Adventures of Superman

- Season 4

(1956)

Season Four of The Adventures of Superman opens with a sentimental story about a racing filly named Joey. Formerly owned by a girl named Alice (Janine Perreau) and purchased by "The Daily Planet", Joey has the potential to be a winner, but refuses to race unless Alice is around. As this story plays itself out, Clark Kent (George Reeves)--otherwise known as Superman--goes after a band of criminals who've been spreading their corruptive influence at the racetrack.

A contest in which the participants must guess the number of jellybeans in a jar has been rigged by a gang of crooks. Clark Kent, aka Superman, uses his special powers to foil the bad guys by counting the jellybeans and helping a needy woman win the contest. Meanwhile, the old lady's grandson Bobby is being flim-flammed by criminal Dexter Brown, who claims that he himself is Superman!

Dishonest politician Duke Taylor (George E. Stone) and his henchman Little Jack (Richard Reeves) conspire with crooked Dr. Watts (Rolfe Sedan) to rid Metropolis of Superman (George Reeves) just before an important election. Luring the Man of Steel into a locked room, the trio turn the temperature down to 2000 degrees below zero. Thus frozen, Superman not only loses his super-strength but also the color in his face, and must put on makeup when disguised as Clark Kent--thereby making an embarrassing situation even more so. As it turns out, Superman's only hope to return...

"Daily Planet" editor Perry White (John Hamilton) decides to flex his scientific muscles and develops "Formula U183", which will enable him to extract uranium from sea water. Villainous submarine commander Ace Miller (Claude Akins) decides to steal the formula and eliminate not only White but also the entire "Planet" staff--namely, Clark Kent (George Reeves), Lois Lane (Noel Neill) and Jimmy Olsen (Jack Larson). As Miller prepares to torpedo White's seaside laboratory, the editor's only hope for survival rests with Superman (who of course is also Clark Kent, but Perry...

This episode marks the first appearance of Phillips Tead) in the role of eccentric scientist Professor Pepperwinkle, whose offbeat inventions invariably cause trouble for Clark Kent (George Reeves) and his fellow "Daily Planet" newshounds. This time, Pepperwinkle has created a device that fools the nervous system and makes people think that they are upside down. Crooked sideshow man Carni (Ben Welden) decides to steal the invention so that he can rob a few banks. Thus it is that Clark Kent disappears, and Superman appears in his place, the better to revert back to "...

Gangsters break into Clark's office searching for money and important papers, but can't find anything. The boss comes up with a new plan--he has found someone called "Kid Collins" who looks exactly like Jimmy Olson. He kidnaps the real Jimmy and replaces him with the fake Jimmy. who has orders to get Clark to reveal where the money and documents are.

Wealthy and spoiled Myra Van Clever (Gloria Talbott) hires Superman (George Reeves) to entertain at a party. What Myra doesn't know is that she has been manipulated into a criminal scheme cooked up by her guardian Jonas Rockwell (John Eldredge), who intends to use Superman as an unwitting courier for a set of counterfeit plates. Ultimately, Jonas tips his hand and locks Myra into a safe with reporters Jimmy Olsen (Jack Larson), Lois Lane (Noel Neill) and Clark Kent--who of course is Superman in disguise, but is unable to "transform" himself in full view of his fellow ...

While answering some letters for an advice columnist, Lois dozes off. She awakens to a delivery of flowers from Superman, and events quickly lead up to a marriage proposal from the Man of Steel. However,if a gang of crooks, against whom Lois can testify, have their way, the wedding will never take place.

The staff of the "Daily Planet" serve as referees for a treasure hunt conducted on a remote island by the three heirs to the fortune of Jonathan Skag (Raymond Hatton). It turns out, however, that the "late" Mr. Skag is very much alive, and is merely testing the mettle of his potential heirs. Naturally, not all of the participants play fair--and the result of this skullduggery could prove fatal to all concerned. Fortunately, Superman (George Reeves) is on hand to make sure that justice is served and the spirit of fair play is upheld, but this time he has to keep his ...

Criminal Arnold Woodman (Herbert Vigran) and his two confederates plant 20,000 dollars in stolen money on Inspector Henderson (Robert Shayne), then threaten to accuse him of taking a bribe unless he does what they tell him. Playing for time, Henderson agrees to follow orders, which does not sit well with his reporter friend Clark Kent (George Reeves). Nor do things bode well for Kent's alter ego Superman, who has been targeted for extinction by Woodman through the deployment of a sure-fire doomsday weapon (well, it seemed like it was sure-fire on the drawing board, ...

A friend who is susceptible to kryptonite radiation visits Clark at the same time a scientist offers to sell some kryptonite to the mob.

Clark looks into joining a gang whose members possess special coins that allow them to perform crimes while invisible.

Pirates kidnap Jimmy, Lois and Clark and hide on a remote island the U.S. Navy is about to destroy.