Presenting the second in the series of posts from SUPERMANIA & Friends recent all-access tour of the Propstore Of London’s main office where their incredible inventory of Movie treasures past & present reside.
Although the incredibly rare full-costume display pictured above has received full coverage on this blog whenever it has been publicly exhibited, this was a unique opportunity to intricately examine and photograph the costume without the hindrance of a plexiglass case – making it almost as good as being stood next to Reeve’s Superman himself.
As noted in this archive post, the tunic of this costume has been identified as one worn for early publicity shots (most prominently in the Topps trading card sets) besides being screenworn for scenes including the confrontation in Luthor’s Lair among others. As this tunic replaced the one originally shown in the Movieum Of London (due to ‘better provenance’ according to Propstore staff) there is a distinct colour difference between the top and tights as the tunic has faded considerably.
Closer inspection also revealed the cape to be a flying version as we discovered corresponding slits made either side to accommodate the wire rig and we were pleased to discover the faint outline of the cape shield, indicating that one had been present which was later confirmed by owner Stephen Lane (who is in possession of the shield and intends to have it re-attached).
SUPERMANIA extends its sincere thanks to all the kind staff at Propstore for the opportunity to examine this amazing iconic piece of cinema history up close and personal…
Though its common knowledge Christopher Reeve was given story credit for Superman IV: The Quest For Peace, it would be seasoned screenwriters Lawrence Konner and Mark Rosenthal (Jewel Of The Nile/The Legend Of Billie Jean) who would actually collaborate on the doomed project behind the typewriter.
The newest addition to the SUPERMANIA archive is a copy of their third draft (dated June 23, 1986) and while the plot (and maybe 85% of the dialogue) is consistent with the ‘finished’ picture, this particular submission has some startling contributions that, like so many other aspects of the film, were tragically/mercifully destined to be omitted.
First among the numerous improvements on the final film is the opening credits sequence, (top page) which was conceptualised as Superman’s pursuit and elimination of meteorites headed for Earth (having just caused the Soviet Spaceship incident) with a special note to utilize IMAX footage shot from the Space Shuttle. One can only imagine how awesome this would’ve been in stark contrast to the final dull static shot of Earth resplendent with glittery titles.
Another sad deletion is this fantastic scene (second & third pic) taking place after the Subway train rescue where Clark is made even later for work having to deal with a bullying drug dealer and littering clearly written to showcase the charms of the leading man (the limo transformation, although similarly done in Superman III is still a great touch)
Not so inspired is the denouement of the global battle between Superman and Nuclearman (bottom page) where, having been wounded, Superman escapes Nuclearman’s clutches by squishing himself out of his own costume only to land naked at the Kent farm (where he borrows a scarecrow’s clothes before holing himself up in the farmhouse). Rewritten as the equally weak cape detachment from Nuclearman’s kick, as the plot device of the energy module was yet to surface, Superman regains his charge from the ship itself.
Among the other interesting differences is the surprisingly short encounter with Nuclearman I, (who in this version doesn’t even encounter Superman face to face and is disposed of by accident) the non-appearance of Lois Lane until the first Daily Planet scene and later, bizarrely, showing up at the Kent farm to find Clark suffering from radiation poisoning, the description of Nuclearman II clearly as hideous mutated creature rather than man able to ‘morph’ in appearance and Superman’s all-encompassing ‘Super-Vision’ in place of the traditional x-rays.
While there are some solid ideas present overall it quickly becomes apparent every version of Superman IV is a desperate muddle. Whatever honourable intention the story had to address a real-world global issue gets lost amid some truly wacky notions in stark contrast of the verisimilitude set out by the earlier entries…
SUPERMANIA owes another debt of thanks to James Sawyer (editor of 1989 Batman.com) for securing me a copy of this intriguing find…
Another fascinating exhibit featured in the recent ‘Superheroes’ display at Indianapolis Children’s Hospital is this cape pertaining to be screen-used wardrobe from Superman: The Movie. Keen eyes will perhaps notice something strange about this particular piece in regard to the proportions and conclude that the distance between the shield and the hem appears short.
While it would be easy, then, to dismiss this as mere replica two things lead me to believe it is not and that its history may be even more colourful.
Firstly, thanks to SuperFan James Sawyer’s clear photography it becomes apparent in higher resolution the weave in both shield applique and cape body fabric are a match to other screen-used wardrobe and secondly, according to James there were slits in either side of the cape at waist level, the purpose of which he was unsure of.
All of which leads me to speculate that this probably started life as a Christopher Reeve worn ‘flying’ cape that had survived the original ’78-’83 trilogy only to have a quarter of its length hacked off for use in Supergirl, and in all probablility, SuperBoy.
As we know, all production-made Superman capes were catagorized for use by their state of degradation. Therefore what would start as a ‘Hero’ or ‘Walking’ cape would wind up being used as ‘Effects’ or ‘Stunt’ capes depending on their condition throughout filming. We also know they were maintained on-set and in many instances ‘remade’ to enure their longevity. This process was used throughout the Superman series and clearly later on in Supergirl where surviving examples were adjusted as noted above…
Many thanks to James for use of his pics and bringing this great discovery to my attention..!
SUPERMANIA extends its sincere thanks to SuperFan James Sawyer for providing the superb pictures above taken from the recent ‘Superheroes’ exhibit at the Indianapolis Childrens Hospital –
Among some of the awesome exhibits on show was this unique special effects portrait figure of Christopher Reeve as Superman not seen since its sale at auction in 2008. Most of this fantastic creation can be attributed to the legendary Stuart Freeborn, who was responsible for the unmistakable sculpting (the mold for which and other flying figures discussed here) and also presumably Derek Meddings for the mechanical cape flapping device.
At over 30 years old its a wonder this 26″ long puppet and tribute to moviemaking genius has survived in such pristine condition for everyone to enjoy. Check James fabulous Pop Culture blog Action Features for the full tour featuring other Super-items (the cape being covered here in the next post) and also take a moment to check out James ’89 Bat-Blog brother site to SUPERMANIA here…
In celebration of Superman’s 75th birthday, SUPERMANIA looks back at a special moment in the character’s history where the comic-book and movie worlds would briefly collide, culminating in one of the most publicised campaigns in its history.
With the unprecedented response to the Great Superman Movie Contest and resulting boost in sales for DC Comics, a follow-up competition was somewhat of an inevitability. But what could possibly top the prize of the first contest (where lucky young winners Tim Hussey and Ed Finneran were picked from thousands of entries to actually appear in Superman: The Movie) and what challenge would have to be met to better the submission of coupons obtained over months of various DC titles?
Fans may have had to answer a series of complex DC trivia questions to enter this time (25 in fact, all buried within the pages of different issues) but the prize was arguably even more coveted – Christopher Reeve’s screen-worn walking cape from Superman: The Movie.
Once again from the multitude of submissions (and many more lower tier prizes won) only 21 entrants managed to answer the questions 100% correctly. DC President Sol Harrison thought such dedication should be rewarded by the final draw being made by somebody prestigious from the new Movie – and who better than Superman himself?
DC employee Bob Rozakis recounts – “So, the morning he came in, he was escorted down the hall to Sol’s office and with all pomp and circumstance, Chris reached into the box and pulled out the winner. He was quite surprised that the box was not overflowing with cards, but when we explained about the 25 questions, he smiled and said, “I never would have gotten them all and I am Superman!”
Editor Jack Harris elaborates further – “Sol Harrison had charged me with the task of finding ‘someone from the movie’ to draw our winners because of my contacts with the Warner Publicity Department during my editing of “Superman: the Movie Magazine.” I called my contact upstairs and told him what we were looking for. Proving the theory that no one in New York City is more that two phone calls away from anyone else, I called the agent. I asked him if any of his clients would be willing to help us. He said, “Oh, there’s someone here in my office right now who can probably help you.” In another second I was talking to Christopher Reeve himself! Chris told me he was appearing on a morning news show the following day in a studio right across the street from the DC offices at Rockefeller Center and that he would be happy to stop by…”
