Night of Terror

Very good television for 1951. An exciting and classic episode, one of my favorites.

Noir programming that offered crime in your face and an exciting mystery. Almost like watching The Untouchables. This was the theme of Season 1. Great writing, directing and storytelling, along with great acting.

It is so much unlike other seasons when this series goes into a comic book, with silly writing.

I have to offer comments about Phyllis Coates. She was an elegant, beautiful and terrific actress. She played Lois Lane as a team player. Not snide and snippy as with Noel Neill's portrayal. I've missed Phyllis Coates after Season 1. She deserved top billing along with George Reeves. After Season 1, Noel Neill was only a featured player. Thats all she deserved.

Jim Olsen was not portrayed as a bumbling idiot in Season 1.

I've often wondered why the writing changed. It hurt the series' story telling.

This episode has a much harder bite to it. It begins as Lois Lane is about to check into a motel for the night. She is on vacation and when she rings the bell and no one answers, she sees a woman, unconscious on the other side of the counter. Apparently, her husband has been killed and taken away. Louis is quickly accosted by stereotypical gangster. Her efforts to escape him are fruitless and he knocks her out, then puts her and the other woman, who is badly hurt, in one of the cabins. They stand guard and await a guy named Babyface, who will come and kill them. Lois manages to escape briefly and make a phone call to the Daily Planet. Jimmy takes the call but since it's night there is no one in authority to help. Clark is off on a story and Inspector Henderson is not available (of course, there are other police available, but it doesn't occur to Jimmy to ask for one or more of them). One of the thugs catches her and returns her to the room, trying the two of them back to back. He leaves a message an heads for the motel where he is mistaken for Baby Face. What ensues is a huge effort to find the note which the janitor has taken to the incinerator. Superman must visit three motels before finding the correct one. This is a very harsh episode in that these guys are truly dangerous in a very realistic way. Quite good television.

The newly restored DVD reveals some never before seen treasures in this episode. Slowing down the DVD in the scene where Superman lands in the motel room, you can clearly see a Superman double was used when he's beating the bad guys. The clarity is amazing! The double is actually taller then Reeves, and does most of the beating and tossing the bad guys in the scene. Then, George Reeves is brought back in to smack the last bad guy who bends the knife on the Superman insignia. Then right after that at 24:48 you can clearly hear someone say "oh goddammit." Perhaps it was one of the bad guys who really did get hurt being tossed into the breakaway furniture.

Night of Terror is the 6th episode of the first season and stars Richard Benedict, Ann Doran, Frank Richards and John Kellogg. The plot follows Lois who stumbles across a dead body behind the counter of an empty motel she had checked in. Shortly after the discovery, Lois is kidnapped by a criminal gangster and is locked in a room along with another kidnapped civilian 'Mrs. King'. Lois attempts to call the cops but due to the long wait, she changes her mind and calls the Daily Planet instead; informing Jimmy that she has been kidnapped and the whereabouts of her location. Jimmy leaves a note for Clark while he investigates himself, and said note gets lost. I won't go further on and spoil the ending, but I will say it has a great action scene. I thought this story was fantastic, possibly the best episode so far.