Superman on Television

Adventures of Superman: Episode Reviews

Season 2 - Episode 5: "Shot in the Dark"

Original Broadcast Date: October 12, 1953

Writer: David Chantler

Director: George Blair

Guest Cast:
Vera Marshe as Harriet Harper
Billy Gray as Alan Harper
John Eldredge as Burt Burnside
Frank Richards as Slugger
Alan Lee as Bill

"Shot in the Dark"

It is a typical day in Metropolis. Superman has saved some people from a burning building, and Daily Planet editor Perry White is angry with reporter Clark Kent for not getting the story before the rival newspapers in the city had written about it. Shortly afterwards, a rather scatterbrained woman named Harriet Harper enters Perry's office looking for Clark. In retaliation for no article, the chief sends the lady to Kent's office. In the presence of cub reporter Jimmy Olsen, Harper says something that makes Clark stop in his tracks.

"Oh, I'm in great trouble. You must help me, Superman."

Clark is trying to convince both Miss Harper and Jimmy that he is not Superman. Unfortunately, Miss Harper shows them a photograph that seems to prove otherwise. Her nephew Alan took a picture of Superman changing into Clark Kent. Jimmy and Clark have just gone with Miss Harper to the apartment she shares with Alan to discuss the boy's discovery. They find that the lad's dark room is a mess, but Kent's focus is on the image that could expose his double life. Alan had only seen a figure in an alley behind the Daily Planet Building and had taken a couple of shots with an infrared bulb so nobody could see the flash. Clark explains that he had gotten superimposed onto the print of Superman because Alan had forgotten to wind the film. It was a double exposure.

Clark Kent's secret identity is safe thanks to his heat vision burning Alan's supplies. However, the lad and his aunt are possibly still in trouble. Alan had taken a picture of a man holding some tulips near the wall of a theater. He had followed the boy home and asked to buy the photograph. Alan wouldn't sell it because he wanted to enter it in a state photography contest. Now, his dark room has been ransacked, but the image wasn't stolen. Alan had hidden it in a wastebasket. Unfortunately, the man has stolen all of Alan's negatives, including the one of Superman. This is why Alan and Harriet Harper needed the Man of Tomorrow. Without his help, they could be in grave danger.

Alan has agreed to let Clark have the photo of the mysterious Tulip Man. Clark wants to know who he is in order to discover if the thief knows Superman's secret identity. He is clearly distraught when he and Jimmy meet up with Lois Lane. Kent is now in his office when the Tulip Man enters with a gun. The picture Alan had taken of him was not in the middle of the negatives, and he intends to take it from Kent by force. Suddenly, Jimmy grabs the print and begins to run. The Tulip Man follows Jimmy, and Clark pursues them both. Jimmy has taken the Valley Express subway train before the Tulip Man and Clark could catch up to him. Desperate, the villain telephones his associate Slugger. He and another man named Bill intend to wreck the underground locomotive to protect their boss before it reaches its next stop in thirty minutes. To make matters worse, Lois has found Clark, making it impossible for him to rescue Jimmy as Superman.

Lois insists on tagging along with Clark. Meanwhile, Slugger and Bill have knocked out the driver of the Valley Local and putting it on a collision course with the Valley Express. Clark, looking for a way to get rid of Lois, uses his heat vision on the wires of a city burglar alarm. The bell rings. Now, Lois can leave to investigate, and Superman can finally go to work. The Metropolis Marvel flies to the tunnels to disrupt power to the tracks, thereby halting the Valley Local. Jimmy and all the passengers are safe, but the unknown criminal in search of his photograph is still at large.

Lois has scooped Clark on the subway trains Superman had saved, and Jimmy wonders what is really going on with Clark and the picture. Clark assures the cub reporter that he should think about that now. They have go see Metropolis Police Inspector Bill Henderson. He tells them that the man Alan photographed is Burt "The Tulip" Burnside, a confidence man who specialize in insurance scams. The only problem is that Burnside was killed in a hit and run accident five years ago. He had made out a fifty thousand dollar policy, and Slugger and Bill had collected double indemnity. Alan Harper's image of Burnside has proof that it was taken recently - a poster for a play that opened two weeks ago. Now, Henderson has given Clark twelve hours to find the Tulip before a citywide manhunt begins. Superman may have his work cut out for him this time.

Clark has added a paragraph to Lois' story on the subway collision that Superman had prevented. It has led Burnside and his men to believe that Jimmy mailed the Tulip's picture to contest judges. Bill and Slugger have since shot the postman and hijacked his truck. In Burnside's hideout, they discover that the sacks only contained crumpled pages of Daily Planet newspapers. This was an elaborate trap set by Superman, who was disguised as the driver. Slugger and Bill have run right into the path of Inspector Henderson's men while the Man of Steel is confronting Burt Burnside. However, the confidence man is prepared. Should Superman refuse to get him safely away from the arriving police, the Tulip will reveal that the Last Son of Krypton is Clark Kent.

Inside a locked safe, there was the picture of Superman changing into to Clark Kent. Now, thanks to heat vision, it is nothing but ashes. The Man of Steel has also refused to give into Burnside's threats. He has flown away before Jimmy Olsen arrives with Inspector Henderson and his men. Shortly afterwards, Clark Kent joins the group. Desperate, Burnside intends to prove that Clark and Superman are the same person before he is sent to prison for fraud and murder. Kent steps back while Burnside grabs a gun he had hidden. The weapon fires, but the bullet doesn't hurt Clark. The mild mannered reporter explains that a lucky silver dollar inside his jacket pocket had stopped the projectile. As Burt "The Tulip" Burnside is arrested, Henderson, Jimmy and the police officers all laugh at the notion that Kent is Superman. Clark doesn't find it amusing.

"Aw, don't worry, Mister Kent," Jimmy says. "We think you're all right just like you are."

"Thanks, Jimmy," Clark replies with a smile to the audience.

Rating - 5 (out of 5): Vera Marshe has been in numerous films and television shows. Her most famous role is perhaps Mrs. Mary Franklin in the TV version of Meet Corliss Archer. This episode was her only appearance in The Adventures of Superman.

Billy Gray was James 'Bud' Anderson Junior in Father Knows Best. He also had roles in the classic films Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff and The Day the Earth Stood Still. Unfortunately, Gray never would be in another episode of The Adventures of Superman after this one.

John Eldredge returns in "Shot in the Dark" He'll be back in "The Girl Who Hired Superman" and "Superman's Wife".

Frank Richards entered The Twilight Zone to encounter "Mister Dingle, The Strong". He was also in season one's "Night of Terror", and he'll meet up with "Tin Hero" for season five.

Look through the Rear Window. You'll find that Alan Lee was the newlyweds' landlord in that classic Hitchcock film.

In addition to two scenes in which the springboard is visible when Superman leaps into flight, the handkerchief in Clark Kent's pocket disappears and re-appears when he and Jimmy are speaking to Inspector Henderson in his office.

You don't see red beams coming from his eyes, but Superman uses his heat vision quite a bit in "Shot in the Dark". I personally found it interesting how it was done for The Adventures of Superman. I could be wrong, but I believe this is the first time the series has shown that power. Let's hope it appears more often.

This was a slight change of pace from last week's "Jet Ace". There are elements of tension throughout both episodes, but "Shot in the Dark" mixes them brilliantly with delightfully comedic moments. The humor is especially provided by Vera Marshe, who pretty much steals the first act of the show from the main cast. She is laugh-out-loud funny.

There was something different about Jimmy in "Shot in the Dark". He seems more tenacious, and this is a great evolution in his character. Jack Larson does great showing the various sides of Jimmy. I hope he continues to give us every aspect of young Mister Olsen throughout the remainder of The Adventures of Superman television series.

John Eldredge is no stranger to playing the heavy in The Adventures of Superman. He was the Number One Man in the previous season's "Crime Wave". Now, Number One Man was more sinister and wanted to control all the crime in Metropolis, whereas Burt "The Tulip" Burnside was merely a confidence man out for a quick buck. Both Burnside and the Number One Man had the world's greatest secret - Superman's other identity. However, only Burnside seemed intelligent enough to use it to his advantage. He didn't believe the double exposure excuse given to both him and Alan by Clark Kent and Superman, and he wished to profit on this information. Burnside may be a bit more second rate compared to the Number One Man, but he, thanks to a worthy performance from John Eldredge, is equally as deadly.

"Shot in the Dark" was an overall entertaining effort that has made season two so much fun to watch so far. It's an incredibly written episode that combines suspense and humor perfectly into a great action story. My only small complaint is that more had not been done with Alan Harper's character. He had potential. Then again, maybe he was only meant to be a small part to give background information about various plot threads. Still, this entry was incredible and worthy of being one the best efforts in The Adventures of Superman.

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