet eternally endearing moments of Reeve's performance.

25. The Smile: I suspect I'm not the only one to enjoy Christopher Reeve's brief glance and smile at the camera just before the credits roll. Recalling Clark's knowing wink in the closing seconds of the old Fleischer cartoons, fun stuff like this gives the impression that Superman and his audience are co-conspirators in some kind of cosmic in-joke. A perfect way to end an unforgettable film...as well as my look at its many Randomly Cool moments. Let me know what some of yours are!

 

Comments

[DIane]

I'm not as put-off by the camp as you were, but your point is well-taken. Still, they didn't take it as far as they could have. I remember reading an article about writing the script a few years ago. Apparently they went through a truly incredible number of revisions and screenwriters. In one iteration, Superman is searching Metropolis for Lex Luthor. Spotting a bald man, he flies down to effect capture, only to discover that he's nabbed Kojak (Telly Savalas), complete with Tootsie-Pop and "Who loves ya, baby?" *shudder* Thank Rao that travesty was cut.

[suedenim]

When you look at all the behind-the-scenes stuff, it's kind of amazing they came out with even a *watchable* movie, let alone a timeless classic. Mario Puzo's first draft was, IIRC, something like *600* pages long, almost all of it unusable. (For reference, the standard Hollywood rule of thumb for screenplays is that one page in the usual screenplay format is equivalent to one minute of screen time.)

I actually like Gene Hackman's Luthor a lot. He's funny, yes, but he *also* has genuine menace to him for all the outward goofiness. Admittedly, it's pretty hard to explain Otis. (Miss Tessmacher may be nearly as useless, but with her, one can see at least two obvious reasons for Luthor keeping *her* around.)

[Brian Disco Snell]

The real problem is that they couldn't stop going to the Luthor well. What, he has to be in every damn Superman movie?? (Granted, the one he wasn't in stunk pretty hard, but at least it was an original stink, not a "let's trot out the same villain again" stink.

[Andyh40]

I always likened the end scene of Chris/Superman flying around the Earth as a beautiful neal Adams iluustration, right down to the wry smirk on his face!

[De]

Aside from the cemetary scene, my other favorite scene is the primal scream (downright chilling on a good sound system) when he fails to save Lois and what immediately follows. When he flies off and is confronted by the dichotomy of his two fathers' philosophies is an incredibly powerful moment for me. When he decides to travel back in time, we know that he's become his own man—his father's intended purpose be damned.

[Mark Engblom]

"I actually like Gene Hackman's Luthor a lot. He's funny, yes, but he *also* has genuine menace to him for all the outward goofiness."

See, but I never perceived that menace outside of the moment I cited above. Most of the time, he seemed to have all the menace of a used car salesman (particularly in Superman II). Any menace they might have built up was usually instantly canceled out by Otis' shenanigans or the idiosyncrasies Luthor himself (yes...we get it....he likes beach property). Imagine my disappointment when Bryan Singer wanted to import essentially the same Luthor into Superman Returns (complete with the bimbo at his side).

[Greg Scott]

Ah, SUPERMAN THE MOVIE. Will we ever run out of reasons to talk about SUPERMAN THE MOVIE?

One matter of clarification here:

...who would've guessed Perry's best reporter would turn to Jello when she met the spit-curled celebrity? During the meandering conversation, she wonders aloud: [...] "Do you...eat?"

Er, just so we're on the same page here, what's really happening in that scene is that she's trying to ask him if he can have sex -- but she loses her nerve at the last second, and switches it to "eat."

I'm sure you picked up on that, Mark. That's why Superman gives her that sly smile when she immediately gets up.

In fact, the whole scene is supposed to be laced with sexual tension -- hence the "How big are you -- er, how TALL are you?" line. I think it's amazing that all this comes off a winsome and not smutty. Credit the actors.

As for the writing, I'd be inclined to credit this to Mankiewicz since this stuff really is cheeky/cheesey Roger Moore/James Bond calibur material (or dare I say, HART TO HART calibur material), but much of the same dialogue is in the audition reel, which was filmed pretty early in the production process, and perhaps before Mankiewicz's rewrites. And for some reason, I don't see this coming of Mario Puzo's typewriter. So as far as credit is concerned, Advantage: David and Leslie Newman.

[Mark Engblom]

"Er, just so we're on the same page here, what's really happening in that scene is that she's trying to ask him if he can have sex -- but she loses her nerve at the last second, and switches it to "eat."

Yeah, that's part of the appeal of the line. This was about as far as things generally went in the PG environment of the late 70's (double entendres), but like you said, the actors delivered the lines in such a way as to keep in more on the up-and-up.

[ShadowWing Tronix]

Indeed. It's better to keep them suttle enough that the kiddies don't catch anything, but the adults can still have a good laugh (and it even comes out funnier that way). Pity today's "writers" can't figure that out.

[ShadowWing Tronix]

Sorry to double post, but I can't seem to get to your e-mail. The Angry Video Game Nerd, who reviews old games that were never any good, even when they came first out, reviewed a bunch of bad Superman games, and plans to review Superman 64 at the insistance of fans. (Apparently it's the worst of the lot.) Thought you'd be interested.

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/35585.html

WARNING: He tends to swear a lot, but that's part of his character. One of the rare good exceptions to my last comment, actually, and he's finally got it under control after having done the character for a couple years.

[Hube]

I suspect I'm not the only one to enjoy Christopher Reeve's brief glance and smile at the camera just before the credits roll.

Indeed! In fact, a tear came to my eye when Brandon Routh did the same as an homage to Reeve in "Superman Returns."

[Greg Scott]

From Our Host:
Yeah, that's part of the appeal of the line.

Whew! From the way you wrote about the scene in the main article, I was a little worried that you hadn't picked up on it. And if you hadn't picked up on it, I'd need to explain it. And then that might mean that you and I would have to have "the talk" -- about the birds and bees, and what Supermans and Loises do when they love each other a lot, and, well, that would have been awkward, not to mention a lot of responsibility.

Great to know we're all up to speed!

From ShadowWing Tronix:
It's better to keep them suttle enough that the kiddies don't catch anything, but the adults can still have a good laugh (and it even comes out funnier that way).

Actually, I'm in the actually in the age group that initially saw the scene as "Wow, that Lois Lane is so in love with Superman she's talking silly!" only to transition later into "Oho, so THAT'S what she's talking about!" And sadly, I was probably in my 20s before I made that realization.

Back again to Our Host:
After freeing the captive coat, Clark proceeds down the hall, misses an elevator, gets yelled at by a guy in another elevator...

This one moment sticks out in my mind as being funny on repeated viewings. The elevator doors open, and Clark politely asks "Going down?" and an anonymous finger shoots out of the elevator and into Clark's face: "Going up! UP!" It's a moment that crystallizes the relationship that the filmmakers have created between Clark Kent and the world: Not only is the world not going Clark's way, it's being rude about it.

[jehingr]

Smiling at the camera at the end may be the most iconic of the moments in the film(s). Check out this version:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yavK0mnE3wI&eurl=http://www.howitshouldhaveended.com/movie%20list.html

[Brian]

OK, OK-- I'm waay late on this, but hey-- I was gone a lot of the summer and I'm catching up on archives! And anyway, this is too good an analysis not to respond to.

I love Gene Hackman as Luthor, but my perspective is probably different from yours-- I've only ever been an intermittent reader of Superman comics, and I certainly hadn't read a lot of them when I saw this movie at the age of six. So, for me, Hackman WAS Luthor, and his performance shaped my reading of the character. Maybe it's just because, years later I've seen him in everything from THE FRENCH CONNECTION to HOOSIERS, in roles where he exudes fatherly charm, leaderly discipline, or bigoted menace-- but I've never had a problem sensing the menace underneath the humor and charm. If anything, the humor is a tool-- a sign of Luthor's superiority complex (note how many failed world leaders laugh at things that aren't really funny, or seem inappropriate in their humor). Luthor is so convinced of his own meglomaniacal genius that everyday etiquette and niceties are things he doesn't have time for.

But it wasn't until I read your excellent review and these comments:"I believe Superman's willful buffoonery as Clark is actually an important (and very necessary) psychological safeguard for the most powerful being on the planet." that the whole Miss Tessmacher/Otis thing fell into place (I think Valerie Perrine and Ned Beatty are wonderful actors, but have always agreed with you that-- funny joke about "Otisville" aside-- they've always seemed out of place here). Look at it this way-- as you nicely note, Superman must be "Clark Kent" in order to keep some sense of humility and perspective on himself (it also gives Christopher Reeve-- a gifted comic actor-- lots of great opportunities to shine). Luthor, as the villain, displays just the opposite tendency-- he keeps Otis and Tessmacher around to reassure himself of his mental superiority, to manipulate and to confirm his dominance. Read that way, it makes for an interesting psychological contest of wills between two people-- and makes Superman's essential humanism and decency shine all the more (a humanism which is then further confirmed by Miss Tessmacher-- sweet, supposedly "dopey" Miss Tessmacher-- saving him from the Kryptonite. We all have it within ourselves, the best superhero stories remind us, to be heroes).