Now approaching forty years later it seems unlikely in the extreme that between the industry and fans in the internet age any pop culture material remains undiscovered.
Imagine the excitement then, on the rare occasion something like the modest example above surfaces and challenges that perception, making you wonder if we’ve even scraped the surface –
While this set of six (four shown) unmarked, unpublished 10×8 prints may be slight variations of more common stills, the second shot (of Christoher Reeve first flight in the Fortress at Shepperton Studios) and fourth of Valerie Perrine as Eve Teschmacher to my knowledge are world firsts and SUPERMANIA is proud to showcase them here..!
Even on a freezing cold December night, with an almost incomprehensible screen bigger than three football pitches obscured between car wiper blades in torrential rain, the magic was still present.
For just beyond the giant wall of the paddock tank onto which Superman: The Movie was being projected, the world-famous 007 Stage was visible, providing the unique experience of watching scenes that were filmed years ago only yards away from where we sat.
The Pinewood Drive-In was a short lived endeavour but a fascinating one. Parked on a backlot that was once the site of Metropolis, Midvale (and indeed Gotham City) an impressive number of cars amassed before the screen and tuned to the exclusive radio station for sound. A shared experience for hardcore fans making for an incredible night…
From the top, ticket, exclusive map (with handwritten directions to the drive-in site) and visitors leaflet…
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..!
This latest vintage addition to the SUPERMANIA collection has the distinction of being preserved for all eternity on a special AKAI videocassette (for high fidelity sound and picture!) released in 1992.
Beneath its fragile cardboard slipcase (with obligatory flipped deleted scene still on the rear) lurks an unmarked VHS tape, the contents of which are the longest available European cut of the film at 89 minutes in fullscreen with Danish subtitles and an AKAI logo in place of the standard Cannon/Warner intro card.
A perfect accompaniment for the tape is the Dutch theatrical release poster from the archive (bottom pic) which text translates; ‘The greatest adventure of all time, soon in theatres – Christopher Reeve is back in Superman IV…
SUPERMANIA extends a warm welcome back to one of its greatest contributors and as evidenced above, Superfan Jayce76 has maintained a keen eye for the iconic.
As showcased on the all-new site CinemaZone Wallpaper, these amazingly authentic-looking print ad style compositions continue Jayce long association with celebrating the classic Superman series. All these unique creations from the best (and most obscure) cult properties from the silver screen are free to download. See some of his equally stunning earlier works here and look out for more in future…
