Superman on Television

Adventures of Superman: Episode Reviews

Season 5 - Episode 9: "The Phony Alibi"

Original Broadcast Date: May 03, 1957

Writer: Peggy Chantler

Director: George Blair

Guest Cast:
Phil Tead as Professor Pepperwinkle
John Cliff as Ed Crowley
William Challee as Clippy Jones
Frank Kreig as Benny The Brain
Harry Arnie as Old Moe Bilky

"The Phony Alibi"

Ed Crowley's gang has just robbed the Wentworth Jewelry Store. Schultzy Garfield pulled off the heist. Unfortunately, the authorities are unable to catch him as he is driving more than one hundred and twenty miles per hour out on Highway 201. This is truly a job for Superman, who has received a call about the incident from Inspector Bill Henderson as Daily Planet reporter Clark Kent. Acting as an impervious road block, the Man of Steel halts Garfield's getaway car, allowing the police to take him into custody. Another crime has been halted by Superman. Little does the caped hero realize that his encounters with the Crowley Mob are only just beginning.

As Superman deals with Schultzy Garfield, the eccentric Professor Pepperwinkle enters Clark Kent's office. Lois Lane greets him as she, too, is searching for the mild mannered reporter. Pepperwinkle wants to tell of his new invention the De-atmosphering Chamber, a machine that can transport anything, even people, via the telephone lines. Lois, however, dismisses the idea as pure fantasy. In hindsight, perhaps Ms. Lane should reconsider her views on the device. Clippy Jones, a member of Ed Crowley's gang, is staying at Professor Pepperwinkle's boarding house. He is pondering how Crowley can come up with alibis for his men since Superman captured Garfield. Should the criminal learn of the De-atmosphering Chamber, it could be just what his boss needs to run rampant across the country.

Professor Pepperwinkle has just shown Clippy Jones the De-atmosphering Chamber. Thinking it's a joke, Clippy wants to pay a visit to his friend Old Moe Bilky in Kansas City. Professor Pepperwinkle dials Moe's number, and Clippy appears in the room once Bilky answers the telephone. Clippy later tells Crowley of Pepperwinkle's unusual machine. This may give the mob boss the chance he needs to escape the police and Superman. All that's required is getting the rest of the gang into Professor Pepperwinkle's boarding house somehow. Once again, the underworld of Metropolis may get their hands on the eccentric scientist's new invention. If Superman doesn't do something soon, a new crime wave could wreak havoc everywhere.

Posing as Clippy's brothers, Ed Crowley and Benny the Brain manage to rent a room from Professor Pepperwinkle. The trio of gangsters are in the absent-minded inventor's laboratory while he is taking his daily nap. Will Crowley's gang succeed in their nefarious plans to create a new, strange crime wave throughout Metropolis while using the De-atmosphering Chamber, or will Superman hang up the phone on their illegal operations for good?

In the past two days, both Clippy and the Brain have pulled off robberies for Ed Crowley. However, reliable witnesses place them in San Francisco and Chicago respectively mere minutes after the crimes were committed. As Clark Kent goes to speak with Inspector Henderson, Lois understands that the De-atmosphering Chamber has been used for nefarious purposes. She makes an appointment to see Professor Pepperwinkle demonstrate the machine in the morning. Leaving a note for Clark, Lois intends to bring Jimmy Olsen with her. Both reporters are unaware that they are about to walk into the clutches of Ed Crowley. If Superman can't stop the gang leader, Professor Pepperwinkle, Lois and Jimmy could be doomed to certain death.

Lois and Jimmy have arrived at Professor Pepperwinkle's home. In addition to the eccentric scientist, they are greeted by Crowley, Clippy and the Brain. While the professor gets a pain reliever for the Brain, Crowley places Lois and Jimmy in the De-atmosphering Chamber with the intention of sending them to Alaska. Buttons are pressed, and switches are flipped until all that's left of Jimmy and Lois is their atoms traveling through the telephone lines. With Superman unaware of their predicament, there may be no way of preventing Lois and Jimmy from freezing to death.

Clark Kent calls Inspector Henderson. He will send some men to Professor Pepperwinkle's lab to apprehend the Crowley Gang. Meanwhile, the long distance operator has revealed that a call was made to Alaska today from Professor Pepperwinkle's phone. Flying at great speeds, Superman has stopped the De-atmosphering Chamber's transfer of Lois and Jimmy to the Yukon simply by breaking the telephone cable on which their atoms were traveling. Jimmy and Lois reappear in front of Superman in time to wait for the next bus. With his friends safe and Ed Crowley in police custody, the Man of Steel flies away. Lois and Jimmy will surely have a big scoop for the Daily Planet very soon.

Inspector Henderson and Clark Kent are in the latter's office discussing the Crowley adventure when Professor Pepperwinkle enters. He has destroyed the De-atmosphering Chamber. Clark and Henderson wonder why the absent-minded inventor would do such a thing.

"To tell the truth, I couldn't afford the long distance phone bill," Professor Pepperwinkle says. "Oh, this month, it's a whopper."

Rating - 1 (out of 5): Phil Tead will return as Professor Pepperwinkle in "The Big Forget".

John Cliff played various roles in The Lone Ranger and was Sergeant McAffee in I Was a Teenage Frankenstein.

William Challee was in season one's "The Haunted Lighthouse" and "The Monkey Mystery". He also played Nicholas Dupea in Five Easy Pieces starring Jack Nicholson.

Frank Kreig can be seen as Peter Ramsey in The Seven Faces of Doctor Lao.

Harry Arnie will return in the season six episode "Superman's Wife".

As much as I enjoy Phil Tead's performances, "The Phony Alibi" is, sadly, a poor re-hashing of "Topsy Turvy". The only other redeeming quality besides Tead are the visuals with Superman. From a storytelling point of view, this half hour is utterly ridiculous. The entire episode is a waste of time.

I have no problem with pseudo-science in fiction. In fact, I'm a huge sci-fi nerd. I love Star Trek, Lost, Fringe, The Twilight Zone and Doctor Who just to name a few shows. However, those series are written well for the most part. "The Phony Alibi" has a story that seems like it was put together by monkeys with a learning disability. Bad barely scratches the surface on this episode's tale. It's silly even by 1957 standards. I, quite frankly, expected better from Peggy Chantler.

One thing was extremely pointless to me, so much so I didn't even write about it in the plot summary. What exactly is the purpose of Ed Crowley playing with a yo-yo? It does nothing to further the plot. It merely feels like an excuse to do nothing more than kill time. Other things could have been done in so many different and better ways.

While the actors seem to be having a good time in their performances, their overall efforts look overblown to nearly the same extent of William Shatner in T.J. Hooker. This increases the extreme stupidity of the entire episode. Granted, things possibly could have been worse. However, we as an audience are exposed to some of the most painfully cheesy moments in the entire series.

There are some great visual effects in "The Phony Alibi". This is particularly true of how Superman saves Lois and Jimmy simply by breaking the telephone cable. The idea of transporting via the telephone is a bit hokey and stretches the whole suspension of disbelief to epic proportions. However, Thol Simonson and crew outdid themselves this time around. It doesn't make up for missed opportunities in previous episodes, but it does look great in spite of the rest of the final product being so poor.

"The Phony Alibi" is pure crap in most senses of the phrase. It had good visuals, but that cannot make up for the fact the story is bad. Plus, the actors overdo every performance possible. Unfortunately, the rest of season five isn't much better. In fact, it really goes downhill from here. Stay tuned in the weeks to come if you dare.

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