The Adventures of Superman

The Adventures of Superman (1952–1958) was a live-action television series about the Man of Steel as he fights crime with help from his friends at the Daily Planet. It was the first to bring the comic-book hero to TV.

Introduction

Narrator: Faster than a speeding bullet. More powerful than a locomotive. Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound.

Man 1: Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird.

Woman: It's a plane.

Man 2: It's Superman!

Narrator: Yes, it's Superman, strange visitor from another planet who came to earth with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men. Superman, who can change the course of mighty rivers, bend steel in his bare hands. And who, disguised as Clark Kent, mild-mannered reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper, fights a never ending battle for truth, justice and the American way. And now another exciting episode in the adventures of Superman.

Season 1

Superman on Earth [1.01]

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Jor-El: Council members, I have completed my solar calculations, and as much as I dread uttering these fateful words, I have come to the conclusion that Krypton is about to be destroyed.

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Lara: If anyone is to survive, let it be our son.

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[Eben pulls the baby from the burning rocket and hands it to Sarah.]

Eben: Burned much?

Sarah: Not burned at all. Blanket ain't even scorched.

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White: White speaking. What? Absolutely not. Certainly not. And that's final!

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White: Who the blazes are you?

Kent: My name is Clark Kent, sir.

White: I told that girl not to...

Kent: Please don't blame your receptionist, she doesn't even know I'm in here.

White: What do you mean she doesn't know? How did you get past her

Kent: Well, I didn't you see, I came in through the window.

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[On meeting Clark Kent for the first time.]

White: Crazy. Just crazy.

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Lane: There are one or two things I haven't got quite straight in my mind, Mr. Kent. For example, how did you leave here later than we did and beat us to the airport?

Kent: Is that all?

Lane: Not quite. How come you found the man behind the hanger at just the right moment to get his exclusive story when every top experienced reporter in the business was breaking his neck...

Kent: Or her neck...

Lane: Or her neck to get that story?

Kent: Maybe I'm a Superman, Miss Lane.

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The Haunted Lighthouse [1.02]

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Olsen: Say, How did you get here?

Kent: Well, Jim, that's a long story.

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[On Clark Kent:]

Aunt Louisa: My, but he's handsome too. As a matter of fact, he looks like... [Clark interrupts]

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Peter the Parrot: Help! Help! I'm drowning!

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The Case of the Talkative Dummy [1.03]

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Mr. Marco: I give you all the best lines, all the best gags, but that isn't good enough. You have to add lines of your own. What are you trying to do, take over the act?

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Mr. Marco: Look at him, sitting there so innocently. "In the shade of the old apple tree". "Down by the old mill stream". "Eleven and a half". He knows he's fourteen. He's been fourteen for the last ten years!

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Superman: Jim, a word of advice. After this, keep out of other people's safes.

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Lane: Well there he goes again. Inspector, where does he disappear to all the time?

Henderson: I don't know. Maybe he runs into an ally, takes off his glasses and turns into Superman.

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Lane: All right Clark, if you're so smart who's on the other end of the phone now?

Kent: The Chief. And if we're not back at the planet in fifteen seconds flat, we're bothe gonna get fired. Now come on.

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The Mystery of the Broken Statues [1.04]

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First Store Owner: All I'm sorry about is that they didn't smash some of the fifty dollar vases.

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Lane: Don't tell me. I'll tell you. Two men walked in the shop, a tall one and a short one. The short one smashed them and the tall one paid for the statues.

Second Store Owner: How did you know?

Lane: I read minds.

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The Monkey Mystery [1.05]

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Lane: Look, Clark, super-monkey

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[Lois reads her "fortune"]

Lane: I'm going to marry a handsome oil millionaire by the name of "Harvey". Bye, Clark.

Kent: Where do you think you're going?

Lane: Well, to meet Harvey, where else?

Kent: Have you forgotten we're supposed to cover the Petersen trial?

Lane: You cover it. I can't keep Harvey waiting. Bye-bye.

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Olsen: Wait a minute, where'd you get the tip. The chief's gonna ask me.

Lane: From a monkey.

Olsen: Huh?

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White: You say Superman couldn't find the fellow on the train?

Kent: No. I'm gonna look around more, but--

White: You are?

Kent: I mean, Superman is.

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Bad guy one: Get away ok?

Bad guy two: Duck soup.

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White: Those fellas must think Superman works for the Daily Planet.

Kent: What!? Who!?

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A Night of Terror [1.06]

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Solley: Who's he sending?

Mitch: Baby Face something

Solley: Baby Face Stevens?

Mitch: You know him?

Solley: I heard about him. Always making with the jokes. And you know what? When he does a job, he takes all but one slug out of this gun. Never misses.

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Olsen: How'd you know it was me?

Kent: Don't you know that i have X-ray vision?

Olsen: Oh, sure. Just like Superman.

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Kent: What's on your mind besides the Chicago White Sox.

Olsen: You guessed it!

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Olsen: She didn't get going until after three.

Kent: She should've waited till morning.

Olsen: That's what I told her but she said, "Nothing doing, the chief might get an idea overnight".

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Solley: Hiya, Baby Face.

Olsen: Could you tell me where to find Miss Lane? I think she's in trouble.

Solley: You see what I mean, Mitch? Always gagging.

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Lane: Superman you're wonderful. How did you know we were in trouble?

Superman: A little bird told me.

Olsen: I bet you the little bird's name was Clark Kent.

Superman: [chuckles] Could be.

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The Birthday Letter [1.07]

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Kathie: Superman, why did you carry me up the fire escape? I thought you could fly. And why did we come here, you promised you'd take me to the fair.

Slugger: Don't ask so many questions, little girl.

Kathie: I don't think you're Superman at all. You don't talk like Superman. You don't act like Superman. You don't even look like Superman.

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Marie: Where did ye say the meeting was going to take place?

Kathie: Oh that? I forget.

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Lane: Clark, where you going?

Kent: This is a job for Superman. I mean, I've got to find him.

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The Mind Machine [1.08]

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White: Lois, for the last time, are you going to listen to reason?

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Hadley: Good heavens. What will we do?

Kent: I'm afraid there's only one thing to do… Look! [knocks Hadley out.]

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Hadley: But, Mr. Kent, I still haven't got this straight. Do you mean to say I blacked out, yet still managed to land the plane safely?

Kent: Can you think of any other explanation, Mr. Hadley?

Hadley: Well, goodness me. I had no idea I was such a fine pilot.

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Kent: Lois, I thought you were in danger. I just tried to help.

Lane: You? Why should I need you help, when I can always count on--

Kent: I know... Superman.

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Rescue [1.09]

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Lane: What's soft about tramping around in dirty old coalmines.

Kent: Lois, maybe you'll find a diamond.

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Kent: Hello, Mr. Sims. What's all the excitement about?

Sims: Gas. We just broke through the Joiner drift, found it full of gas.

Kent: That's too bad.

Sims: You seem mighty unconcerned, Mr. Kent.

Kent: Should I be concerned?

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Lane: Superman finally took me out.

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The Secret of Superman [1.10]

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White: What is this, the Explorer's Club? A man could starve to death here waiting for a sandwich and coffee.

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Kent: Well, Chief, a lot of people think Superman works for The Planet. You're the editor… Say, maybe they're smarter than we think. Maybe you're Superman!

White: Me, in that outfit? Now look here, Kent…

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Olsen: Hey, come here.

Jimmy's tail: I can't talk to you, kid. I'm not allowed.

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Dr. Ort: I dislike dead bodies around the house. They're so untidy.

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Dr. Ort: But Clark Kent is always there.

Lane: Clark is never there. He arrives when Superman is gone.

Dr. Ort: He is always there, but they are never seen together.

Lane: No. Never.

Dr. Ort: Of course not. They couldn't be because Clark Kent is Superman.

Lane: Clark, Superman. Yes, he must be.

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No Holds Barred [1.11]

Lane: No matter how right anyone is, there comes a time when he's got to be wrong. It's only human nature.

White: Sometimes I wonder if Kent is human.

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The Human Bomb [1.21]

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Superman: No comment until your time limit is up.

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The Unknown People (1) [1.25]

"Whoever fired that shot came close to killing Miss Lane. Obviously none of you can be trusted with guns, so I'm going to take them away from you".

[from http://www.jimnolt.com/burgioprofile.htm]

Superman: It's men like you that make it hard for people to understand each other. You knew nothing would come of this but trouble.

Season 2

Five Minutes to Doom [2.01]

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Olsen: Chief, I'll go with Ms. Lane. I won't let anything happen to you.

White: And don't call me Chief!

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Jimmy Olsen, Boy Editor [2.22]

White: Is your name Kent?

Olsen: No sir, my name's Jimmy Olsen, chief.

White: Don't call me "chief"!

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Season 5

Peril in Paris [5.01]

Olsen: I think I'll send my mother a postcard, "having a wonderful time, wish I was there".

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Tin Hero [5.02]

Olsen: Have you got any ideas, chief?

White: You're suppose to get the ideas and don't call me "chief"!

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Olsen: Ladies and gentlemen, fellow reporters you all know what a great instinct I have for news.

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White: I know people say you're crazy when you talk to yourself, but by Great Caesar's Ghost, there's no one else around here sane enough to talk to.

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The Town That Wasn't [5.04]

Truck Driver: You can't just lock people up and hold them indefinitely.

Crook: Yeah, well we're doing it aren't we?

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The Tomb of Zaharan [5.05]

Abdu Ben Bey: And over there's the mosque of Muhammad Ali.

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External links

• The Adventures of Superman quotes at the Internet Movie Database