Superman on Television

Adventures of Superman: Episode Reviews

Season 5 - Episode 7: "Money to Burn"

Original Broadcast Date: April 19, 1957

Writer: David Chantler

Director: Harry Gerstad

Guest Cast:
Mauritz Hugo as Slim
Dale Van Sickel as Torch
Richard Emory as the Fire Department Lieutenant

"Money to Burn"

Daily Planet editor Perry White and reporters Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen and Clark Kent are working late. Kent is investigating things as Superman when the chief receives an urgent telephone call. The Planet warehouse on 1800 Waterfront Way is on fire. Leaving a note for Clark to take over in his absence, Perry goes with Lois and Jimmy to the location of the blaze. There, Mister White realizes that twelve thousand dollars of the newspaper's payroll money is in the building's safe. Meanwhile, the trio has spotted a lunch wagon with the words "Fireman's Friend" written on the side. The two men running it, Slim and his wisecracking partner Torch, have been giving free coffee and donuts to the firemen to disguise their true intentions. In reality, Torch has entered the inferno after exchanging his tray of food and drink for another one. He is wearing a suit made of fireproof plastic designed by Slim. The pair's motives for their plans are unclear, and only one thing is certain, there's a new unusual mystery that only Superman and his friends can solve. If they don't, a new reign of terror could run rampant in Metropolis.

Having seen Perry's message as Clark Kent, Superman has made it to the Planet warehouse. The Metropolis Marvel puts the flames out with a water hose. The next day, it is learned that the newspaper's payroll is missing. The district attorney, insurance company and arson squad have questioned Perry about it. A few hours before the fire stared, he had come with a guard to put the cash in the safe while the storage watchman was there. However, both men only saw Perry put a briefcase in the vault. Once Superman had the blaze under control, the fire department went into the building. The funds were no longer inside. The authorities think the inferno was started to cover up Perry's embezzlement of the money. The chief, on the other hand, believes it was stolen while everything was burning. Leaving Clark in charge and promising to check in every thirty minutes, he intends to go out to investigate what really happened. Perry may end up finding more than he bargained for. If Superman is busy as acting editor, how will he keep the real deal from walking into one of the most dangerous situations of his illustrious career?

Slim and Torch are counting the money they stole from the Planet warehouse fire. Torch used a modified hearing aid to hear the tumblers of the safe's combination lock. The shortwave radio in their lunch wagon told him and Slim of the conflagration. Slim even lined the flameproof suit Torch wore with lead foil to prevent Superman from seeing his associate's face. As the two criminals divide the pilfered funds, there is a knock on their door. It is Perry White. Torch and Slim do everything they can to answer his questions and get rid of him. However, they still believe that Perry may discover the truth about their Fireman's Friend scam very soon. Slim and Torch's hunch proves to be right when the editor finds the special plastic protective gear in the racketeers' truck. They lock him inside in hopes of eliminating Perry before they pull their next job. With Clark Kent serving as Planet editor, there may be no way for him to rescue the chief in time as Superman.

It's been two hours since Perry left his office, and he has not checked in yet. With Lois Lane now at the editor's desk, Clark Kent is searching for the chief, who has been locked in the safe of the charred Planet warehouse. Meanwhile, another storage has been set ablaze, leaving the pair of Fireman's Friends to commit another robbery. Having heard the alarm at the fire department as Clark, Superman enters the flaming structure. Torch forces him to make a deal. The Man of Steel is to let Torch leave the inferno without interference, otherwise he will never see Perry White alive. Torch will call the Daily Planet with more details, but he assures Superman that Perry is in the safest surroundings possible. With Superman forced to keep his word, even to a criminal, the only thing left to do is wait. Can Superman and his friends find Perry before death clutches to him with its cold, unfeeling fingers?

The Fireman's Friends remember serving Perry some coffee at the Planet warehouse when Clark Kent asks them. However, Jimmy Olsen reminds Kent that the chief does not drink coffee. After he and Lois leave, Clark begins to put two and two together regarding the various puns he had heard Torch say. Superman may now have a clue about where to find Perry. Hopefully, he'll be able to rescue the editor in time for the next edition of the Daily Planet.

As Slim and Torch prepare to leave town, Superman gets Perry out of the safe that is located in the remains of the Daily Planet's storage facility. Both men confront the Fireman's Friends, and for once, Torch cannot think of any wisecracks. He'll have plenty of time to think of those in prison. Perry, in the meantime, is calling the police while Superman holds the two racketeers in his vice-like grip.

"I wonder what Clark Kent will say when I show up with this story," Perry says as he waits for the operator to connect him to police headquarters.

"Well, strangely enough, I don't think he'd be surprised," Superman replies with a smile.

Rating - 4 (out of 5): Mauritz Hugo will be back in season six for George Reeves' directorial debut "The Brainy Burro".

Dale Van Sickel played drivers in Disney's 1968 classic The Love Bug and the Steven Spielberg helmed Duel, which was based on a short story by Richard Matheson, who also wrote the screenplay for the film. On a side note, scenes from Duel are used in a season one episode of The Incredible Hulk titled "Never Give a Trucker an Even Break". In spite of Spielberg's anger over this, Universal, who also was behind Hulk, owned the movie's rights at the time "Trucker" was first broadcast.

Richard Emory can be spotted in bit parts in such films as Singin' in the Rain, Beginning of the End and Man of a Thousand Faces.

While this episode begins in the night or early evening, the exterior shot of Metropolis after we see the first stock footage of a fire is clearly a sunny morning or afternoon scene.

Had this been part of the first two years of the series, I probably would have given it a three. However, considering that most of this season has been below average in quality, "Money to Burn" stands as one of the better episodes of this particular run. The flaws are mainly in missed visual effects opportunities, but, otherwise, we are given a story that's finally entertaining and interesting.

Superman has super breath, and he has used it, if memory serves, in past episodes of The Adventures of Superman. Yet, he puts out the Daily Planet warehouse fire with (drum roll, please) an ordinary fire department water hose. Wouldn't it have been better if he had either blew out the flames or brought a rain storm to the city like in "Ghost Wolf"? This is just one of the many missed visual effects opportunities that plague season five, and they are among the flaws that are seriously undermining the quality of that year's entries.

Once again, we have a half hour tale that reminds me of The Adventures of Superman radio program. In the case of "Money to Burn," the story, crime and villains seem to have come from the audio speaker. I really enjoyed viewing the entire final product. I even found the bad guys to be perfect for it. Previous heavies in this bunch of shows have been rather flawed compared to previous seasons even if I did like some of them for various reasons. Slim and Torch, however, help give the audience what they've been craving since this year's episodes began - a great story with believable evil doers.

Another good thing about "Money to Burn" was Perry White taking a more active part in the story. As much as I love John Hamilton as Perry, he really hasn't done much beyond being a cranky old coot behind a desk in recent episodes. This could be because of Hamilton's health at the time of filming. In every case, it was great to see Perry investigating the Fireman's Friends. It's a pity more in the series don't show him beyond yelling "Great Caesar's Ghost!".

"Money to Burn" gives me hope that not all of season five is really that bad. It doesn't make up for the turkeys in the bunch, but it does stand out as something that viewers and fans can enjoy without having this utter sense of dread about the quality. I'm cringing for "Mister Zero" and "The Prince Albert Coat". However, "Burn" does ease the pain of most of the bad apples in the show.

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