It came as a surprise in my email, and I like good surprises. So it took me by surprise when I read the news that Official Pix is preparing for another autograph signing with the one and only Gene Hackman!

This is the fifth signing that Official Pix has done with Mr. Hackman, and for the second consecutive year CapedWonder.com and the CapedWonder Superman Podcast is partnering with Official Pix to make this happen, which will occur in September. This time around, more rare pictures of Lex Luthor and the Superman cast will be made available.

As you know, Gene Hackman has had a diverse career in Hollywood, with many films such as The French Connection, The Conversation, Unforgiven, Crimson Tide, Hoosiers, Mississippi Burning, Young Frankenstein, and of course his three times as criminal mastermind Lex Luthor in the Superman film series to his credit. Drama, comedy, hero, villain, you name it, his ability to get into the interior motivation of any character he has portrayed works its way to the screen to where you believe him as “Popeye” Doyle, the vicious Little Bill, or even the charming yet dangerous Luthor—all of it shines in his acting.

Last year I was able to send in a prop replica of the Daily Planet newspaper headline from the beginning of Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut for him to sign, which became my big Christmas present to myself.

And I have to give a big thank you to Chris Wyman at Official Pix. He answered all of my questions about the signing in a quick and timely manner, and the professionalism he oversaw in returning my prop newspaper with the Official Pix holographic seal of approval guaranteed me that I would have a 100 percent genuine Gene Hackman autograph for my Superman collection. That’s how good they are.

Orders are currently being taken through August 28th, and any items that you choose to send in must be sent by August 31st for the September signing with Mr. Hackman. Pictures, posters, magazines, videos, books, you name it, anything that would make for a perfect addition to your Superman collection. For me, it would be this…

When I previously wrote about the many different movie posters that appeared in Superman II, it certainly looked like I had titled that blog “The Posters of Superman II”, the play on words being the word of instead of in.

Since then, I asked myself the most obvious question: “Why not?” So I decided to go for broke and look at five of the most distinctive posters that promoted the spectacular sequel. Why five, you ask? Because they represent the most important elements of the film that defined the multilayered story of the Man of Steel’s romance with Lois Lane and the ultimate fight between good and evil against the villains from the Phantom Zone.

And it all began with this poster announcement:

This first one caught my eye with that tagline and the prominent display of the villains front and center in the piece. The fact that it has an otherworldly backdrop to it adds an extra element of suspense to what promised to be an action packed film. What’s also interesting is that a picture of our main star, Christopher Reeve, is relegated to the bottom of the poster along with his co-stars. Whoever designed this particular poster wanted to make sure that, while it is clearly a Superman film, Reeve did not overshadow the main threat at hand here, the villains. To me it is the most stylistic of the posters.

In addition, the poster’s predominant tagline—The Adventure Continues—would be used throughout the development process for later poster variants to come, and it would also be used as the unofficial subtitle for the sequel’s release in the United Kingdom and a number of foreign territories.

Next we come to this design, which appeared in posters for the UK and German theatrical releases, among others:

I first came across this design in, of all places, the Topps trading card set from the summer of 1981, and for years it was the only place where I had seen this particular design. It is here that we get our first glimpse of Superman confronting the villains over the skies of Metropolis. In the poster design, the streaks are evident on all four of the Kryptonians, but the skyline is a bit hazy. We can hardly make out the cityscape in the middle of the poster. In addition, the poster’s statement about the villains battling Superman for cosmic supremacy has now been finalized and will carry through later poster developments.

However, there is something that has been glaringly left out. It took a little while for me to notice the omission, and then it stuck out like a sore thumb.

For some reason, at this point Gene Hackman’s name and picture is not present on the poster. Only Christopher Reeve’s name is included above the cast and production credits. It’s possible and quite likely that someone accidentally left off Hackman’s name from the poster credits.

Whatever the reason is for the omission, Hackman’s name and picture was added to the poster, as evidenced by this German language poster.

But the poster’s predominant elements of Superman and the three villains in flight were later lifted and used in the final theatrical poster for the film’s release in North America, Japan, and other territories.

Here, the elements are superimposed over a new painting of Metropolis (aka New York City) on fire, and the majority of the flying streaks from the previous concept poster have been removed for this print. And this was years before the advent of Photoshop!

Next, we come to this interesting variant that appeared in a number of foreign markets including France, Italy, Israel, Thailand, Japan, Belgium, and other countries.

This particular variant showcases Superman and the villains in flight over Metropolis, which is drawn in an angle that emphasizes movement in flight.

In addition, the Thai poster variant includes many other moments from the film, as evidenced by this particular print.

Finally, we come to the advertising poster for Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut, released in 2006.

With this particular one, the crystalline logo which was used for the first three films has been replaced with a more straightforward block logo to display the film’s title. And here, only one promotional image is used to indicate that this is a Superman film. Ironically, in the Donner Cut we never see Clark Kent ripping his clothes off to transform into the Man of Steel.

The rest of the poster is devoted to a message from Richard Donner expressing his thanks to Michael Thau for discovering the lost footage and restoring the film to its original concept, while at the same time deliberately avoiding any mention of Richard Lester’s work on the sequel and referring to him as “the other director”. While not a true theatrical movie poster per se, it does promote the film’s world premiere on DVD in November 2006.

So which one is your favorite design?

So this morning I went onto Amazon Prime to further look at any differences in the Superman movies from its current HD streaming versions as opposed to the 2011 Blu-ray set and the 2006 DVD releases, and I noticed one very important change in the releases…

The 122-minute version of Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut has now been replaced with the 116-minute edition that was released in November 2006.

As you remember, the 122-minute version contained an extra minute of footage shot by Donner in 1977 which consisted of longer alternate takes involving Lex Luthor interacting with the Jor-El program and a vastly different fate for Miss Teschmacher.

It also contained re-edited footage originally directed by Richard Lester in 1979 which consisted of nearly all of the East Houston footage and Superman’s soufflé, mixed with retracked music from the John Williams score and revised sound effects, as well as some slight CGI revisions of visual effects. Some of these clips were included on the Superman II special edition DVD set and the You Will Believe documentary for the 14-disc Ultimate Collector’s Edition DVD set.

In the following clip, which is taken from the extended Donner Cut, we can clearly see and hear the revisions in the footage of Superman cooking the soufflé. We also see how the dinner scene in the Fortress was presented in the extended Donner Cut.

This next clip, which was also part of the extended Donner Cut, was first aired in February 1984 on ABC as part of the extended TV broadcast of Superman II and was included in the You Will Believe documentary in 2006:

There were other revisions in this cut, including a CGI removal of Zod’s levitation beam, other music replacements through the Lester footage, the alternate shot of Deputy Dwayne’s silent reaction to Zod shooting himself (which was also used in the 1984 extended TV cut), and alternate sound effects for Non’s heat vision. Later, in the shot of the Army general saying, “I answer only to the President,” the voice of the general remains the same as in the original theatrical version—it is only changed in the final Donner Cut.

There are also a few revisions in the end credits, including one for priceless enthusiasm and support from Warner executives George Feltenstein and Paul Hemstreet, who gave their support and blessing for the development of the Donner Cut. The final title card about Donner’s advisory against fur and tobacco use in the film was much shorter and not expanded and blocked off in the final credits.

All of this is gone.

The film has now been replaced with the final 116-minute version, as proven by this on Prime:

And here is an image from what had been previously posted on Prime for the past several years. It was this same cut that was also posted on Vudu but was removed in favor of the final cut.

Quite frankly, I’m surprised that Prime kept it on their service for as long as they did. But with the recent 4K UHD release, I’m also not surprised that they replaced it. I had felt inside that it wasn’t a long matter of time before it would be replaced, and I was unfortunately right.

For those of you who managed to save this alternate version of the Donner Cut in some format possible—download, hard drive, flash drive, DVD burner, DVD+R recordable disc—good for you. Save it. It’s the only way now to watch this cut of the film.

It’s hard to believe that it’s been two years since we lost Richard Donner. The talented and popular director and producer of many beloved Hollywood movies including the Lethal Weapon franchise, Maverick, Conspiracy Theory, Ladyhawke, Scrooged, the first X-Men movie, and even smaller budget films such as Inside Moves, Radio Flyer, and The Toy all helped to mark his storied and diversified career over the decades.

But of course there are those two movies that defined his Hollywood directing career. There was his directorial debut with The Omen, which proved he could handle a masterful, suspenseful story.

And then came the phone call that changed his life, and film, forever.

“This is Alexander Salkind,” the voice on the other end of the phone said. “I’m producing Superman, and I’ll pay you a million dollars to direct it.” That phone call set him on a career changing trajectory that would consume his life for the next two and a half years.

He would later recall his meeting with Marlon Brando about how he wanted to play Jor-El in the film. Brando threw out a pair of wacky suggestions about playing the character like a bagel or a green suitcase. Donner smartly explained, “Fans may not know what a green suitcase or a bagel looks like, but they know Jor-El.” From then on, Brando was a calm, confident professional who, even while battling severe head colds, gave Donner his all.

And Gene Hackman… Donner had such fun with him in his portrayal of Lex Luthor. In 2001 Hackman recalled how Donner would shave off his mustache if Hackman did likewise. Afterwards, Donner proceeded to peel off a fake mustache much to Hackman’s surprise and humor. “Dick made it fun,” Hackman recalled in 2021, “and that’s why the films turned out that way, too.”

That’s not to say that Dick Donner didn’t have his moments during filming. At one point, according to David Michael Petrou in his book The Making of Superman: The Movie, someone off camera sneezed very loudly during a crucial take, and Donner boomed, “God bless you… and you’re fired!” Another time he issued a memo to his cast and crew and signed it, “John Frankenheimer”.

But if there’s one actor who is closely identified with Donner, without a doubt it’s Christopher Reeve. The two had such love for one another during the filming. “Dick Donner is like a big kid in a candy store,” Reeve recalled in 1998. To work with a relative newcomer to film allowed Donner to bring out the best in Reeve’s dual performance as Clark Kent and Superman.

When the Superman movie series came to Blu-Ray in 2011, Donner reflected on some of the things that he encountered during pre-production on the film and later on through the shoot:

Of course, we are all familiar with the problems that affected the filming of both Superman and Superman II in 1977, which in turn resulted in Donner being dismissed in 1979 from completing the sequel. By then some 80 percent of Superman II had been completed, and it would be another 26 years before Donner’s concept was fully completed and released in 2006 as Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut. Even then, some footage was taken from the theatrical release, while some clips were assembled from screen tests.

But if there’s one thing that Richard Donner gave us in Superman, it’s the concept of verisimilitude, that sense of truthfulness within a fictional environment. When Donner threw out many camp elements from the 1976 script, including one almost embarrassing moment in which Superman catches Telly Savalas, and Savalas as Kojak goes, “Who loves ya, baby?” Donner was determined not to allow the film to crumble into one weak joke after another. He had grown up reading Superman comics over the years. “You don’t screw around with Americana, apple pie, white bread sandwiches…” he would often say. So much so, that he had large banners with the word “Verisimilitude” posted on the walls of the Superman sets.

The honor and love and respect for Donner showed over the years from other filmmakers and producers who looked to his work on Superman as the template for later successes such as Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy and many of the films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. On one of the bonus features of the Dark Knight trilogy set, Nolan and Donner discussed their respective projects and how Nolan would approach handling his version of Batman in a grounded real world environment much like the real world Donner had grounded Superman in. In this excerpt, the directors talk about the music for their films.

And in approaching many of the films in the MCU, Kevin Feige would always tell his directors and writers to go back and watch Superman to see what Donner got right in that film. That’s why entries such as Black Panther and Avengers: Endgame only raised the bar even higher because of their grounded reality within the environment of a comic book universe.

Only a few days after Mr. Donner’s untimely passing, Jay Towers and Jim Bowers presented what I believe is the gold standard of the CapedWonder Superman Podcast. Originally intended to be a conversation with actor Jack O’Halloran, they brought in an equally special surprise guest in Sarah Douglas that allowed both the hosts and the guests to turn it into a beautiful tribute to the acclaimed director, which ended with an equally beautiful tribute from writer David Michael Petrou, who recalled how Donner would refer to him as “Squirt”. As I said, this is the gold standard for the podcast series, so give it a listen here:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-caped-wonder-superman-podcast/id1444758667?i=1000528304097

With current and future incarnations of Superman on the horizon in both film and on television, we can’t help but remember the man who made us believe and set the bar very high for Superman and comic book films alike. A big man, larger than life, with a booming voice and a playful spirit who cared for his casts and crews as if they were family.

A true professional in every sense of the word.

No, it’s not “The Movie Posters of Superman II”, although that would make for a great discussion in and of itself down the road. This one’s about the movie posters that are featured in the film itself. It’s one of those little details that lend a sense of believability and realism to the film. Even under the direction of Richard Lester, the Superman team worked hard to maintain that sense of verisimilitude that Richard Donner had begun in 1977, and that includes all of the little details like city mailboxes, set dressings, records in the record stores, and movie posters.

So which movie posters are represented in the film? Some are obvious, while others require a little digging.

In this first image from the film, during the Army’s attack on the villains from Krypton, we see five posters in the background. These first five are all easy to identify if you look long enough, and they definitely bring back the memories.

First off is Pretty Baby, the 1978 film from director Louis Malle which featured a young Brooke Shields as a teenage prostitute in New Orleans.

Next up is A Little Romance, the 1979 film from George Roy Hill about a teenage girl experiencing first love while living in Paris. This was Diane Lane’s feature film debut, and she would have a storied career in films such as The Outsiders, Under the Tuscan Sun, and her portrayal of Martha Kent in the DCEU films Man of Steel, Batman vs Superman, and Justice League.

Then there’s Cheech and Chong’s Up in Smoke, THE original stoner comedy. I’ve never laughed so hard during the first ten minutes of a movie ever! And that trailer… all I can say is that if you’re not into Cheech and Chong, it’ll be the longest three minutes of your life.

What can be said about Grease that hasn’t already been said? It’s the word that owned the movie theaters and became the highest grossing movie of 1978. The second highest grosser? Superman.

Finally, there’s Heaven Can Wait, the comic fantasy from Warren Beatty and Buck Henry about a football player who unexpectedly dies and returns to Earth as a millionaire. This is a funny and sometimes sweet story that I never missed on HBO during the 80s.

Now let’s turn our attention to some more movie posters that can be found in Superman II. During the battle in Metropolis, the villains use their super breath to literally blow a path through everything and everyone, even the hair off one couple’s heads. As they run into a newspaper stand, the stand collapses, and we can see several more movie posters on the sides of the stand. Some of these are easily visible, while others are a little harder to determine.

First there’s Devil’s Express. This 1976 movie featured Warhawk Tanzania (now there’s a marquee name!) as a martial artist police officer who fights street gangs and an evil demon that haunts the subways of New York City. Never heard of it? Neither did I. This mashup of blaxploitation, kung fu, and horror didn’t exactly do wonders at the box office.

Underneath it is a poster advertising Mikey and Nicky. This underrated 1976 crime drama from writer-director Elaine May featured Peter Falk and John Cassavettes spotlighted the friendship and tragedy between two men who are on the run from the mob.

Next up we can spot the poster for the French farce La Cage Aux Folles, about a gay couple who pretend to be straight for their children’s sake. This would spawn sequels and remakes over the years, including the 90s comedy The Birdcage.

This next one was a little harder to decipher at first, but after some digging I located it: King of the Gypsies. This drama from 1978 featured Eric Roberts in his film debut as Dave, the heir apparent to the gypsy throne in New York from his grandfather, much to the dismay of Dave’s own father. It also featured Annette O’Toole, who would go on to fan favorite fame in Superman III and Smallville.

The next one took some image lightening on the screenshot, but it revealed this poster for the 1979 movie Prophecy, directed by John Frankenheimer about a health inspector who investigates damage done to a local Native American community but discovers an even more terrifying find.

Under the posters for Prophecy and La Cage Aux Folles is another poster, but this one is so covered up, it’s hard to identify. It’s probably a more generic advertisement from the day, but if anyone can find this one and identify it, please let us know.

That brings the count to ten different movie posters. Were you able to identify them all from the screenshots alone?

Today I want to take a look at one scene from Superman: The Movie that resonates with fans everywhere, and yet it’s one of a number of scenes that has yet to be released in an official version in any format, whether VHS, laserdisc, DVD, Blu-Ray, 4K UHD, or digital streaming.

It was on this day 45 years ago that portions of the Concorde sequence were filmed.

The scene was shot at Pinewood Studios with Christopher Reeve and actors Michael Berh and John Rees as the Concorde pilots. (At one point David Michael Petrou, in his book The Making of Superman: The Movie, had even suggested that producers Ilya Salkind and Pierre Spengler were set to play the Concorde pilots.) Almost next to nothing is known about Berh and Rees except for the fact that their appearance in the scene is minimal, as the pilots spot Superman outracing the Concorde and marvel at his speed.

The scene was intended to be the first of a three-part sequence of Superman flying and performing various feats. According to Tom Mankiewicz’s shooting script from 1977, the sequence also included Superman rescuing an oil rig from disaster, then flying alongside a bald eagle. Of those three clips, only the Concorde scene was completed with full visual effects in place.

However, the scene would be cut from the film and not seen until February 1984, when it was included as an extra scene in the extended TV cut of Superman II on ABC and in various overseas territories. Here is the scene in its entirety as it appeared in the ABC broadcast (and later in the Restored International Cut of the film):

The second of these scenes—Superman saving the oil rig at sea—was never filmed, as no footage or photographs have ever surfaced. But we do have a couple of ideas of how the scene may have appeared. First, there’s this variation as it appears in Superman III:

Thirty years later, this moment occurs in the 2013 film Man of Steel where he saves the men aboard the oil rig from disaster:

While the latter is certainly more visually impressive thanks to modern technology, the former seems to fit in step with the Mankiewicz script.

Finally, once Superman saves the oil rig, he spots a bald eagle covered in oil. He cleans the oil from the eagle, and the two enjoy a flight together. Portions of this scene were filmed using a Saker falcon, but the scene was never completed.

However, we have an indication of how the scene might have looked. Years ago the BBC broadcast a news report on the development of the Zoptic system that was used in the first three Superman films, along with an interview with designer Zoran Perisic. This report had been broadcast around the time of filming on Superman II, as part of the news report included blue screen footage of Terence Stamp walking along a platform (which was for the scene of General Zod confronting Superman during the Metropolis battle). What made this report even more interesting was that a series of outtakes and alternate shots from the first Superman film were included, and to this day it is the only source of these unused alternate outtakes.

At the end of the report was a gag clip of Superman flying alongside a stuffed bird. Christopher Reeve laughs and playfully punches the stuffed bird away, as evidenced in these shots. I apologize for the poor quality of the shots, as they were taken from a post by Oliver Harper on the CapedWonder Network Facebook page, but at least they are viewable.

These shots give you an idea of how the scene of Superman flying alongside the Saker falcon might have looked, had the sequence been completed for the final film.

Over the years some fans have mistakenly assumed that the Concorde scene was intended for Superman II the entire time, but it is clear based on the Mankiewicz script that it was part of the first film. In the early 2000s Mike Matessino further stated that the Concorde scene was filmed for the first movie, and if anyone knows his Superman movie information, he definitely does.

These lost scenes would have added about three or four minutes altogether to the overall film, and should the rest of the actual footage be found in the Warner vaults somewhere, they would make a great addition to a future release of the film down the road, along with any other outtakes, deleted scenes, or alternate footage, before they’re lost to time. Lots of fans would love to see all of this unreleased footage, as well as any extended versions of the sequels. I know that I would.

Let’s face it, the Superman movies wouldn’t be the same if it weren’t for the involvement of one Lex Luthor, also known as “the greatest criminal mind of our time.” When Gene Hackman signed on to play the part, he brought with him a combination of humor and intelligence that complemented his evil genius. Across three films he stole the scenes right out from under his co-stars. So let’s take a few minutes and see the world through some of Luthor’s words of wit and wisdom…

Self-Identification

“How would you choose to congratulate the greatest criminal mind of our time? Do you tell me that I’m brilliant? No, that would be too obvious, I grant you. Charismatic… fiendishly gifted…”

“How do they choose to reward Lex Luthor, the greatest genius in this world? Do they give him glory, do they give him treasure? What, in matter of fact, do they give him?”

“He’s a little bit anxious, can you blame him? Not one of your great thinkers. But I, in all modesty, am.”

“Mind over muscle.”

“I’m smarter than I thought.”

Logical

“Why does the phone always ring when you’re in the bathtub? Why has the most brilliantly diabolical leader of our time surrounded himself with total nincompoops? Why…?”

Family

“Miss Teschmacher, when I was six years old, my father said to me… ‘Son, stocks may rise and fall. Utilities and transportation systems may collapse. People are no damn good. But they will always need land, and they will pay through the nose to get it.”

“Lenny, I’ve always considered you the Dutch elm disease of our family tree…”

“Let’s just keep your IQ a family secret, okay?”

“Lenny, my loud mouthed nephew, he gets his energy from the sun. Without it, he’s like you at night… useless.”

Location, Location, Location

“Do you realize what people are shelling out up there for a few miserable rooms off a common elevator? What more could anyone ask?”

“Bye bye, California. Hello, new West Coast, my West Coast. Costa del Lex, Luthorville, Marina del Lex, Otisburg… Otisburg? Otisburg? OTISBURG?”

Getting Along with Others

“Not on your life, Otis, which I would gladly sacrifice, by the way, to the opportunity of destroying everything that he represents, huh? And Otis, the next time put my robe on after I’m out of the pool.”

“M as in moron, Otis? No, that’s N! N as in Neanderthal, nincompoop, nitwit! And L as in ladder!”

“Otis, would you like to see a long arm? Otis, would you like to see a very, very long arm?”

“How would you like the experience of being thrown out of a moving vehicle?”

“Otis, your brain defies every known scientific law in its infinite capacity to deteriorate. Every man has his vulnerable point. Some, like you, Otis, have more than one.”

“Slasher Fogelstein is a bedwetter.”

“Miss Teschmacher, funny is someone trying to smile without any teeth.”

“Even with all of this accumulated knowledge, when will these dummies learn to use a door knob?”

“The guy’s a clod. You think you know a guy, huh? Promises were made, gifts exchanged… I don’t know what to think anymore.”

An Admirer of Architecture

“It’s fantastic! The structure goes beyond any known architectural theory. It’s beautiful. The place is a genius.”

“Door was always open for me.”

“Don’t go in there, General, it’s a trap. It’s a molecule chamber. It makes people like you into people like me.”

The Negotiator

“I can give you anything you want. I can give you the brass ring, unlimited freedom to maim, kill, destroy… plus Lex Luthor’s mind, Lex Luthor’s savvy, Lex Luthor’s career guidance, Lex Luthor’s school of better reunions…”

“O Magnificent One, what I am bargaining with is what you do not have… the son of Jor-El.”

“Well, General, the world’s a big place. Thank goodness my needs are small. As it turns out, I have this affinity for beachfront property… Australia!”

“It’s Australia, it’s too much, right? Okay, forget it. I can turn over a new leaf, a tree, a whole forest…”

“We can be partners, 60-40. All I ask is ten percent… eight percent… let’s negotiate, percent! Three… two… one!”

“Remember my motto: the more fear you make, the more loot you take. And the more missiles you guys sell…. (for) a tiny commission. Something appropriate. A number with a lot of zeros behind it.”

Pet Lover

“You really ought to have that fixed.”

“You know, you’re a workaholic. You’re playing the good guy 24 hours a day. Why don’t you stop and smell the roses, huh? Get yourself a hobby, a pet… a kitten, a puppy?”

A Literary Scholar

“Oh Lord, you gave them eyes, but they cannot see, nor can Superman through lead.” (excerpting from Psalm 115:5, 135:16)

“Good night, sweet prince. Parting is… inevitable.” (excerpting from Romeo and Juliet)

“Y’all come back and see us now, y’hear?” (excerpting from The Beverly Hillbillies)

Parting Words

“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.”

“I want to propose a toast to a nice guy who’s about to finish last.”

It’s All in the Perspective

“Miss Teschmacher, some people can read War and Peace and come away thinking it’s a simple adventure story. Others can read the ingredients on a chewing gum wrapper and unlock the secrets of the universe.”

Lifelong Goals

“Thanks to the generous help of the United States government, we are about to be involved in the greatest real estate swindle of all time.”

“Those alpha waves will take me north to his secret. And when I have his secret, I’ll have Superman.”

“Lenny, you pathetic prodigy of the public school system, your uncle Lex has had nothing on his awesome mind since he’s been incarcerated except for one thing: destroy Superman!”

“If we work together, we can make the world safe for war profits…. I, Lex Luthor, the greatest criminal mind of the modern era, have discovered a way to destroy Superman.”

“I’ll introduce him to his first nightmare… a nuclear man. He’ll pierce his skin, he’ll become mortal. He’ll become sick, we’ll dance on his grave.”

“When I escaped from prison, I had one thing on my mind: the end of Superman…. With this guy, and you gone, I’m going to make a fortune rearming the world.”

Which leaves me asking you one question: is it too good to be true, or is it too true to be good?

National Superman Day! How are you recognizing the day?

As pre-production on the first two Superman movies moved forward in 1975 and into the early months of 1976, Alexander and Ilya Salkind and Pierre Spengler began to consider who would star in their multimillion dollar epic. Once David and Leslie Newman and Robert Benton had completed their rewrite of the Mario Puzo drafts and the Norman Enfield rewrite, they started visualizing and naming certain actors and actresses whom they felt would best portray their characters on screen.

Of course, their biggest concern at the time was who was going to portray their lead character, Superman/Clark Kent. But at this early point in the game, everything was up in the air. Some of the suggestions were spot on, while others seemed a little bit awkward and off to a degree. So let’s see who was mentioned and whether it would have worked or not…

Marlon Brando as Jor-El

And to think Brando wanted to play Superman’s father as a bagel or a green suitcase. Once Richard Donner talked about the role with him, he totally nailed Jor-El for an entire generation.

Gene Hackman as Lex Luthor

I honestly can’t think of a better combination of humorous banter and psychological menace more than Gene Hackman’s portrayal of Superman’s longtime enemy. Both he and Brando were at the top of the list of actors sought by the Salkinds for the supporting roles, and once Brando signed on in late June to early July 1976, Hackman jumped on the bandwagon literally within a couple of days. And their above billing credits (and paydays) were well justified.

Susan Blakely as Lois Lane

She made it as far as shooting her screen test opposite Christopher Reeve in April 1977. While she was a good actress with a steady stream of film and TV credits to her name, she didn’t have that little something extra about her that would have made her a solid Lois Lane. Thank goodness for Margot Kidder.

Madeline Kahn as Miss Teschmacher

Now she certainly had the comic chops and could have pulled off the character well. Who doesn’t remember her scene stealing moment in Blazing Saddles? Haven’t seen it? Do yourself a favor and watch it! “I’m so tired…”

Art Carney as Albert

Best known as Ed Norton from the classic 1950’s comedy The Honeymooners, Carney was an early suggestion for the role of Albert, one of Lex Luthor’s henchmen. Ultimately the character was written out of the script.

Jack Weston as Otis

Weston was known as a serious actor with lots of dramatic roles in films and television during the 1960s and 1970s, and he certainly could have pulled off the physical look for Otis. But in the role of Luthor’s bumbling henchman I believe the producers wanted to go with someone who could be believably funny.

In May 1977 Variety had published a series of cast announcements, and one of them had listed Peter Boyle as Otis. He had pulled off a great comic turn in Young Frankenstein. But from what I recall reading somewhere, I forget exactly where, Boyle asked for too much money, which led to the casting of Ned Beatty in the part. Beatty not only pulled off the look, but he had that natural sense of humor that helped make his character.

Christopher Lee as General Zod

The ultimate badass who did everything in his life—and then some—as the ultimate Kryptonian badass? I’d have been all for it!

Ursula Andress as Ursa

The exotic actress who made a most memorable entrance from the waters of Jamaica in the first James Bond film Dr. No would have been an interesting choice for the role of Ursa, given that their names are quite similar, but I think she wouldn’t have been convincing enough as a villainess.

Paul Williams as Jak-El

The songwriter and actor who had written songs for Three Dog Night, Helen Reddy, the Carpenters, and The Muppet Movie had also appeared as Little Enos in the Smokey and the Bandit series was the producers’ choice for the maniacal Kryptonian villain Jak-El. We don’t know how this would have played out, as the character was later written out of the script. I just don’t think he would have been believable in such a part.

Raquel Welch as Lara

The glamorous 60s and 70s sex symbol had appeared in films such as One Million Years B.C. and Fantastic Voyage, so she had experience in science fiction films. But I just couldn’t see her as Superman’s birth mother. The character needed to be a bit more understated. Thank goodness for Susannah York.

Jason Robards as Perry White

Robards had been one of the candidates considered to portray Perry White, along with Walter Matthau, Martin Balsam, Eli Wallach, and Edward Asner, and given his work in stage, screen, and television he probably would have been a good choice. But as late as May 1977 the candidates came and went like hot potatoes, from Jack Klugman to Eddie Albert to Keenan Wynn before the part landed at the last minute, almost literally, to Jackie Cooper.

Ron Howard as Jimmy Olsen

He was and will always be Opie Howard and Richie Cunningham to generations of TV viewers. With his reddish brown hair and freckle-faced looks, he would have been an ideal candidate for the Daily Planet’s cub reporter and photographer in my opinion.

Mind you, these were the Salkinds’ initial choices for the roles. So what do you think? Would the Superman movies been as believable with these supporting actors and actresses, Marlon Brando and Gene Hackman excluded? Let’s hear your thoughts!

(Some photographs appearing in this blog are courtesy of CapedWonder.com.)

The end of this month sees the release of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, the fifth and final installment of the film series that began in 1981 with Harrison Ford in the iconic role. Early reviews have piled in, and I myself may have figured out a key plot point in the film which I will not spoil, but whatever your thoughts are on the new film, I’m sure it’ll be a grand ride indeed.

But one thing about the film that I’m already looking forward to is the music. Once again it will have the grand maestro himself, John Williams, conducting the score, and to hear his iconic Raiders theme one more time will be sweet indeed.

My introduction to the world of film music and to John Williams’ music specifically came when I was ten years old and living in Mississippi, when my parents got me this legendary album…

Of course, like my classmates I indulged in a bit of rock and roll music, but it was film music that opened my mind to storytelling through music, something that continues to this day. This would follow with his soundtrack to Close Encounters of the Third Kind that year as well.

And then there was Superman.

If you were blessed like me to get this double LP, it had the same magnitude on me as did the Star Wars LP, even with much of the music unreleased at that point. It was a weird thing at the time, going to the movie theater and hearing certain parts of the music that weren’t there on the album, and then hearing certain parts of the album that weren’t in the movie. My 12-year-old brain couldn’t figure it out. It would also be the same with The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi as well. But I can’t tell you how many times I played the Star Wars and Superman LPs so much that even the scratches on the vinyl became noticeable with each successive listen.

I have to pause here because before the LP, there was the 45 RPM single.

This one I played the heck out of to the point where I could hear all of the scratches on the vinyl as well. But what was interesting was that the A side, the main theme, was abbreviated. It was edited by about a minute or so from what we heard in the concert arrangement on the LP. The B side, the love theme, was unedited from its album release. This 45 RPM was obviously intended to go out to radio stations to help promote the film’s release, so having this in your soundtrack collection is a find indeed. So this is what you would have heard had you had the 45 RPM back then…

Then came cassette tapes in the 1980s. Raiders of the Lost Ark. E.T. Return of the Jedi. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. And who knows how many more. And upgrading Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, and Superman to cassette tapes as well. But I didn’t just limit myself to John Williams. There were other wonderful maestros—Jerry Goldsmith, with his score to Star Trek: The Motion Picture, as well as Star Trek V at the end of the decade. John Barry and his beautiful score to Somewhere in Time. A young up and comer named James Horner with his scores to the second and third Star Trek films. And I would also discover older composers like Ken Thorne with his scores to Superman II and III, and Alexander Courage with his work on Superman IV and the original Star Trek TV series. The list just kept growing and growing, as did my collection.

In the 1990s I would expand my taste to include lush beautiful scores like John Barry’s epic score to Dances with Wolves, and the heartbreaking simplicity of John Williams’ haunting score for Schindler’s List. And the majesty of Hans Zimmer’s score to The Lion King. But eventually it would come back to Superman. In 1998 we got our first taste of an expanded score thanks to John Debney and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, which included about 20 minutes of previously unreleased music and reorchestrated versions of our favorite tracks from the film. It wasn’t everything, but it was better than nothing.

That CD was a precursor to what would follow in the year 2000, when Rhino Records released the first expanded version of the complete Superman score on CD. Mike Matessino had become known in the film and music communities for his work on the Alien and Aliens laserdiscs, and in 1997 he graced the world with fully expanded versions of the Star Wars trilogy scores on CD. Now he was hard at work on Superman, and he assembled the score using everything that was available at the time—the original LP, mixdown tapes, and trims—to assemble the score together. There were varying degrees of quality in some of the tracks, but at least the score was now complete. It proved to be one of Rhino’s bestselling CDs for a catalog title.

But at the time of the CD’s release, something happened that would change the game again. With the advent of DVD in 1997, the technology was expanding, and the discovery of a six-track mix of the Superman score led to the score being remastered in 5.1 sound for the special edition DVD release in 2001 as an isolated score track. This would lead to the next big step for the Superman film scores in 2008.

Not only did we get the full score for Superman, but it also included the complete scores for Superman II and III, and the world premiere of the soundtrack to Superman IV in any format. And even the soundtrack for the 1988 Ruby-Spears animated Superman series was included, which featured music by Ron Jones (who had worked on 44 episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation and the Starfleet Academy video game—and if you’ve not heard his work on “The Best of Both Worlds” and Film Score Monthly’s Ron Jones Project, another massive CD set, you owe it to yourself to do so!). To this day the FSM Blue Box is the only way to hear the Ruby-Spears score.

I had participated in a Talk City chat session in 2000 (and if you are old enough to remember Talk City on a WebTV dialup set box, then my hat’s off to you!) with Alexander Courage, Dennis McCarthy, and Don Davis about film music, and one of the questions he was asked was about Superman IV. He had said that he didn’t see the need for a soundtrack release because the music had been so repetitive. In all fairness, that’s true. Both he and Ken Thorne had used many of the same John Williams motifs in the same key and beat, so his assessment was a valid one. And yet the score featured more John Williams themes than before, with three new themes for the Nuclear Man, Lacy Warfield, and Jeremy (which is barely heard in the final film). And there had indeed been a soundtrack album for Superman IV planned, which would have mirrored the album for Superman III, with score music on the A side and source music from Paul Fishman on the B side. But with the failed film screening in Orange County, California, in June 1987, those plans were scrapped, and it would be 21 years before the full score was finally released. In a bittersweet moment, Alexander Courage was blessed to know just before his passing that year that his score was finally available for fans to enjoy, as it would have marked his big epic comeback at the time.

But just when you think we had heard it all, technology would again increase, thanks to Spotify and Amazon Music, among others. And our favorite film scores, along with all of our favorite music, would be available for us to stream on our smart TVs and iPhones. But it would not be the end for John Williams and Superman. 2018 and 2019, respectively, would see the re-release of the four Superman film scores in individual releases from LaLaLand Records, this time in reverse order, with Superman IV first, followed by a combined release of the Ken Thorne scores to II and III, and finally in February 2019 with the complete score for Superman.

What made these releases even better is that the actual original 24-track master tapes were located in a film vault. These were the actual tapes that were used back in 1978 when the scoring sessions occurred, and it also included an early version of “The Fortress of Solitude” than had never been released or heard until the new CD. In addition, all of John Williams’ source music for the film had been located and included on the Superman II-III CD, and it’s the only place where you can hear jazz combos, country music, church organs, rock and roll instrumentals, and even the iconic “Luthor’s Luau” (it goes nicely with your favorite pig roast). Another Navy grog, please!

To this day we have yet to see a stand-alone release of the Ron Jones score to the Ruby-Spears animated series. Mike Matessino, if you’re out there reading this, please please please make this happen!

Since then I’ve added more fully expanded scores to my collection. The complete versions of John Barry’s Dances with Wolves and Somewhere in Time. John Ottman’s complete score to Superman Returns. The 2012 CD set of Jerry Goldsmith’s complete score to Star Trek: The Motion Picture. James Horner’s score to Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Hans Zimmer’s 2-CD set to Man of Steel. And older John Williams CDs like the scores to The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones, and even Sabrina, a light romantic work. Some of these are like reuniting with old friends once again.

So needless to say I’m looking forward to Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny when it comes out. So many composers have left us, and it’s not much longer until we lose John Williams. That’s just simply how life goes. But I for one am so thankful that we still have the grand maestro with us to take Indy on his last big adventure.

(Some of the photographs in this blog are courtesy of CapedWonder.com.)