Superman on Television

Adventures of Superman: Episode Reviews

Season 1 - Episode 13: "The Stolen Costume"

Reviewed by: James Lantz

Original Broadcast Date: December 12, 1952

Writers: Ben Peter Freeman

Director: Lee Sholem

Guest Cast:
Norman Budd as Johnny "T-Ball" Sims
Frank Jenks as Candy Meyers
Veda Ann Borg as Connie
Dan Seymour as Ace
Robert Williams as a Uniformed Officer

"The Stolen Costume"

Metropolis has been plagued by a series of robberies done by someone dubbed the Rope Burglar. The culprit, one Johnny "T-Ball" Sims, has entered through the bedroom window of Apartment 5-H in the Standish Arms Apartments on Standish Place. It is the home of Daily Planet reporter Clark Kent. T-Ball's fingers touch a hidden button that opens the door to a secret closet. Inside, he discovers the red, blue and yellow costume of Superman. Seeing a means to make a quick buck, T-Ball takes the suit. He is now running away with the world's greatest secret in his hands.

T-Ball has been shot by a uniformed policeman. However, he has made his way to the apartment of Ace and his girlfriend Connie. The thief is severely injured, but Ace still has Superman's costume in his possession. It may not be long before the entire underworld knows the Last Son of Krypton's most guarded secret.

An agitated Clark Kent is in his apartment waiting for private detective Candy Meyers. He had left his Superman costume at home because he had to take a physical examination for the Daily Planet's new insurance policy. Kent shows Candy the secret closet when he arrives. Meyers dusts for fingerprints and wishes to know what was stolen from Clark's home. The mild mannered reporter refuses to reveal that information. In spite of this, Candy agrees to help him. With Meyers' aid, Superman may yet get his costume back.

T-Ball has just died. However, he was able to tell Connie and Ace where he had gotten Superman's costume. The pair of criminals debate on the validity of T-Ball's claims when Connie gets an idea. Everyone in the underworld has heard rumors of Superman having a double life after discovering that the fabric is invulnerable. Connie believes that the Man of Steel had left his suit at home because he had wished to be his other self for the night. Now, Connie intends to go to the Standish Arms Apartments to find out who Superman really is, and Clark Kent had better be on his guard.

Candy Meyers has found the person who had broken into Clark's apartment. Unfortunately, T-Ball is now dead. He was found in vacant lot with a bullet in his back. Candy does not know if T-Ball had anything with him. It is for this reason Clark leaves for the morgue to get more information. Hopefully, he can learn more about the theft of Superman's costume.

Candy Meyers is waiting for Clark to return home. Hearing a noise, he finds Connie picking up items that fell from her purse. She pretends to be looking for another apartment and mistakes Candy for Clark. She then reveals her discovery to Ace in spite of the fact Candy does not look much like Superman. Ace and Connie put the final pieces together when they realize that Kent works for the Daily Planet, a newspaper known for its exclusive stories on the Last Son of Krypton. However, this is not enough for the gangster and his girlfriend. Ace wants further proof of the mild mannered reporters double life, and he has a plan that could endanger the secret identity of Superman.

Candy has left Clark's home and is to meet the mild mannered reporter at 8:30 PM. Afterwards, Ace breaks into the apartment. He plants a bomb in the secret closet. It is rigged to go off when someone tries to move the door. Should the explosive work, and Kent is uninjured, it will prove to gangster once and for all that Clark Kent is really Superman.

Ace and Connie have just seen Candy enter Standish Arms Apartments believing that he's Clark. Candy, in the meantime, is having no luck getting Clark to talk about what was taken from the hidden closet. The two decide to grab a bite to eat. As Candy walks to the bathroom to wash his hands, he notices that the closet door is opened a bit. Clark runs in time to save Candy from the explosion. However, the private detective is more curious than ever. He can't help but wonder what's going on with his friend Clark Kent.

The neighbors that heard the noise of the bomb have been dealt with by Candy. Some time has passed, and Clark receives a call from Ace, who now knows that Kent was not injured in the blast. Ace wants to make a deal with Superman in order for him to get his costume back. The gangster agrees to meet Clark in the reporter's apartment. However, Ace and Connie find Candy outside of the Standish Arms. Still believing that Candy is Clark, the pair of villains drive to their home to discuss matters with Meyers. Clark sees this from his window, but he suddenly realizes that he doesn't have his Superman suit. He'll have to find a a way to rescue Candy without the famous red and blue costume.

Ace is starting to get suspicious. He doesn't believe that Candy is Clark Kent or Superman. Ace takes Candy's gun from its shoulder holster and points it at the private detective. It's becoming more clear to the gangster that Meyers isn't Kent when he cannot reveal what was stolen from the secret closet. Suddenly, before Ace can shoot Candy, Clark bursts into the room. The mild mannered reporter knocks out Candy as Ace fires the weapon. The bullets bounce off Kent. Now, Ace has proven that Clark and Superman are one and the same.

Ace wants to make a deal with Superman, but the Man of Tomorrow refuses. Ace threatens to reveal Superman's secret identity to the world. Superman, however, has a plan to prevent this. With his costume returned to him, the Caped Wonder takes Connie and Ace to a secluded, snowy mountain top where a cabin is located. This is our hero's only option to keep his double life undercover as there is no way for Connie and Ace to get down to the bottom. There is wood to heat the place, and Superman has promised to bring the would-be blackmailers food and water. Ace does not believe that the Metropolis Marvel will be back. He and Connie try to climb to the bottom, only to fall to their deaths. Both Clark Kent and Superman's lives are safe thanks to the cruel hand fate has dealt Connie and Ace.

Candy Meyers is surprised. He knows that Clark Kent has found what was taken from him, and the thieves are dead. But Candy has a trouble believing that Ace and Connie fell off a cliff.

"Any minute," the detective says to Kent, "You'll be trying to tell me that I'm J. Edgar Hoover and you're Superman."

"Could be," Clark responds with a smile before his friend leaves.

5Rating - 5 (out of 5): George Reeves is the only member of the main cast in "The Stolen Costume". Phyllis Coates, Jack Larson, John Hamilton and Robert Shayne are not seen at all in it. In fact, Reeves is the only actor to appear in all 104 episodes of The Adventures of Superman.

Veda Ann Borg is best known for her roles of Agnes Prescott in The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer and Laverne in Guys and Dolls. She also no stranger to superheroes as she played Margo Lane in the 1940 movie serial The Shadow.

While the character of Candy Meyers never appears again in The Adventures of Superman television show, Frank Jenks will be back as Lazy in the season three episode "The Magic Necklace".

Candy Meyers first appeared in The Adventures of Superman radio series in 1944. While his first episode is currently unavailable, he is in such serials as "The Atom Man in Metropolis" and "Candy Meyers' Big Story".

Gary Grossman could not confirm this in his DVD commentary on this episode, but "The Stolen Costume" actually started out as a radio serial entitled "The Mystery of the Stolen Costume" that originally aired from March 10, 1948 to April 01, 1948 on the Mutual Network. It was later turned into a half hour radio show entitled "Dead Men Tell No Tales" on ABC. The originally story arc featured Batman and Robin helping Superman find his costume. The Dynamic Duo had been replaced by Candy Meyers in "Dead Men Tell No Tales", which was rebroadcast as "The Mystery of the Stolen Costume" on January 16, 1951. This episode is closer to the "Dead Men Tell No Tales" version.

The headline "Rope Burglar Defies Police" in the Daily Planet also appears in the episode "Rescue". While the series did have a tight budget in its first season, I'm inclined to believe that the robberies had been a thorn in the sides of both the police and Superman for quite some time before "The Stolen Costume".

Gary Grossman, writer of Superman: Serial To Cereal, provides entertaining and informative commentary on "The Stolen Costume" for the season one DVDs. I do have a bone to pick with his being unable to confirm if it was based on a radio show. If one has researched the material for a book like Superman: Serial To Cereal, one should have that type of information handy. Then again, you're reading something written by a person who spent two years reviewing The Adventures of Superman radio series. I listened to nearly 1,200 episodes three times in a row to try to be as thorough as possible. Now, I may get hate mail from Mr. Grossman's fans. However, I want to clarify one thing. While I question just how prepared he was to talk about certain aspects of "The Stolen Costume", I do have a tremendous amount of respect for him. I haven't been able to find a copy of Superman: Serial To Cereal, but I understand that with it, Grossman has made an important contribution to the Superman fan community.

Candy Meyers, one of the many aspects taken from the radio shows, makes his only appearance in The Adventures of Superman television series. It truly is a pity that Candy wasn't in more episodes. I've said many times in my reviews of the radio programs that Candy Meyers is a character that has the potential to cross over into other versions of the Superman universe. Hopefully, DC Comics and DC Entertainment will find a way to bring the likable private detective into some projects in the future.

Having reviewed this story twice in its two existing radio versions, one would probably think that I was tired of it. This is far from the truth as it still remains to be one of my all-time favorite episodes of The Adventures of Superman. It's right up there with "Panic in the Sky". Yes, I went out on that limb, but that's just how good it is. The cast and crew did a stupendous job with every bit of the story. George Reeves, in particular, does incredibly. In addition to his tremendous acting skills, his facial expressions throughout "The Stolen Costume" provide tension and suspense that make the audience believe that Clark Kent may not get out of this jam unscathed. Certain tones in his voice also give viewers the idea that Superman is desperate, but at the same time angry. He clearly won't make deals with Ace or let his secret identity be exposed.

All in all, "The Stolen Costume" is the best episode in season one so far. Watch it on DVD, or catch it on television whenever you have a chance to do so.



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