Superman on Television

Adventures of Superman: Episode Reviews

Season 4 - Episode 4: "Peril By Sea"

Reviewed by: James Lantz

Original Broadcast Date: March 10, 1956

Writer: David Chantler

Director: Harry Gerstad

Guest Cast:
Claude Akins as Ace Miller
Ed Penny as The Guard
Julian Upton as Barney

"Peril By Sea"

Daily Planet editor Perry White has a cottage at Paradise Sound near the edge of the ocean. For the past two months, he's been staying there. Reporters Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen and Clark Kent, who has temporarily taken White's place, are making a trip to visit the chief. They are curious about how Perry has been spending his time. What Jimmy, Lois and Clark will soon discover could place them in the middle of yet another intense adventure.

Known smuggler Ace Miller and his partner Barney are in a submarine observing a cottage. It happens to be the same one occupied by Perry, and it's heavily guarded. This makes Ace curious about what is going on behind its doors. At nightfall, he and Barney will go ashore. What they learn could make them the most famous criminals in their field if Superman doesn't stop them first.

"Be accurate - the first rule of the newspaper game. If a story is accurate you can never lose by printing it."

These are words of advice from Perry White to eager cub reporter Jimmy Olsen. The young man, Lois Lane and Clark Kent have discovered that in addition to chemistry, the chief's hobby is studying and translating ancient scientific documents. One written a thousand years ago by a chemist named Achemenio tells how to extract a special type of uranium called U-183 from ordinary sea water. Perry's experiment to do so is meant to aid medical research. Once the American government discovered what White was doing, they posted guards around his cottage day and night. In spite of Jimmy being extremely proud of him, Perry wants no publicity and would give anything to be back in his office yelling and firing his employees.

"If only something would happen to end this experiment," Perry says to himself after Lois, Clark and Jimmy leave. Little does the editor-turned-scientist realize that he may get his wish in a very dangerous way.

Jimmy, thinking he will make Perry proud, writes an article on the chief's experiments. The story somehow managed to not be seen by acting editor Clark. Had he read it, it would have not been printed. Now, Jimmy must show Perry the piece in the Planet. This could be a fate worse than death for the young man. Meanwhile, Ace and Barney, who have also seen the newspaper, are plotting to steal Perry's formula. Can they succeed in getting into a cottage that is guarded night and day by land and sea? If so, can Superman stop their smuggling ring before it's too late?

Lois and Jimmy are driving to Perry's cottage. Ace and Barney are in the back seat holding them at gunpoint. At the same time, Metropolis Police Inspector Bill Henderson has come into the editors' office of the Planet. He is clearly angry about the story written by Olsen. Paradise Sound is on county land, which means Henderson is responsible for security there. Once Clark explains the situation, the inspector leaves to give Jimmy a piece of his mind. Little do Henderson and Kent realize that Jimmy, Lois and Perry are in grave peril. After making the guards believe that they are scientists from the Politech Institute, Ace and Barney take the formula for extracting the U-183. With Superman in Metropolis, there may be no way of stopping the smugglers' evil plans.

Perry tricks Ace and Barney into believing he will give them a sample of U-183. In reality, he has locked Lois, Jimmy and himself in the storage vault with the bolt on the inside. However, Perry's plan backfires. Ace welds the outer lock closed. There is only one hour of air left inside for Perry, Lois and Jimmy. Plus, Ace has somehow figured out a way to blow up the cottage after escaping. It looks like there may be no way for Perry, Jimmy and Lois to survive this lethal trap.

Clark Kent is worried. It's after 3:00 PM, and Lois and Jimmy should have returned to the office by now. Inspector Henderson has arrived at Paradise Sound in time to talk on the security guard's telephone with the acting editor. Nobody answers at the cottage, and Henderson has found the vault door welded shut. With the air about to run out on Perry, Lois and Jimmy, Clark will really have to work fast to rescue his friends as Superman.

Ace and Barney return to their submarine. They launch a torpedo. Its target is Perry's cottage. However, the weapon explodes too soon. This is because it hit Superman instead. The Man of Steel orders Barney and Ace to surface and head to shore. Their fear of his great strength leaves the smugglers little choice but to surrender to the authorities. Another crime ring has been stopped in its tracks by Superman.

With Ace Miller and Barney on their way to prison, Superman can save his friends. He rips the vault door from its hinges, allowing Perry, Jimmy and Lois to breathe fresh air once again. Now that Perry's experiment is in the hands of the Civil Security Commission, Jimmy thinks this adventure would make a great story, in which Superman wishes for him to be accurate. Perry, however, doesn't want the cub reporter to be so thorough ever again. Lois, on the other hand, wonders if there is any way that she and the others could thank Superman.

"As a matter of fact, there is Miss Lane," He says with a smile, "By getting back to your office at once. After all, poor Clark Kent can't get that paper out by himself, you know."

4Rating - 4 (out of 5): Claude Akins has starred in classic episodes of The Twilight Zone and in the film Battle for the Planet of the Apes. However, he is best known for his role of Sheriff Elroy P. Lobo in B.J. and the Bear and The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo.

Ed Penny was Bertie in the 1958 film starring Charles Bronson When Hell Broke Loose.

Julian Upton had an uncredited role as a spearman in The Ten Commandments.

This episode was broadcast exactly seventeen years before I was born.

It's not without its problems, but "Peril By Sea" was a pleasant surprise considering this season has been touch and go so far. For what it's worth, this episode is really entertaining.

As much as I love to see Perry do something besides yell and sit in his office, there are moments when John Hamilton seems to be either struggling with dialog or having a problem remembering his lines or both. Hamilton is a great actor. Seeing him fumble around, looking confused doesn't suit his previous performances as Perry. Granted, the chief did want to get back to the Planet and stop the experiment. However, John Hamilton's bewilderment sticks out at times.

Okay, Superman has superhuman strength. Everyone knows that. He could have lifted Ace's submarine out of the water easily. Yet, what does our hero do? He orders Ace and Barney to go to the shore. Now, the villains were scared of Superman, but as far as visual effects go, we have a missed opportunity to see how powerful the Man of Steel really is. Even with the show's budget, I'm sure Si Simonson could have come up with something to impress the audience. It's a pity nothing more was done in that area with "Peril By Sea".

I liked seeing Clark as editor of the Daily Planet. I do, however, wish more had been done to show how this new duty changed his life as Superman much like his days as a television reporter did during Julius Schwartz's time as editor of the comic books. On the other hand, Clark being the chief would make a good story for an episode of The Adventures of Superman. Perhaps the seventh season that was planned before George Reeves' death would have dealt with that. Oh well, we as fans can only speculate.

In spite of its flaws, "Peril By Sea" gives us a good story, decent acting (If one excludes John Hamilton's troubles) and villains that function perfectly into the episode. Claude Akins does an especially superb job in his scenes. It's a shame that Whitney Ellsworth and company didn't use him more in The Adventures of Superman. He would have been a great recurring villain. Akins' presence alone makes this worth watching.



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