Once described by Newsweek columnist Jack Kroll as having a face ‘as sharp & strong as an axe blade’ Christopher Reeve’s features were ideally suited for the transition of Superman from the comic-book page to Silver Screen.
Pictured from top is the very latest addition to my collection both echoing this sentiment and representing the end of a personal crusade to locate and obtain this rarest of ‘lifecasts’ of the man himself. This indisputably genuine cast taken from Reeve’s face during the production of the Superman films is the work of make-up guru Stuart Freeborn (bottom pic, Far left). Freeborn (who turned 97 this past week!) is a bona-fide legend in the industry and remained makeup Supervisor for all four Reeve pictures.
Besides famously serving as the face model for Yoda from The Empire Strikes Back, Freeborn was responsible for the differentiation in appearance between Clark & Superman as well as the vile demeanour for his Evil persona in Superman III. As illustrated in the last pic, Freeborn made multiple casts of the principals mainly for infrequently-used stand-in dummies (e.g. The Fire & Ice scene in Superman: The Movie) and other effects sequences but despite this, few were thought to exist beyond the end of production. Indeed, the only evidence of a surviving example was featured in a lot offered some years ago from the Freeborn estate by the Propstore Of London and was snapped up for a handsome price even in its battered state, making this newly-discovered sharper example all the more desirable…
This latest addition to my collection is a generous gift from fellow SuperFan Alexei Lambley-Steel who, after inquiring about a single prop was offered a large set of screenused items from Superman IV: The Quest For Peace!
Shown above is a genuine set-used/screen-used prop US car numberplate used throught production. The timing of this acquisition could not be better in view of the fact they are now clearly identifiable on the recently-released Blu-Ray disc (and not, unfortunately, from the DVD screengrabs above) proving the plate 774 LPS makes its first appearance on Lacy Warfield’s car as it pulls up outside the UN. It later adorns the front of a white sedan (far left in screengrab) whose roof is torn off during Nuclearman’s attack before finally being scorched by the car next to it as its engulfed in a fireball.
Constrained by budgetary restrictions, the same vehicles appear over and over on the Elstree Studios set, including a portion stripped of their engines and crushed by the battle with the first Nuclearman from the deleted scenes (bottom pic)…
The Global selling of a Super-Sequel often yields some interesting slants on advertising besides providing some great imagery. Despite its status among critics and fans as where the ‘rot’ started to set in conceptually, Superman III remains a literal comic-book brought to life (made all the more watchable on Blu-Ray thanks to digital wire removal).
Shown above is the art for the three main Poster campaigns adapted for European promotion – From the top; Larry Salk’s US 1 sheet painting and Daniel Goozee’s art from the UK Quad both from German magazines, (see more of Goozee’s III Poster concepts here) poster art from an unknown artist (can anybody help identify?) from a French Movie mag that was also found on the Japanese program and UK Poster Magazine, and bottom, oversize Trade Ad from the UK…
Hot from the PC of Alexei Lambley-Steel come these ‘Portrait’ test shots for our evolving mock vintage Superman IV trading Card set.
These prototypes represent the last of the try-outs before we begin the set proper. Alexei informs me the only amendment will be the typeface which will be even closer to the ‘real’ thing on the finished cards. My contribution (besides the images) is to produce the titles and copy for the cardbacks – there will be a title card, possibly a checklist and maybe even a sticker set to round it off in true retro style.
Enjoy and check back for updates and a preview of the finished set…!
