Superman on Television

Adventures of Superman: Episode Reviews

Season 1 - Episode 10: "The Secret of Superman"

Original Broadcast Date: November 17, 1952

Writer: Wells Root

Director: Tommy Carr

Guest Cast:
Peter Brocco as Doctor H.L. Ort
Larry J. Blake as Rausch, the Henchman
Helen Wallace as Mrs. Olsen, Jimmy's Mother
Joel Friedkin as Herman, the Waiter
Stephen Carr as The Cook
Margia Dean as The Agency Woman
Al Hill as Sam
Walter McGrail as a Newsman
Joey Ray as a Newsman
Frank J. Scannell as The Sergeant
Sid Tomack as The Undercover Police Detective

"The Secret of Superman"

It is after 1:00 AM in Metropolis. Clark Kent has received a telephone call that has awakened him. Jimmy Olsen's mother is very worried as Jimmy has not come home. He had contacted his mother at 5:00 PM and normally stops off at Jerry's Diner, but, according to Mrs. Olsen, it's closed at this hour. Clark reassures her that Jimmy's probably found a scoop for the Daily Planet on the way home. Clark calls the office of editor Perry White. However, he is suddenly disconnected when someone hangs up. Now, Clark is also preoccupied, and he has a right to be. He's found Jimmy in a trance-like state. The last thing the cub reporter remembers when Clark snaps him out of it is sitting next to a person in Jerry's Diner. Someone had brought Jimmy back to the Daily Planet and had forced open the chief's locked filing cabinet. Worse yet, the folder containing information on Superman is missing. Someone sinister clearly wants to learn the secrets of the Man of Steel.

Perry White is staying in Room 322 of the Metropolis News Club. A waiter named Herman is about to bring him a sandwich and coffee when two men attack him and steal the tray. One of them, Doctor H.L. Ort, is now in White's room serving the editor and placing something in his hot beverage. It puts White under the man's control, which allows Doctor Ort to ask about the Superman file. He wants to know who the Last Son of Krypton really is. Perry doesn't know the answer. Plus, the injured Herman has entered suddenly followed by two newsmen. In the confusion, Ort escapes, learning nothing new that he can use against Superman.

Clark Kent has been able to get Perry out of the influence of Doctor Ort's drug. Both he and Police Inspector Bill Henderson have been questioning the editor about the night's events. Unfortunately, Perry remembers nothing after the false waiter had given him his coffee. Analysis of the drink shows that Sodium Ametol, a truth serum that also rids a person of his or her free will, was placed in the drink. Clearly, someone is looking for information on Superman through the Daily Planet staff. Henderson wants everyone at the newspaper that has had contact with the Last Son of Krypton under constant police protection. Clark respectfully declines because he has a plan that will help bring these nefarious characters out into the open. Now, it will be Superman's turn to learn more about Doctor H.L. Ort.

As part of his plot to bring Doctor Ort out into the open, Clark has been fired from the Daily Planet. Ort's henchman Rausch observes Kent as he asks Sam, a lunch wagon owner, for something to eat. Clark owes Sam two dollars for food that was given to him these past days. Rausch pays for everything Clark has eaten and offers him a job. At the same time, the gangster slips some Sodium Ametol in Kent's coffee. Jimmy Olsen and the policeman following the cub reporter witness this from an alley not far away. To prevent Clark from being drugged, the detective and Jimmy attack Rausch. Inspector Henderson's man takes a bullet in the leg before he shoots Rausch in the back. Clark takes Rausch to Doctor Ort's residence at 26 Mason Street to help the criminal. In spite of Jimmy's interference, it looks like Clark will meet the mastermind who wishes to discover the secrets of Superman.

As Jimmy follows Clark and calls Lois Lane for assistance, Doctor Ort is trying to remove the bullet from Rausch's spine. He is unsuccessful. Rausch is dead. However, the henchman succeeded in doing his job - bringing Clark Kent to Doctor Ort. He offers Kent a job while spiking a ginger ale with Sodium Ametol. Clark drinks it and has a blank, dazed look on his face soon afterwards. Clark is ordered to get rid of Rausch's body. While doing this for the evil doctor, he is to think of everything he knows about Superman. It looks like Doctor H.L. Ort is another step closer to getting the Man of Tomorrow's secrets.

Lois has entered Doctor Ort's home in search of Clark Kent. Ort tries pleasantries to disguise his true motives, but Lois doesn't believe him. He tells her the truth after slipping some Sodium Ametol into her coffee while she examines a blood stain on the floor. Lois is currently under the influence of Ort's drug. Through his interrogation of Miss Lane, Ort is able to deduce the world's greatest secret. Clark Kent and Superman have never been seen together, thereby leaving Ort with only one conclusion. The mild mannered reporter and the Man of Steel are one and the same. Now, both Ort and dazed Lois know of Kent's double life.

Try as she might, Lois is unable to resist Doctor Ort's mind drug. She has been ordered to bring Jimmy, who has called Inspector Henderson, into the house. Henderson tells Clark, who has been recounting his experience with Ort and Rausch, that Jimmy hung up before saying anything. Believing that there's trouble, Clark rushes back to Ort's home as Superman. He stops the mad doctor from killing Lois and Jimmy. Ort gets away as Jimmy passes out.

"Clark. You're Clark Kent," Lois says to Superman in a Sodium Ametol stupor.

"Stay with him," orders the shocked Caped Wonder while indicating Jimmy.

Doctor Ort was shot and killed in a gun battle with the police outside of his home. Clark Kent has been able to revive Lois from the mind drug Ort had given her. She remembers nothing that occurred after she was given the Sodium Ametol laced coffee. Superman's secret identity is once again safe, and Clark breathes a sigh of relief.

Rating - 4.5 (out of 5): In addition to another two episodes of The Adventures of Superman, Peter Brocco has a very large filmography that includes The Twilight Zone (the original series and the movie), Throw Momma from the Train, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, I Dream of Jeannie and Boris Karloff's Thriller. Fans of Star Trek: The Original Series will recognize him as the Organian Councilman Claymare from the episode "Errand of Mercy".

Larry J. Blake has primarily played cowboys and policemen. He portrayed the latter in Earth Versus the Flying Saucers and The Shaggy Dog. He also played Freddie in "The Trouble With Templeton" in The Twilight Zone. Look for Blake to return to The Adventures of Superman in season two's "Jet Ace".

My wife pointed out when I was watching "Night of Terror" that there are moments in The Adventures of Superman that are quite violent for a "children's show". This is something I never really thought about too much when I first watched the series. I was a teenager growing up in Ohio at the time and had already seen films like Re-Animator. However, in reviewing these episodes, I noticed that there is a dark, noirish aspect to the first two years of the series. I think I've mentioned it in other reviews, but this is something taken from the radio programs. The 1940-1942 episodes often would feature such grim subject matters as suicide. This was perhaps to get adults interested in the show. They can have quality time with the kids while being entertained, and maybe they can find some common ground.

Now, children of the 1950s probably watched The Adventures of Superman for its title character. This is only conjecture on my part, but considering Gary Grossman's commentary about growing up with the series, I'll go out on a limb and say it's most likely true. Still, calling The Adventures of Superman a "children's program" is grossly inaccurate. "Family show" might be a better term for it as there's something for everyone of all ages.

"The Secret of Superman" happens to be one of my favorite episodes in season one. I gave it a four and a half for one reason. Doctor Ort's motives for wanting to learn Superman's secrets is not fully explained. He says that he has a job for Superman. If that were true, he could just simply have placed an ad or written a letter to the Daily Planet. Ort clearly has other intentions for the Man of Steel. Was he working alone? Why did he want to learn about Superman? What would he do with all the information he has? The lack of clarity on this particular issue leaves the audience with a lot of unanswered questions. Besides that, we are given a superbly acted, well written story that leaves the viewer wanting more of The Adventures of Superman.

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