Superman and the Mole-Men

Superman and the Mole Men (1951)

*** (out of 4)

Reporters Clark Kent (George Reeves) and Lois Lane (Phyllis Coates) are sent to Texas to do a story on an oil rig that has dug six feet into the ground but soon the big story becomes the mole men that have crawled out of the hole. I really wasn't expecting too much at of this film but it turned out to be pretty entertaining in the same form that a lot of science fiction "B" movies are from this period. The most shocking thing is how good the story is. Sure, it only runs 58-minutes but there's really no dry spells in the film, although I wish the mole men had more to do in the story besides be chased around. Superman also doesn't get too much screen time but when he's on he really shines especially one scene where he must disarm a group of men who want to kill the creature. Reeves is excellent in the roles of Kent and Superman and I loved his no nonsense way of handling everything. Coates was also very good in her role as is Jeff Corey as the nutty local who wants the creatures dead. He makes for a great villain and really delivers in each scene he's in. The special effects are quite campy but they just add to the entertainment value of the film.