When the long term loan of the incredible Superman costume display from the Propstore Of London was over, the London Film Museum required fresh Superhero items to exhibit.
While nothing could ever compete with the splendid ‘Hall Of Superheroes’, (the Michael Keaton Batman/Returns suit also returning to its owner) the former Movieum nevertheless sourced a new (albeit curious) menagerie of props to fill the gap until its eventual closure of the South Bank site last year.
These extraordinary shots from the flickr album of givingnot@rocketmail.com depict a group of objects pertaining to be from the original Superman series hastily assembled against a somewhat underacheived backdrop (top pic).
The first prop (second pic) hanging from the ceiling is apparently a large flying miniature of Christopher Reeve (although there was no signage to verify this as a production used or made piece) in appropriate condition for its age but sporting a baggy costume and what appears to be short PVC cape.
The second mystery is the giant upper portion of a magnificent rendering of the Statue Of Liberty. Again, with no signage to which picture this was attributed there is no way to verify its use or authenticity (Superman IV’s torn away cape shot??) although the build quality definitely suggests screen used.
Lastly, there thankfully could be no doubt regarding the provenance of what would be proven as a legitimate prop from Superman IV: The Quest For Peace. In remarkable condition given its age and materials used, the baby Kal-El starship is notable for being the only item on show to feature signage, albeit misleading and inaccurate.
The current whereabouts of these pieces is sadly unknown. With the London Film Museum becoming a a permanent display of Bond Vehicles over in its Covent Garden site (see the last Superman item to be exhibited there here) its doubtful they will be seen again for some time. If anybody can update SUPERMANIA as to the fate of these props, feel free to get in touch..!
It may have taken over thirty years to clarify but when Perry White confronts his Daily Planet staff about the mysterious ‘flying whatchamacallit’ and asks “What does he keep hidden under that cape of his?? Batteries!?” The answer, most emphatically, is yes.
Courtesy of SuperFan Steve Lumsdon comes yet another SUPERMANIA exclusive and tribute to the ingenuity of special effects craftsmen of yesteryear. Pictured above is the finest reference to date of the legendary ‘Cape Flapping’ device built by Colin Chilvers & Co. to simulate convincing movement whilst ‘in flight”. The mechanism was created out of necessity to control the flow of the cape whilst star Christopher Reeve was suspended on the infamous ‘Pole Arm’ or wire flying rig.
Operated by remote control, the custom unit consisted of a motor and battery pack housed in an aluminum box which was mounted on Reeve’s back by a velcro attachment (third pic). When activated, the motor would drive the umbrella-like poles (covered in cape fabric to blend seamlessly into folds) up & down at random to create ripples. Besides the full-size version, at least one more was created, amazingly, in miniature for models in certain scenes.
As the production team in 1978 worked hard to preserve the illusion that ‘you will believe a man can fly’ by not revealing the details on how many of the effects were achieved, this device was widely considered a myth until it was officially acknowledged in the extras on the Superman: The Movie Special Edition on DVD. Although undetectable for the vast majority of the Salkind produced films (including Supergirl) in which it was used, the scene where Superman swoops down to save Frisky from the tree and the blooper from Superman III (Bottom pic) are the best proof of its existence until now…
For the enviable opportunity of owning this piece of SFX Magic and cinema history, catch Steve’s auction here…
SUPERMANIA presents more never-before-published pages from the Big Red Book of storyboards chronicling Superman IV: The Quest For Peace –
These pink revisions pencilled by Martin Asbury dated 13th November 1986 were faithfully translated from page to screen on the backlot of Elstree Studios in 1987, go here to see a collage of rare behind the scenes and publicity photographs showcasing a finished scene that was inexplicably deleted from US theatrical prints…
July 6, 1987 By J.J. SMITH, United Press International…
The Smithsonian Institution has launched a new exhibit that does not leap tall buildings at a single bound but does take up more room than a telephone booth — a celebration of Superman, “America`s most famous alien.”
“Superman: Many Lives, Many Worlds” opened to the public June 24 at the National Museum of American History.
“Superman is like other people that came to this nation,” said museum curator Carl Scheele. “He`s the essence of the great immigrant tradition.”
The collection, which is part of the Nation of Nations entertainment exhibit and runs until June 1988, showcases Superman memorabilia spanning 50 years, including:
*A Superman costume worn by George Reeves in the 1950s TV series, and one worn by Christopher Reeve in the soon to be released Superman IV.
*Original copies of Action Comics #1, and Superman# 1, which sold in 1938 for 10 cents each. The comics, in mint condition, are now valued at $25,000 and $18,000 respectively, according to Overstreet Comics Price Guide.
*An original screenplay by Mario Puzo for the 1978 film Superman: The Movie.
*An original radio script and recordings of the 1940’s radio broadcasts.
*A storyboard from one of 17 Superman cartoons published in the 1940’s.
*A special edition of Superman comics that was published during World War II and was used as a teaching device for enlisted men who could not read.
*A short film that traces the history of Superman, including clips from the TV series, the movie serials, the cartoons and the latest motion pictures.
Mingling among the stars of Superman IV (Jon Cryer, Margot Kidder and Christopher Reeve) above was Uber-artist John Byrne, riding high on the current Superman run having secured his place in comics history with ‘Man Of Steel’. He recounts;
“I met Christopher Reeve twice, that was fun. I met him at DC and we talked about the fourth movie. And then for the 50th Anniversary there was a big show down at the Smithsonian. I went down for that because they invited me. He came over and introduced himself to me ‘Hi – I’m Christopher Reeve, we met at the DC Offices’ – and I chatted with Margot Kidder for a while because we were bonding on being Canadians…”
Were you fortunate enough to attend this event? Please share your memories here. SUPERMANIA extends its thanks to SuperFans Lynn Arave for sharing the outstanding photos above from his Blog Of Steel and Sammy Gomez for his great contributions to this post..!
More extraordinary sketches taken from the production-used ‘Big Red Book’ hand-drawn by artist Martin Asbury –
In the context of the story, Superman has already rid the world of Nuclear Weapons, so quite what a whopping great Nuclear Missile is doing at a parade in Red Square remains unexplained. Nevertheless, the scene was shot precisely as drafted and made the International edit but was ultimately excised for the US cut.
Coming soon – EXCLUSIVE vintage behind-the-scenes pics of the shooting of this sequence..!
