Superman on Television

Adventures of Superman: Episode Reviews

Season 2 - Episode 23: "Lady in Black"

Original Broadcast Date: February 15, 1954

Writer: Jackson Gillis

Director: Thomas Carr

Guest Cast:
Virginia Christine as Mrs. Frank
Frank Ferguson as Lester Frank
John Doucette as Joe The Scar Faced Man
Rudolph Anders as X-40 The Man With Glasses
Holly Bane as the Police Officer
Frank Marlowe as the Cab Driver

"Lady in Black"

Superman, in his guise of reporter Clark Kent, is working late in his office at the Daily Planet when he receives a call from Jimmy Olsen. Jimmy is apartment sitting for Mrs. Jones, an elderly friend of the family with hearing problems, while his mother is away visiting relatives. He wants Clark to drop by to check on some noises he's heard at 360 Apple Tree Lane, the building's address. However, Kent is merely convinced that poor digestion of rich food, mystery stories and an overactive imagination have created the sounds. Little do both Clark and Jimmy realize that they may soon wish the things young Mister Olsen's ears picked up were not real.

Jimmy continues to hear things in spite of Clark's assurances otherwise. The picture on the wall has even fallen. Mrs. Jones' neighbor Mister Lester Frank has gone with him to investigate the basement, where a track has supposedly gone. Jimmy is suddenly knocked out at the bottom of the stairs. Meanwhile, Clark has called to make sure Jimmy is okay only to discover that the telephone has been suddenly disconnected. Jimmy may need Superman's help after all.

Superman has found Jimmy being cared for by Mister Frank in Mrs. Jones' apartment. Frank says that the cub reporter only hit a beam, and the sounds he had heard came from a cat named Timothy. Mister Frank had accidentally knocked over the telephone when he brought Jimmy to Mrs. Jones' living room. Superman and Clark Kent need not worry about Jimmy anymore. Unfortunately, the young man's troubles might only be starting. The painting on Mrs. Jone's wall has changed. Instead of having only one eye like it did before falling, it now has two. Jimmy cannot help but wonder if he is going insane.

It is now the next morning. Jimmy believes that much of what he saw and heard the night before was in his mind. However, strange things have occurred since he left Mrs. Jones' apartment to catch the bus. A man with a scar on his face asks for the building's number as he threatens Jimmy. The cub reporter then encounters an odd man with glasses codenamed X-40, and a mysteriously veiled lady in black has gotten out of a taxi. The man and the woman stand between Jimmy while speaking about the rain and clouds. Confused, Jimmy notices that the man forgot a package in the cab that brought the woman. The Lady in Black, as she introduces herself, is looking for 360 Pear Tree Lane, but that street does not exist in Metropolis. Perhaps, the unusual man with glasses and Joe the scar faced man made the same error. The Lady in Black seems to be afraid of Joe. She asks Jimmy to help her. Now, all young Mister Olsen knows is that he could be in over his head. Plus, he may even doubt his own sanity at this very moment.

Jimmy has brought the Lady in Black into the apartment building. She has given him a kiss and the parcel left behind by X-40. When Jimmy discovers a bunch of money inside, he calls to her. The only response given is a knife thrown at him by Joe. It misses Jimmy and gets lodged in the doorway. Jimmy even phones Clark Kent for help, but the conversation gets cut off. After finding the cash missing, Jimmy goes next door to ask Mister Frank for assistance. What Jimmy finds frightens him to no end. Mister Frank is dead. Jimmy is going to need the aid of the police and Superman. Will they believe him this time, or is this another case of Jimmy's imagination making him cry wolf?

Jimmy has brought a policeman to check on Mister Frank's body, but an irritated Superman sends him away. The Man of Steel has told Jimmy that Mister Frank is not dead. To prove this, he and Jimmy enter the man's apartment. Shortly afterward, Mrs. Frank arrives with the groceries as Lester Frank asks about Jimmy's head injury. She found the dagger that was stuck in the door, but it was a rubber toy. Jimmy is starting to believe that he is on the brink of madness.

Mister and Mrs. Frank are discussing the situation after Jimmy and Superman leave. As Mrs. Frank gives her husband the real knife that was hidden in her grocery sack, he reassures her that nobody, even Superman, will believe Jimmy if he sees or hears anything more in or around the building. The Franks, Joe and X-40 are part of a ring of art thieves that replaces originals with forgeries once they sell the real paintings. The picture with one eye in Mrs. Jones' apartment was purchased and replaced with the one that has two. More priceless treasures, including a Rembrandt, will arrive in the museum warehouse vault next door. All Joe and X-40 have to do is bring the pieces through a hole in the basement wall. If Jimmy hears or sees anything, the police, Clark Kent and Superman will merely think that he's gone crazy. It looks like nothing can prevent the Franks from committing their crimes.

Jimmy calls Clark after hearing more noises from the basement. To make the cub reporter feel less frightened, Kent talks to him while writing an article for the Daily Planet. This time, Clark's superhuman ears pick up the sound of Joe and X-40 moving the paintings. This time, this really looks like a job for Superman.

The Lady in Black has entered Mrs. Jones' apartment. Meanwhile, Superman has dealt with X-40 and Joe before more art can be stolen. The Last Son of Krypton heads upstairs to find Mister Frank shooting at him. The bullets have no effect as Superman enters Mrs. Jones' home to find the Lady in Black with Jimmy. The cub reporter is relieved to know that he is not insane. The Lady in Black wants to leave, but Superman won't let her. Using his super breath, the Man of Tomorrow removes her veil to unmask her face. The Lady in Black is Mrs. Frank, and she, along with the rest of the art thieves will spend a long time in prison thanks to Jimmy Olsen and Superman.

Having not hung up earlier, Jimmy is now on the phone with Clark Kent. He wonders if the mild mannered reporter heard what was going on in the apartment.

"Sure he did, Jimmy," Superman replies with a wink to the audience.

Rating - 5 (out of 5): Virginia Christine makes her only appearance in The Adventures of Superman with this episode. Cult film fans will recognize her as Wilma Lentz in the 1956 classic Invasion of the Body Snatchers and Eva Oster in Billy the Kid Versus Dracula. Her filmography also includes roles in The Twilight Zone and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner.

Character actor Frank Ferguson is best known for playing Eli Carson on Peyton Place. Even though he wouldn't be in any more episodes of The Adventures of Superman, Ferguson can be seen in Lassie, The Andy Griffith Show, Petticoat Junction and Green Acres.

You'll most likely remember John Doucette as Slugger from season one's "The Birthday Letter". Look for his third and final appearance in The Adventures of Superman in "Clark Kent, Outlaw".

Rudolph Anders was the villain Doctor Rudolf Albrecht in season one's "Double Trouble". This marks his second and final appearance in The Adventures of Superman.

Holly Bane was credited in this episode under the name Mike Ragan. He also used this moniker in the movie serial Panther Girl of the Kongo, which starred season one's Lois Lane, Phyllis Coates, in the title role.

Frank Marlowe has played many parts throughout his career. He would eventually portray another taxi driver in an uncredited role in Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest.

Look closely when Lester Frank shoots at Superman. The gun is not pointed directly at the Man of Steel. It's aimed more to the audience's right side near the corridor wall.

While Michael J. Hayde's episode guide in his Flights of Fantasy book refers to Rudolph Anders' character as the Thief with Glasses. The Lady in Black names him as X-40. In addition to that, Mrs. Frank calls her husband Les, which is short for Lester.

Did you catch what was inside Mrs. Frank's bag of groceries when she brought it home? A box of Kellogg's Sugar Smacks can be seen placed on the kitchen table. This particular cereal was used in commercials featuring The Adventures of Superman cast. Plus, Kellogg's had sponsored both the radio and television series at various points in their broadcast history.

This episode is adapted from the story "Dick Grayson's Nightmare" that appeared in Batman #80, cover dated December 1953.

Sheerly delightful is the best way I can describe "Lady in Black". This is honestly what I expect from the writer/director team of Jackson Gillis and Thomas Carr. It's not "Panic in the Sky", but it is better than their previous two collaborations. It's a pity they didn't work together on more episodes after "Around the World with Superman". There's just something about their entries that is pure magic. Oh well, at least we have what they have already done for The Adventures of Superman to watch over again if we wish.

Last week, the acting by most of the cast disappointed me. This time around, it feels like everyone is back on track. Jack Larson particularly does a superb job as "Lady in Black" combines his two strengths - suspense and comedy. The former is more prominent, but there are elements of the latter peppered into the mixture to make this an outstanding episode. Larson has shown he can act in both genres in this variation on "The Boy Who Cried Wolf". I, for one, am glad The Adventures of Superman gave him a chance to do so.

The villains in "Lady in Black" work very well. This surprised me considering my only other exposure to Frank Ferguson has been in comedies like The Andy Griffith Show. However, he pulls off the folksy thief pretending to be innocent perfectly. More could have possibly been done with the rest of his gang, but that maybe could have made the story lose focus a bit. The "Everyman" bad guy angle functions incredibly in this episode.

In spite of a slump in the series' quality here and there after "Panic in the Sky", "Lady in Black" proves that there are still some gems among the remaining episodes of The Adventures of Superman. You just have to know where to look. It combines elements of Hitchcockian suspense and pre-Silver Age comic book superhero adventure with a dash of humor splashed into the mix. I guarantee you will have fun with it from start to finish.

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