Superman on Television

Adventures of Superman: Episode Reviews

Season 1 - Episode 7: "The Birthday Letter"

Original Broadcast Date: October 31, 1952

Writer: Dennis Cooper

Director: Lee Sholem

Guest Cast:
Isa Ashdown as Kathy Williams
John Doucette as Slugger
Maurice Marsac as Marcel Duval
Nan Boardman as Marie Duval
Virginia Carroll as Mrs. Williams
Jack Daly as Mister Perkins
Louis Mercier as LaRue
Paul Marion as Herman Cusak
Stephen Carr as the Pointing Man in the Crowd Watching Kathy

"The Birthday Letter"

Kathy Williams of 22 Hill Street, Apartment 3 in Metropolis lives alone with her mother, who works everyday. The girl has sent a letter for Superman to the Daily Planet. Her seventh birthday will be tomorrow, and she wishes for the Man of Steel to take her to the county fair so she can ride the roller coaster ad merry go-round. She is unable to go on the rides by herself because she cannot walk without the assistance of crutches and a leg brace on her right leg. Editor Perry White thinks the Planet should take her to the fair. Lois Lane, on the other hand, knows it will mean more to Kathy if Superman accompanied her. Seeing Lois' point of view, Perry intends to give the child a huge party. Tomorrow will most certainly be a big day for Kathy.

The telephone rings in the apartment occupied by Kathy and her mother. Kathy, who is by herself, answers. Gangster Herman Cusak, calling from a tobacco store phone booth, says something about a meeting taking place Saturday night at 10:00 PM at the Lambert Engraving Company. His voice is labored as he has been pursued by other men. Cusak is shot to death as he speaks to Kathy. The body falls in front of the shopkeeper along with a piece of paper with "Avandale 3741" written on it. Thinking she has gotten a wrong number, Kathy hangs up. This action may, however, prove to be fatal for the little girl.

News of Cusak's death is all over town and French smugglers Marcel and Marie Duval have gotten the mobster's paper from the tobacconist Mister Perkins. Cusak was to call the Duvals, whose number is Avandale 3471, with the information that he had given Kathy. Wondering to whom Cusak gave the message, Marcel traces the address through the telephone company. According to Marcel and Marie's slow-witted henchman Slugger, an article in the Daily Planet says that that is where Kathy Williams lives. Knowing that Kathy wants Superman to take her to the county fair, Marcel intends to give her the Man of Tomorrow in the form of Slugger in a Superman costume. It looks like danger will come to visit Kathy on her birthday.

Clark Kent has just returned from Chicago. He is now in Lois' office reassuring her that Superman has never let her down. However, when he arrives at the Williams' home as Superman, he learns something distressing. Kathy's mother is agitated and wondering where her daughter is. A note from the girl says that Superman took her to the fair, but the Man of Steel had just arrived. The child is clearly missing.

Slugger, in a makeshift Superman costume, has brought Kathy to Marcel and Marie. The girl doesn't realize at the moment that they are criminals, but she wishes to go home. Marie promises that Slugger will return Kathy to her mother if she gives her Cusak's message. The child remembers everything in it except for the location. The Duvals may be unable to make their latest crime succeed.

Over twenty-four hours have passed since Kathy Williams was taken from her home. Rival newspaper the Daily Blade has articles accusing Superman of the crime. The Planet, on the other hand, is offering money to anyone with information about the child's disappearance. Lois Lane is angered by the Blade's mud slinging stories. Clark Kent is trying to calm her down when Mister Perkins the tobacconist enters the office. He won't tell the police what he knows because he wants the Planet's reward. Perkins found a paper on the cigar shop's floor with a telephone number written on it. He had told a man and woman about it, and they took it when Perkins wasn't looking. He describes the man as ordinary with a small mustache and the woman as plain. They had French accents, and the woman called the man Marcel. These facts can possibly help clear Superman's name.

Mister Perkins is waiting in Clark's office while the mild mannered reporter makes a call to FBI Agent Craig Roberts. In the meantime, Lois is heading for the Williams' apartment to tell Kathy's mother the latest news. Simultaneously, Marcel grows impatient with Kathy. Marie is asking for the location of the mysterious meeting. Kathy, still unable to remember, refuses to answer. She wants to go home to her mother. At that moment, Slugger enters with a bunch of toys. One of which is a doll that says "Mama". This makes Kathy miss her own doll. Marie then gets a dangerous idea. She and Marcel will go the Williams' home to get the doll. If that doesn't work, the pair of criminals might be forced to use drastic methods on the child.

Lois has entered the Williams' apartment. However, she has not found Kathy's mother. Marcel and Marie are in front of her with Kathy's doll in hand. Lois leaves in a hurry, but she soon follows the pair of villains. Meanwhile, Craig Roberts has sent Clark Kent some photographs of French counterfeiters Marie and Marcel Duval. Mister Perkins describes them as the couple that came into his tobacco shop asking about Herman Cusak. As a result, Perkins will get the Daily Planet's reward. Now, it's only a matter of time before Superman finds Kathy if he's not too late.

Clark is now in Perry White's office explaining this new mystery to the editor. The Duvals had hired a man named LaRue to steal one thousand French Franc plates from the Bank of France. LaRue had double crossed the pair, and it is now believed that he intends to sell what he has stolen to Big Jim Hanland, a notorious mob boss in Metropolis. Herman Cusak had been working for the Duvals when he learned of LaRue's meeting with Hanland. In trying to call the Duvals, he had written down and dialed Kathy Williams' number by mistake. Cusak was then shot to death by Big Jim's men. Now, the Duvals have poor Kathy. If Superman doesn't find her in time, it could mean the end of the poor child.

Lois has just entered Perry's office. She had followed a taxi from the United Cab Company in which the Duvals were passengers. Unfortunately, she lost the pair of counterfeiters at a traffic light, and the United driver that can give Lois, Clark and Perry the Duvals' address has not reported to the dispatcher's office yet. At the same time, Slugger has been entertaining Kathy. The two have become friends during this period. The girl has also convinced Slugger to take her home. However, Marcel stops his henchman before he can escape with Kathy. Slugger has been tied up to keep him from doing anything further against Marcel and Marie. The impatient Marcel, with only a half hour left, asks again for the meeting place in Cusak's message. She remembers Lambert, of which Marcel recalls the engraving company in Watsonville. It looks like the Duvals can get revenge on the traitorous LaRue.

To make certain that Kathy doesn't escape, Marcel removes her leg brace and places it on the mantle of the fireplace before leaving for the Lambert Engraving Company. In Perry White's office, Clark Kent hears from the taxi driver that had driven the Duvals home. They were dropped off at the Rosewood Apartments on Bleeker Street. Lois, Clark and Metropolis Police Inspector Bill Henderson go there to help Kathy. Slugger will have to be arrested for being a part of the Duvals' gang, but his aiding Kathy will make his prison sentence a light one. All that's left to do is find the Duvals. Kathy's recollection of the Lambert Engraving Company assists Clark and the others, but there's only ten minutes to go until the meeting with LaRue happens. This truly is a job for Superman.

As Superman heads in their direction, the Duvals arrive at the Lambert Electro Engraving Company, where they find LaRue inside. There is an intense shootout between LaRue and Marcel. Superman lands in the middle of the battle and deals with the two counterfeiters while Inspector Henderson's men apprehend Marie Duval and Big Jim Hanland. With the criminals caught and the gun battle over, the only thing that must be done is to return the plates to the Bank of France. However, Marie throws them into a vat of acid before anyone else can get to them. This is no problem for Superman. His impervious hands enter the deadly liquid to recover the stolen objects. He wipes them clean with a towel so Inspector Henderson can handle them safely. The Bank of France will have their Franc plates once again thanks to the Man of Steel.

Kathy Williams has returned home safely. She is reading a Superman comic book when the genuine article lands in her living room. Superman has come in answer to her letter. He intends to take her to the county fair, where she can ride every ride she wants. The Caped Wonder flies with Kathy in his arms leaving all of Metropolis to watch the wondrous sight.

Rating - 4 (out of 5): Isa Ashdown, while appearing in television shows of the 1950s, is perhaps best known for her work in radio. She's been in fourteen different programs from 1951 to 1960. The list includes fourteen episodes of The Lux Radio Theater.

Virginia Carroll, who played Kathy's mother, is no stranger to maternal figures in productions featuring the Man of Steel. She was Ma Kent in the 1948 movie serial Superman.

John Doucette would later be in two more episodes of The Adventures of Superman. However, fans of the series Get Smart will recognize him as Colonel Von Klaus. His vocal range allowed him to have an extensive filmography. Doucette was also said to be the fastest draw in Hollywood with a six-gun.

Like Doucette, Maurice Marsac was a character actor with an extremely long list of film and television appearances in his credits. In addition to season four's "The Girl Who Hired Superman", Marsac has acted in episodes of Soap, Kolchak: The Night Stalker and Wonder Woman.

The Daily Blade is a rival newspaper that was taken from the Superman radio show. It was particularly infamous for its yellow journalism during many of the anti-bigotry serials. As far as I know, the Blade was never mentioned again in The Adventures of Superman television show.

There are two instances in which Superman comic books are shown in this episode. One, the scene in which Kathy meets the real Superman, is obvious. The other, however, could be missed unless one looks closely. As the character of Herman Cusak falls after being shot, there is a glimpse of a newsstand near the telephone booth. There is a line full of Superman comic books inside it.

While we're on the subject of searching for things, did you notice the stock footage featuring Stephen Carr in the episode's ending? It's taking directly from the classic introduction of The Adventures of Superman at the point in which the words, "Look, up in the sky!" are said.

"The Birthday Letter" marks the first time in The Adventures of Superman series in which we see close up shots of Superman flying with an actual person. Previous episodes had shown George Reeves carrying a dummy. This is particular noticeable in "Superman On Earth" when the Man of Tomorrow must prevent Dabs Greer's character from falling.

"The Birthday Letter", much like "The Monkey Mystery", mixes film noir elements with light-hearted moments. We also see a side of Superman beyond the classic "beating up the bad guys and sending them to jail" scenario. He's using his abilities to help Kathy's wish come true. This is one of many stories that proves that it's not his superhuman powers that make Kal-El Superman, it's his heart.

Some of you may wonder what my criteria is for my ratings for each episode of The Adventures of Superman. Well, here are the questions I ask myself, Superfans.

1. Is the script written well?
2. Is the story an engaging one for me?
3. Did the cast and crew perform well?

The answer to all three questions is yes. However, it's difficult to take Isa Ashdown seriously toward the end of the part in which she is talking on the telephone to the gangster. I understand she's supposed to believe he dialed the wrong number, (which he technically did) but the girl's delivery of her dialogue makes one believe she doesn't even care. It feels like she wants to be somewhere else. Ashdown does eventually make up for this as the episode progresses. Who knows? Maybe she was nervous about her opening scene.

Whatever the case may be, Ashdown's bumpy beginning does not hinder the rest of the cast's performances or the overall quality of the story. Everyone involved in "The Birthday Letter" did splendid work, and it's very well written. George Reeves, in particular, is spectacular in this episode. His scenes with Isa Ashdown are simply magical. His acting as both Clark Kent and the Man of Steel is superb. The viewer actually forgets that he's not really a superhero. No wonder so many fans are captivated by his version of Superman.

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