It was in the late Forties that DC Comics as we now know it would come into being. It was on September 30 1946 that National Allied Publications, Detective Comics, and All-American Publications were merged to form National Comics Publications. In 1961 the company was renamed National Periodical Publications. It was in 1977 that the company would finally be named "DC Comics," the name by which National Allied Publications, Detective Comics, and All-American Publications, and afterwards National Periodical Publications, had been known informally since the Golden Age.
DC Comics' next movie serial would be based on a character not particularly well known today. The Vigilante was a Western-themed superhero who had first appeared in Action Comics no. 42 (November 1941). The Vigilante was Greg Sanders, a country singer on radio known as "the Prairie Troubadour." After his father was killed, Greg Sanders became The Vigilante, dressed in Western garb with a bandana over his mouth to conceal his identity. He later picked up a sidekick, Stuff the Chinatown Kid, who was one of the few Asian American characters to appear regularly in comic books during the Golden Age (and also one of the few who was not a stereotype).
The Vigilante (1947) was the second movie serial based on a DC Comics character to be produced by Sam Katzman. Ralph Byrd, now best known for playing Dick Tracy, was cast as Greg Sanders/The Vigilante. If the casting sounds unusual today, it must be considered that Ralph Byrd began his career as a song and dance man, so he could do his own singing as Greg Sanders. Strangely enough, in the serial Stuff was not a Chinese American teenager. He was played by George Offerman Jr., a white actor who was around 30 at the time. The plot of The Vigilante found the hero trying to prevent the villain known only as X-1 and his gang from getting their hands on a cursed string of red pearls.
The Vigilante was somewhat popular for a character in a backup feature in Action Comics and would actually outlast the Golden Age of Comic Books. After his first appearance he appeared in every single issue of Action Comics until issue no. 198, November 1954. This was only a little less than two years before the Silver Age of Comic Books began with the first appearance of the Barry Allen version of The Flash in Showcase no. 4 (October 1956).
The next DC Comics character to be featured in a movie serial would be the one that started it all and their most popular character at the time. It was in 1943 that Paramount Pictures discontinued their highly successful series of Superman cartoons because of their sheer cost (each one averaged around $30,000). As a result the screen rights to Superman once more became available. They were bought by Sam Katzman. While Sam Katzman would sign a contract with Columbia Pictures to make serials in 1945, he offered Superman to other studios before Columbia.
He first offered the project to Universal, who had been winding down their production of serials and would entirely stop producing them in 1946. Universal then turned him down. He then approached Republic Pictures, who also turned him down. The reason they gave him was that it would be impossible to portray a superhuman character such as Superman who could fly. It seems likely that this was a mere excuse, as Republic Pictures had produced The Adventures of Captain Marvel in 1941 (in which Captain Marvel flew) and would produce King of the Rocket Men in 1949 (which featured a character who flew). It seems more likely that Republic Pictures resented DC Comics having named them in the lawsuit alleging Fawcett Comics' Captain Marvel infringed upon Superman. Even if this was not the case, it must be pointed out that most of Republic Pictures' serials after 1946 were based on original material rather than licensed characters. It was after being turned down by both Universal and Republic that Sam Katzman finally took Superman to Columbia.
Of course, casting Superman was of major importance. Several actors were considered for the role, Buster Crabbe, who had played the roles of Tarzan, Buck Rogers, and, most famously, Flash Gordon. Buster Crabbe turned the role down as he felt he had already been typecast in roles of comic strip heroes. Sam Katzman found his actor to play Superman while he was looking through photographs of actors with whom he had worked in the past. Mr. Katzman had previously worked with Kirk Alyn on the movies Little Miss Broadway (1947) and Sweet Genevieve (1947).
Noel Neill was cast in the role of Lois Lane, after having appeared in Sam Katzman's Teenagers series at Monogram and the serial Brick Bradford (1947) at Columbia. Pierre Watkin, who had also appeared in the serial Brick Bradford, was cast as Daily Planet editor Perry White and Tommy Bond, a veteran of "Our Gang" shorts, was cast as Jimmy Olsen. The serial was directed by Spencer Gordon Bennett and Thomas Carr. Spencer Gordon Bennett had directed several serials at Columbia and would go onto direct the second Batman serial, The New Adventures of Batman and Robin (1949). Thomas Carr had also directed several serials for Columbia and would later move into television. Among the episodes of TV shows he directed were episodes of The Adventures of Superman.
Of course, one hurdle to be overcome for Superman (1948) was portraying Superman in flight. The special effects crew attempted this by suspending Kirk Alyn from wires (which were supposed to be opaque) in front of a rear projection screen of moving clouds. Unfortunately, the wires were visible in rushes, and as a result Sam Katzman fired the entire special effects crew. The scenes of Superman flying were then animated, which was probably was not particularly convincing even in the 1940s.
Regardless, Superman (1948) proved to be a smash hit. Cinemas that had never shown a serial even booked it. Ultimately it became the highest grossing serial of all time. Its success may have also single-handedly revived serial production. For much of the Forties, serials were in decline. It was for that reason that Universal stopped producing serials in 1946. In 1947 Republic Pictures produced only three serials; in 1949, after the success of Superman at Columbia, it produced almost twice as many. Serials would continue to be produced until the release of the last serial, Blazing the Overland Trail, by Columbia in 1956.
The next serial based upon a DC Comics character would be based on another character from Action Comics. Congo Bill first appeared in More Fun Comics (June 1940). The character moved to Action Comics the following year, It is pretty obvious the character was inspired by Alex Raymond's comic strip Jungle Jim, with Congo Bill an adventurer living in Africa. In Congo Bill (1948), Bill must find an heiress missing in Africa. Like Hop Harrigan and Superman (1948), it was produced by Sam Katzman for Columbia.
Congo Bill was played by Don McGuire. By the time of Congo Bill (1948) he had appeared in the films Humoresque (1946) and Possessed (1947). He would later go into screenwriting, writing the screenplay for Bad Day at Black Rock (1955) and creating the sitcom Hennesey. The missing heiress was played by Cleo Moore, who would become one of the many blonde bombshells of the Fifties. Like Superman (1948) before it, Congo Bill was directed by Spencer Gordon Bennett and Thomas Carr.
It was following Congo Bill that another serial featuring Batman and Robin was finally released. The New Adventures of Batman and Robin (1949) was produced by Sam Katzman and directed by Spencer Gordon Bennett. It featured two new actors in the roles of the Dynamic Duo. Robert Lowery was cast as Bruce Wayne/Batman. He had appeared in such films as The Mark of Zorro (1940) and The Mummy's Ghost (1944). He would later be a regular on the TV series Circus Boy, now best remembered for starring future Monkee Micky Dolenz. Robin was played by Johnny Duncan, who had appeared in various "East End Kids" and "Bowery Boys" movies. He was 26 years old when he played Robin, and perhaps a bit old to be playing the Boy Wonder. Eric Wilton played Alfred.
The New Adventures of Batman and Robin (1949) would feature the first appearances on the big screen of both Commissioner Gordon and Bruce Wayne's long time girlfriend Vicki Vale. Commissioner Gordon had been a part of the Batman mythos since the very beginning, appearing in the very first Batman story in Detective Comics no. 27 (May 1939). In the serial he was played by Lyle Talbot, who had been signed to Warner Bros. in the 1930s and had served on the first board of directors of the Screen Actors Guild. He had already appeared in a serial based on a DC Comics serial, The Vigilante (1946). Vicki Vale had been introduced in Batman no. 49 (October 1948) and would continue to appear regularly in the Batman titles until 1964 before being revived in the modern era. In the serial she was played by Jane Adams, who had appeared in House of Dracula (1945) and several B-Westerns. Her last appearance on screen would be in another DC Comics project, the episode ""Ghost Wolf" of The Adventures of Superman.
In The New Adventures of Batman and Robin (1949), the Dynamic Duo face off against The Wizard, a villain with an electrical device that can control cars. Like The Batman (1944), The New Adventures of Batman and Robin (1949) was produced very cheaply. If anything the costumes in The New Adventures of Batman and Robin are even worse than those in The Batman (1944). The bat ears on Batman's costume more resemble devil's horns than bat ears. This time around Batman drives a 1949 Mercury rather than the Batmobile. The serial also features several continuity errors. The most blaring error is perhaps Batman pulling a full sized oxy-acetylene torch that could not possible fit in his utility belt.
The New Adventure of Batman and Robin (1949) would be followed by the final serial to be based on a DC Comics character. Atom Man vs. Superman (1950) was the sequel to Superman (1949). Kirk Alyn, Noel Neill, Tommy Bond, and Pierre Watkin all returned in their roles as Superman/Clark Kent, Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen, and Perry White. The serial marks the first live-action appearance of Superman's archenemy Lex Luthor. Luthor was played by Lyle Talbot, making Mr. Talbot both the first actor to play Commissioner Gordon and the first actor to play Lex Luthor in live-action films. In Atom Man vs. Superman (1950), Lex Luthor in the guise of Atom Man plagues Metropolis with a number of deadly devices.
Atom Man vs. Superman (1950) did improve upon the effects of Superman flying. Kirk Alyn was simply filmed standing in front of a cyclorama with his arms extended, and a wind machine and smoke pot offscreen above him. The camera was turned on its side. It was an improvement over the animated flying sequences of the first serial. Like the rest of the serials based on DC Comics characters, Atom Man vs. Superman (1950) suffered from a low budget. A scene in which Clark Kent changes into Superman in a storeroom is reused several times. The serial also made a good deal of use of stock footage from Columbia's vaults.
Atom Man vs. Superman (1950) would be the last movie serial based on a DC Comics character. With the advent of television, movie serials declined in popularity as the Fifties progressed. Republic Pictures stopped making serials in 1955. Columbia stopped making them in 1956. Of course, Superman would remain in the public eye outside of comic books. In 1951, the year following the release of Atom Man vs. Superman (1950), the feature film Superman vs. the Mole Men (1951), starring George Reeves as Superman, was released. In 1952 the television series The Adventures of Superman, also starring George Reeves, debuted. The Adventures of Superman would owe something to the Superman serials. Phyllis Coates played Lois Lane in the first season, but could not return for the second season due to prior commitments. Noel Neill, who had played Lois in the two serials, then took over the role on the TV series.
The serials based on DC Comics characters would see the first live action iterations of Superman and Batman, and provided exposure for some lesser known DC Comics characters as well. As to why some of DC Comics' other popular characters were not adapted into movie serials, much of the reason may have been special effects. The Flash and Green Lantern were among DC Comics' five most popular characters, but their powers were impossible for 1940s special effects to accomplish. Indeed, in 1990 the TV series The Flash cost $1 million an episode, simply because of producing the illusion of The Flash moving at superspeed. It is curious that Wonder Woman, DC Comics' third most popular character during the Golden Age, was never even considered for a movie serial. It certainly wasn't because there weren't serials centred on women. Tiger Woman (1944), Zorro's Black Whip (1944), Brenda Starr, Reporter (1945), and several others featured women as their protagonists.
As to why some lesser known DC Comics characters were adapted into movie serials, it must be pointed out that in each case they belong to genres that were well-established in serials. Hop Harrigan was yet another heroic aviator to appear on the big screen. Although a superhero whose adventures took place in the present day, The Vigilante was firmly rooted in the Western genre. Of course, Congo Bill firmly belonged in the genre of jungle adventure. Here it must be pointed out that at least two of these characters (The Vigilante and Congo Bill) were featured in Action Comics. I have to wonder that when Sam Katzman was researching Superman, he fell upon The Vigilante and Congo Bill and thought that they would make for good movie serials.
Sadly, the serials based on DC Comics characters are not well respected by connoisseurs of movie serials. All of them were produced at Columbia Pictures, who were not known for spending a lot of money on their serials or even assuring that they would be very high in quality. While Sam Katzman would seem to be an improvement over Larry Darmour Productions (who produced the 1944 serial The Batman), he was still more interested in making movie serials cheaply than he was in making movie serials that were good. Indeed, in The Great Movie Serials, Jim Harmon and Donald F. Glut observe of Mr. Katzman, "He seemed to get the best characters--including Superman and Batman--and do the worst with them."
Regardless of the quality of the serials based on DC Comics characters, they would have a lasting impact. It is arguable that the two Batman serials, along with his appearances on the radio show The Adventures of Superman, guaranteed Batman's continued popularity, allowing him to become one of the few comic book characters to be published contiuously since the Golden Age. The Batman (1943) introduced the Batcave and may been responsible for the creation of Alfred (at the very least, it changed his appearance). It was a screening of The Batman (1943) at the Playboy Theatre in 1965 that led to a re-release of the serial under the title An Evening with Batman and Robin that summer. This in turn led to the 1966 TV series Batman starring Adam West and Burt Ward.
Batman may not have been the only character impacted by the serials based on DC comic book characters. If The Vigilante lasted until 1954, outlasting many more popular comic book characters, it seems possible that it was partly due to the 1947 serial. It even seems possible that it was the success of the Superman serials that led to the TV series The Adventures of Superman. After all, the serials proved that the Man of Steel could be a success in live action. The serials based on DC Comics characters may not have been very good, but they certainly had a lasting influence.
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