Superman on Television

Adventures of Superman: Episode Reviews

Season 3 - Episode 12: "The Seven Souvenirs"

Original Broadcast Date: October 08, 1955

Writer: Jackson Gillis

Director: George Blair

Guest Cast:
Steve Calvert as Louie
Louise Lewis as The Customer
Arthur Space as Mister Jasper
Phil Tead as Mister Willy
Rick Vallin as Scarface

"The Seven Souvenirs"

Superman stops a pair of criminals. Their hands are bound together in a crowbar he has bent. The crooks have been freed from it and handed over to Metropolis Police Inspector Bill Henderson. Daily Planet cub reporter Jimmy Olsen, who was at headquarters with Henderson when a call about the gangsters came, is wondering what has happened to the metal Superman used to tie up the bad guys. Olsen feels it would make a great souvenir. Unfortunately, somebody else had the same idea. Young Mister Olsen will have to look elsewhere for any memento of Superman's exploits.

In his antique and curio shop, Mister Willy is putting the price of twenty-five dollars on the crowbar that he had taken from the crime scene. Jimmy sees it in the window and decides to talk to the proprietor about it. The cub reporter discovers that Mister Willy has quite a few Superman souvenirs in his store. Jimmy buys a brick that apparently came from a wall smashed by the Man of Steel. Little does Jimmy realize that Mister Willy and his collectors' items will soon be caught in the middle of one of the most intense adventures that Superman has ever encountered.

Lois Lane and Clark Kent are talking in the latter's office. Kent has just handed in the story of Superman capturing the criminals who were wrapped up in the crowbar. Jimmy wanted to write the article, but he got too caught up in Mister Willy's Superman souvenirs. As he shows the brick Willy sold him, Lois reveals that she purchased a bent knife from Willy the day before. The blade was used by a spy against Superman one month ago. Clark recalls the events of that, but he's more curious about Mister Willy's curios involving the Metropolis Marvel. What he discovers as Superman could become one of the most unusual mysteries of his career.

Mister Jasper, head of Jasper Chemical Engineering, has an office in the Daily Planet Building. He was just attacked by a man with a scar on his face and has come to seek aid from Clark, Lois and Jimmy. When Jasper realizes that he has the payroll for one of his factories in his safe, the three reporters follow him to investigate. Strangely enough, the money is still there. All that is missing is a knife, one that is exactly like the object Lois bought yesterday afternoon. Mister Willy told her it was one of a kind like Jimmy's brick. Now more than ever, both Clark Kent and Superman are very interested in what items are being sold at Willy's Antiques and Curios.

A woman has just left with her purchase as Clark enters Willy's shop. He tells the curio dealer that he's interested in a knife used by a spy on Superman. Willy goes into the back room to check. It is at this point that Clark learns the truth with his X-ray vision. Willy is bending the blades with a vice. There is also a drill press that puts holes in bricks that Mister Willy claims was made by Superman's fingerprint. Willy is tricking his customers, but it doesn't explain why the scarfaced man took Mister Jasper's memento. Clark is going to have to find the answers to his questions soon. Otherwise, more people with Superman souvenirs could be in grave danger.

Clark has asked Willy about the woman who just left the shop. Like Lois, she has one of the bent knives. Superman is now searching the city for her. The lady's car was in a small accident, and the driver's side door will not open. The Man of Tomorrow rips it away to rescue her. She is in tears because a man with a scar on his face was in her back seat. He didn't take her purse. He was only interested in the souvenir blade. Scarface has struck again. It looks like this odd mystery is getting even stranger. Even the mighty Superman may not be able to solve it.

Three others with bent knives have been assaulted, and Clark has just advised Inspector Henderson that Lois has one. Unfortunately, she and Jimmy left police headquarters after bringing Mister Jasper to Henderson. According to Jasper, a messenger came to tell Lois of a fire in her apartment. Was this real or just a ploy to get her Superman souvenir? Either way, the Man of Steel will most likely have to rescue Lois and Jimmy from certain peril.

Lois and Jimmy enter her apartment only to find Scarface instead of flames. The thief forces Jimmy to tie Lois up. He tries to fight, but Scarface knocks him out before making his getaway with Lois' knife. Superman arrives too late to stop the villain. In spite of this, he helps Lois and Jimmy. Jimmy believes something like a secret formula is hidden in the souvenirs. Superman thinks there is more to this adventure. However, in order to confirm this, he will need to buy one of Mister Willy's blades. That will be a job for Clark Kent.

Clark is walking down the street with a Superman souvenir knife in his hand. Scarface "knocks him out," but he needs the aid of his sidekick Louie. They have to carry Clark to their car because he won't let go of the curio. The pair of gangsters drive until they reach the home of the person who's paying them one million dollars to steal the crooked blades. After they dump Clark out of the automobile, Scarface and Louie get their money. Meanwhile, Superman has called Inspector Henderson, who soon arrives to arrest the criminals. Louie and Scarface are now in custody, but what about the mastermind behind the knife robberies? Will Superman catch them before the next phase of their sinister plot comes to fruition?

Superman, Lois, Jimmy and Inspector Henderson have entered the house from which Louie and Scarface had exited. It is the home of Mister Jasper. Knives are found both upstairs and downstairs. Because everyone believes something is hidden in them, Superman examines the seven in Jasper's laboratory with his X-ray vision. Jasper claims that he did nothing wrong. Superman wants to believe him. However, the Man of Steel insists on having one of the metals he X-rayed as a souvenir. Clearly, there is fear in Jasper's eyes. It's only a matter of time before this mystery is solved once Superman learns the truth.

The alloys in the knives have now become pure radium worth many millions of dollars. Jasper had paid Scarface and Louie to bring them to him. He wanted Superman to scan the blades because his eyes are more powerful than any human's X-ray machine. Once his X-ray vision had bombarded the metal, the knives were transformed into the radium. It will now go to the hospitals in Metropolis. Mister Jasper will spend time in prison for obtaining the radium fraudulently. It's all in a day's work for Superman.

Superman has landed in front of Mister Willy's shop. However, this time, with the aid of his wife's baking skills, he is selling pastries. Superman souvenirs proved to be way too dangerous for him. Superman is happy for Willy's change of heart and profession. Still, the salesman's words as Superman leaves make one wonder if he has completely given up on the old business.

"Oh, that beautiful cape of his," Willy ponders aloud. "What a souvenir that would make."

Rating - 4 (out of 5): A vast majority of his filmography features Steve Calvert playing a gorilla. He did so in Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla, Bride of the Gorilla and The Bride and the Beast. He rarely wanted credit for his performances because he wished for the audience to think the apes were real.

Louise Lewis has played a vast number of parts in film and television. She is best known for the roles of Nurse Bascomb in Medical Center, Miss Branding in Blood of Dracula and Principal Ferguson in I Was a Teenage Werewolf.

Arthur Space was Doctor Wilson in season two's "Star of Fate". Fans of Panther Girl of the Kongo will recognize him as Doctor Morgan.

Phil Tead will return as Professor Pepperwinkle in five episodes throughout seasons four through six.

Rick Vallin will be back in year four's "Jimmy The Kid".

This episode is a typical Jackson Gillis story, proving that he still has given us some of the best episodes of the series. The only thing that really bothered me about "The Seven Souvenirs" was the character of Mister Jasper. Firstly, his motives for wanting to get money for the radium are never revealed. Was he in debt? Did he owe money to the mafia? Was he going to sell the stuff to foreign spies? Jasper's intentions are not clear. He should have really been fleshed out better for the filmed version of "The Seven Souvenirs".

My second problem with Jasper concerns actor Arthur Space's performance. There are times when Space is not very convincing in the role. His dialogue delivery sometimes seems sleepy or drunk or both. This leaves the audience to wonder if he's truly the right actor for the job. Unlike Ted Stanhope's Charlie King in Gillis' "The Lucky Cat", Arthur Space's Mister Jasper does not seem to fit well with what is an otherwise superb episode.

Unlike Arthur Space, Phil Tead seems to be having fun with his part. You can even see George Reeves smiling in his scenes with Tead. Tead puts some humor into what could otherwise be a very heavy story. His performance combined with a great Jackson Gillis story that uses an interesting concept of selling items used by Superman as keepsakes makes "The Seven Souvenirs" an enjoyable outing for anyone aged six to six hundred. Watch it whenever you get the chance.

Back to the main TELEVISION page.