Review of Superman and the Mole Men (1951) by Wes S — 07 Jun 2015

Where to even begin? For starters, this is more of a B-grade science-fiction picture that happens to feature Superman than a "Superman" movie outright. Whatever the intentions of the producers, it certainly is a product of its time.

By that, and given its low budget, I mean that it's kind of what you'd expect from a sci-fi film in the 1950's: shoddy production values, questionable acting, and overt message-making. Still despite all of this there is a certain B-movie charm, and of course George Reeves has a great screen presence as the Man of Steel (not so much Clark Kent, who is played too similarly).

Other than Clark Kent/Superman and Lois Lane, though, there isn't much else here that ties it to the Action Comics source material. Ergo, no Daily Planet, no Metropolis, etc. But I didn't really mind.

As long as you do away with any expectations of what a Superman movie "should" be, this film can be a lot of fun. And, at 58 minutes, it never wears out its welcome. Considering the time in which this film was made, with liberal Hollywood under attack by fear-mongering by the likes of Joseph McCarthy and racial tensions coming to a boil, the message it conveys is actually quite radical (again, for its time).

It basically says that as beings who inhabit this planet, we should all just get along regardless of who we are. There are also other things you could read into it, like anti-oil drilling and gun control, but those are secondary concerns.

Did I like it? Well, yes and no. It isn't my idea of what a comic movie should be, but taken as a cheesy sci-movie, it has its charms. I wouldn't bend over backwards to see this if you haven't already, but fans of George Reeves of Superman would be remiss for not checking it out.