Superman on Television

Adventures of Superman: Episode Reviews

Season 1 - Episode 17: "The Runaway Robot"

Original Broadcast Date: January 09, 1953

Writer: Dick Hamilton

Director: Tommy Carr

Guest Cast:
Lucien Littlefield as Horatio Hinkle
Dan Seymour as Rocko
John Harmon as Mousey
Russell Johnson as Chopper
Robert Easton as Marvin
Herman Cantor as the Police Officer

"The Runaway Robot"

A jewelry store in Metropolis is being robbed. The owner has been bound and gagged by the culprits Rocko and Mousey. The pair of thieves is not stopped by Superman, but a large robot called Hero created by Horatio Hinkle, eccentric inventor, detective and Daily Planet correspondent for the rural town of Screen Run, Ohio. The bandits run away without their pilfered items when they see that the machine is bulletproof. Hinkle is trying to deactivate the automaton before it can step on the shopkeeper's head. Horatio is then relieved by the arrival of the police until he is arrested for committing the robbery.

In spite of Hero's prevention of the jewel theft, sixty thousand dollars worth of diamonds are still missing, and Horatio is being blamed for the crime. Reporters Clark Kent, Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen have bailed the bumbling inventor out of prison. However, Hinkle must be released into Clark's custody. To make matters worse for Horatio, Hero was stolen from the police garage. Now, as Jimmy goes with Horatio to Clark's apartment. Lois and Clark search for the robot before it can cause more trouble in the city.

Chopper, the gangster who sent Rocko and Mousey to rob the jewelry store, is angry with the two men. They have given him Hero instead of gold and diamonds. Rocko and Mousey thought the robot could commit their crimes for them, but only Horatio knows how to operate it. Chopper then learns from an informant that Hinkle was bailed out of jail by Clark and the others. His man continues to tell Chopper that Hinkle is in Clark's apartment. The telephone rings there as Horatio explains how Hero works to Jimmy. Chopper wants the eccentric reporter to meet him on the corner of Eighth and Main Streets to make a deal. Knowing he cannot trick Jimmy into leaving him alone, Hinkle uses a special knockout gas pill that block's the cub reporter's memory. It looks like Screen Run, Ohio's favorite detective is going to get in over his head this time.

The staff of the Daily Planet is in a frenzy looking for Horatio and his robot, and Metropolis Police Inspector Bill Henderson thinks that the absent-minded Hinkle stole the missing diamonds. As Clark accompanies Henderson to police headquarters to speak to the jeweler, Lois waits for news from Horatio in Clark's apartment. Meanwhile, Chopper wants Horatio to operate Hero's controls in order for the machine to steal money from the Metropolis Trust Company by turning Hero's acetylene flame into an oxyacetylene torch to cut through the vault door. Horatio refuses. As a result, he is Chopper's prisoner while the gangster looks for some oxygen. Hinkle is really in a fine mess now.

With a radio that was hidden inside Hero, Horatio has contacted his assistant Marvin in Screen Run. Marvin is to contact Clark Kent to tell him where the plucky inventor is, but Rocko has come into the room before the message can be finished. Rocko is now taking Hero away. However, Marvin is still able to make the telephone call. Lois answers and goes to find Hinkle, not realizing that she is about to walk into the jaws of danger.

To insure Horatio's cooperation, Chopper's gang has captured Lois. As Superman searches Metropolis for Hinkle and Lois, the Screen Run correspondent is making Hero steal money from the Metropolis Trust Company. Chopper, Mousey and Rocko leave the room for a drink. This is the perfect moment for Hinkle to have Hero pull the fire alarms in the neighborhood. Word of Hero's act reaches Clark Kent and Jimmy Olsen. Jimmy leaves to check things out, giving Kent time to become Superman. The Man of Steel will soon find himself face to face with adventure.

Mousey has learned how to work Hero's controls. Now, the robot is attacking Lois and Horatio. Suddenly, Superman bursts into the scene. He dismantles the attacking Hero and deals with Chopper's gang. Hinkle, who was knocked out by Hero, awakens in Clark Kent's apartment with Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen watching over him. Clark Kent is about to tell Lois that she shouldn't have put herself in danger when Inspector Henderson enters. He wants to know where the stolen diamonds are. Clark finds them in the wreckage of Hero that Superman had left behind when he brought Lois and Horatio to Kent's home. Henderson looks for more precious stones in the metal debris, only to receive a shot of flame from Hero's nose in his business end.

Rating - 4 (out of 5): "Just sit right back, and you'll hear a tale - a tale of a fateful trip."

If you heard that song in your head while watching "The Runaway Robot", you recognized Russell Johnson, who is best known for the role of Professor Roy Hinkley on Gilligan's Island. Johnson also appeared in two episodes of The Twilight Zone, including the classic "Back There", in which he unsuccessfully tried to prevent the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln.

John Harmon was a character actor who had opened a used book store in his later years. He collected first editions of Mark Twain's work. Look for him as the homeless man Doctor McCoy encounters in the Star Trek episode "The City on the Edge of Forever".

Though he's mainly a dialogue and dialect coach, Robert Easton has played a vast array of parts throughout his career in show business. He's appeared in both the original Beverly Hillbillies television series and its 1993 movie version as well as portraying the Klingon judge in Captain Kirk's trial in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. Fans of Mystery Science Theater 3000 will know Eastman as Dan Kester in season eight's The Giant Spider Invasion and Mister Keitel from season nine's The Touch of Satan. On a side note, The Giant Spider Invasion also starred Alan Hale Junior, Captain Jonas 'The Skipper' Grumby in Gilligan's Island.

Horatio Hinkle is actually based on the character Horatio Hook, who first appeared in the Superman newspaper strip by Siegel and Shuster. He was later made into Horatio "F For French" Horn in The Adventures of Superman radio program. The serial "Horatio F. Horn: Detective" marked his debut outside of the comics. According to Michael J Hayde's book Flights of Fantasy, (which I purchased recently) the working title for this episode was "By Hook or Crook" because Horatio's last name was Hook in the original script. The eccentric, lovable Daily Planet correspondent from Screen Run, Ohio (I mistakenly wrote Green Run in my review of the radio serial) is played masterfully by Lucien Littlefield. Littlefield's features are exactly how I pictured Horatio in my mind when I first heard "Horn". His performance and voice were also perfect for the bumbling Horatio.

"The Runaway Robot" was a wonderfully comedic change of pace from the usual dark episodes of this season. However, I get the feeling I'm missing something. I've watched and re-watched this episode. Yet, I cannot figure one thing out. How did the diamonds get into Hero in the first place? Were they in the gangsters' possession all along and planted on the robot, or did the machine accidentally take them? There is no explanation. Again, maybe I overlooked something important while viewing this one.

Did you notice that Horatio saw Hero doing everything even though he should have seen what the robot sees because of the cameras in the eyes? Basically, Hinkle's view should have been like one of those first person video games like Quake or Aliens Versus Predator. The only way Horatio could monitor Hero in the way he did in this episode is if cameras were placed all over Metropolis. Otherwise, the third person vision does not make any sense.

In spite of the plot holes in the story and visuals, "The Runaway Robot" is a lighthearted romp that gives the audience a break from the heavy stories in previous episodes. Be sure to watch this one if you want to have a simile put on your face. Lucien Littlefield's performance will especially do this for you as he steals the show from the main cast. He made the entire half hour a shear delight.

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