Superman on Television

Adventures of Superman: Episode Reviews

Season 2 - Episode 3: "The Man Who Could Read Minds"

Reviewed by: James Lantz

Original Broadcast Date: September 28, 1953

Writer: Roy Hamilton

Director: Thomas Carr

Guest Cast:
Lawrence Dobkin as Swami Amada
Veola Vonn as Lura
Richard Karlan as Monk
Tom Bernard as Doug The Newsboy
Russell Custer as Sergeant Healey
Bess Flowers as the Woman at the Tip-Top Cafe

"The Man Who Could Read Minds"

Robberies committed by someone dubbed the Phantom Burglar have occurred throughout the exclusive sections of Metropolis. The police are baffled as there are no signs of forced entry into the homes victimized. Plus, no witness can give a description of the Phantom Burglar. Perry White, Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen and Clark Kent have been called onto the scene of a dragnet because of some articles written in the Daily Planet. Police Inspector Bill Henderson does not like what's been said in the newspaper, but that will have to wait. Henderson wants to catch the culprit first and has convinced the Planet reporters to see the criminal get captured.

Unknown to Perry and Clark, Jimmy and Lois go out on their own to find the Phantom Burglar. Lois sees the thief leaving a house. She wants to call the police, but Jimmy goes after him. The Phantom Burglar escapes in a getaway car, only to be pursued by Lois and Jimmy. Henderson, Perry and Clark hear a shot fired by the Burglar. They all follow the sound to its source. Clark, seeing his friends in trouble, leaves Perry behind to become Superman. At the same time, Lois and Jimmy are gaining on the Phantom Burglar. One of the criminal's bullets hits their tire. Lois and Jimmy's car is about to go over a cliff when the Man of Steel grabs it. Superman has saved Lois and Jimmy, but the Phantom Burglar has gotten away. However, Jimmy was able to get a clue from him during their earlier encounter. It's a top token from the Tip-Top Cafe, a new club in Metropolis. Now, all Superman and the others need to do is figure out its connection to the Phantom Burglar.

Lois and Clark have gone to the Tip-Top Cafe. Unfortunately, they only find Swami Amada's mind reading act. Thanks to a walkie-talkie set up with a microphone in the assistant Lura's corsage and a listening device in the swami's turban, objects in the lady's hand can be revealed to the blindfolded mentalist. Lois and Clark leave the club believing that their investigation has reached a dead end. What they don't realize is that thanks to a house key used in the swami's act, a car registration with the next victim's address, some wax on Lura's handkerchief and a locksmith's set, the Phantom Burglar will strike again.

Perry White is angry with Lois and Jimmy. The Phantom Burglar committed another crime last night, and the editor, believing that Lois and Jimmy interfered with the police investigation, takes them off the story. However, knowing that all the robbery victims had given Lura keys for Swami Amada's act, Lois intends to use Jimmy to trap the Phantom Burglar. What both reporters don't realize is that they could be walking into the jaws of danger.

Don Alberez Ortega, son of a celebrated millionaire from Argentina has come to the city with a huge collection of emeralds that he wishes to sell. He is staying at the West Standish Hotel and wants to see all the exclusive clubs in Metropolis. This is what Lois has written to get the attention of the Phantom Burglar. Don Alberez is really Jimmy Olsen. He and Lois are now watching the Swami Amada's show at the Tip-Top Cafe. All they need to do now is bait their trap with the keys to Jimmy's room. This could give Jimmy and Lois a scoop for the Daily Planet and, hopefully, put the Phantom Burglar and his gang in prison for a long time.

Thanks to a newsboy named Doug and the latest victim of the Phantom Burglar, Clark Kent knows that Lois and Jimmy will most likely go to the Tip-Top Cafe to attempt to capture the Phantom Burglar. Now, Kent realizes that Superman will be needed in case his friends get into some serious trouble.

Lura is about to distract Jimmy while Monk, the masked man who is the Phantom Burglar, goes to the West Standish Hotel to steal Don Alberez Ortega's emeralds. Unfortunately, Jimmy and Lois have left the club before Lura could do anything. Now, Swami Amada, with a gun in hand, intends to get the pair of reporters before the Phantom Burglar commits the robbery. This gang will clearly stop at nothing to make sure their racket continues.

In his search for Lois and Jimmy, Clark has found wax used to make molds of keys in Swami Amada's dressing room. Meanwhile, Jimmy and Lois have caught Monk, the Phantom Burglar, in their hotel room. They hold him at gunpoint in hopes of handing him over to Inspector Henderson. Their plan backfires when the swami and Lura arrive to assist Monk. The vicious gang of thieves will now rid themselves of Lois and Jimmy by making their deaths look like a suicide pact. It looks like even Superman can't get Jimmy and Lois out of the mess they are in now.

Superman has managed to save Lois and Jimmy mere seconds before they were to be dropped off the hotel balcony. Once his friends are safe, the Man of Steel deals with Monk and his gang. Lura faints, but the swami and Monk get knocked out by Superman. With the Phantom Burglar Gang out of commission, a worried Jimmy can give Lois back her gun. Lois assures Jimmy that it wasn't loaded, but the weapon fires as it lands on the room's sofa.

"Well, I didn't think it was loaded," Lois says sheepishly to Jimmy and Superman.

4Rating - 4 (out of 5): Lawrence Dobkin had a illustrious career in film, television and radio. His credits include everything from The Rifleman and Star Trek: The Original Series to L.A. Law and Star Trek: The Next Generation. Old time radio show fans will most likely remember him as Louie, Simon Templar's sidekick on The Saint from 1945-1951. Templar, A.K.A. the Saint, was played by the great Vincent Price in that series.

In addition to "The Man Who Could Read Minds", both Veola Vonn and Richard Karlan can be seen in Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy. Karlan was Hetsut, and Vonn played a French-speaking cafe showgirl. Ms. Vonn also often played French women throughout her career in such movies as Charlie Chan in City in Darkness.

Tom Bernard portrayed Harry in the James Dean classic Rebel Without a Cause. "The Man Who Could Read Minds" was his only appearance in The Adventures of Superman.

Russell Custer will return to The Adventures of Superman later in this season in the episode "The Machine That Could Plot Crimes" as a police officer. His character of Sergeant Healey in "The Man Who Could Read Minds" was taken from the radio series. Healey would often assist Inspector Henderson in those audio serials.

Bess Flowers has many uncredited appearances in Alfred Hitchcock's films and television series. Look for her in Rear Window, Vertigo and The Alfred Hitchcock Hour.

When Perry's car stops via a freeze frame, the dust kicked up by the wheels is halted as well.

This episode adapts February 1954's Batman #81 story "The Phantom Bandit of Gotham City".

"The Man Who Could Read Minds" is honestly a story that only merits a three, but the performances by members of the cast, particularly Jack Larson and Noel Neill, make it an above average entry in the series. They do their best with a tale that feels paper thin, and it shows. The mediocre writing is overshadowed slightly by incredible acting.

It really feels like "The Man Who Could Read Minds" was intended to showcase how well Jack Larson and Noel Neill could work with one another. The scenes in the second half of the episode clearly show that they were the perfect team for comedic adventure. It's a pity they didn't do more projects together after The Adventures of Superman. Let's hope the team of Neill and Larson can get together for a film or television show in the future. Who knows? Maybe we could see them together in Smallville before that series ends. Well, a fanboy can dream can't he?



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