Original subtitles

NARRATOR: The Adventures of Superman.

Faster than a speeding bullet.

More powerful than a locomotive.

Able to leap tall buildings at a single bound.

MAN 1: Look! Up in the sky! MAN 2: It's a bird!

WOMAN: It's a plane! MAN 3: It's Superman!

NARRATOR: Yes, it's Superman,

strange visitor from another planet,

who came to Earth with powers and abilities

far beyond those of mortal men.

Superman, who can change the course of mighty rivers,

bend steel in his bare hands,

and who, disguised as Clark Kent,

mild-mannered reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper,

fights a never-ending battle

for truth, justice and the American way.

[♪♪♪]

You mean to say you've got to close your circus, Tex?

Somebody took my operational fund out of my safe,

as clean as a whistle.

No money, no circus.

And the police have no idea who might have done it?

Not a fingerprint, not a clue of any kind.

I just been plumb stolen out of business.

The circus is my life, my whole life.

Without it, I'm just nothing.

Suppose we could recover the money for you?

Well, that'd be mighty fine, ma'am,

but police have tried,

and they haven't come up with a thing.

So in one more week, no more circus.

Yeah.

It isn't much time.

[WHISTLING]

Don't you know it's bad luck to whistle in the dressing room?

Who needs luck? We've got luck.

Yeah, sure. We take the money,

the show closes, so we're out of a job.

There's no percentage.

Look, what we took from Mr. Tex Dawson's safe

is chicken feed compared to what we're gonna take from now on.

And we won't have to wait until the circus closes

before we can start.

We'll do our real work every night after the performance.

How?

Right in our own line.

I am the world's greatest escape artist, right?

Of course.

Vaults, straitjackets, handcuffs, safes, anything.

Everybody knows you're the greatest.

By the same token, I can break into anything.

Well, yeah. Robbing Mr. Dawson's safe proved that.

Correct.

There's just one trouble.

Most of the safes and vaults on ground floors

are very well-guarded.

I'm beginning to understand.

I am the world's greatest human fly.

Absolutely the greatest.

Therefore, you could climb the side of any building,

enter through the window,

then lower the rope, and pull me up.

And you can open the safes?

Just like that.

Ahhh.

The Daily Planet's leaning hard

on the police department, Mr. White.

All we do is print the news, inspector.

Five sensational robberies in three days

just can't be ignored, you know.

You're right, of course.

I'm just trying to save my own face.

If I don't get some action pretty soon,

the commissioner's gonna have me on the carpet.

Well, I don't understand it.

We know these crimes were committed, of course.

Just seems impossible.

How can you explain anyone

opening these burglarproof safes with such ease?

There's only one man in the country

who might be able to do it.

He's been in state prison for eight years.

Yes, but even if he weren't in prison,

how would he get at these safes?

That's the most puzzling thing about these robberies.

There are plenty of good second-story men around,

but what kind of a man can burgle a place

on the 32nd story?

[♪♪♪]

[♪♪♪]

Is there a burglar alarm?

I disconnected it.

Good. Now, why would they need an alarm?

They have the protection of 17 stories.

Wait outside the door, Gus.

And keep an eye out for the watchman.

Okay. Good boy.

Back.

Superman. I'm glad it's you.

Where am I?

What's more to the point is, who are you?

Well, how did I get up here?

Hm. That's a question the police would like answered.

I don't understand.

Neither do I. Suppose we both go to police headquarters

and have all of our questions answered.

Shall we go? This way.

You mean you... You're gonna fly me there?

Is there another way? Be my guest.

He's still a little shaken up from his trip here,

but I guess he can talk.

Hey, you.

We're reporters from the Daily Planet.

Do you have a statement for the press?

The same thing I told the inspector.

It's a frame-up.

We don't even know who you are.

Why should we frame you?

How should I know?

Maybe you needed a pigeon for a recent series of crimes.

Or maybe it wasn't the police at all.

Just what do you mean by that?

All I know is that I was walking down the street,

and somebody grabbed me from behind.

Next thing I knew, I was with Superman

on the 17th floor of a building.

Are you accusing Superman?

I'm not accusing anyone.

I'm just telling you what happened.

If you're so innocent,

why won't you give us your name?

I explained that. I'm a respectable businessman.

I don't want to embarrass my wife and family

with a scandal.

You were caught red-handed at the scene of a crime.

And you're not gonna be released until you answer.

Well, if that's your attitude, inspector,

I have nothing more to say.

Well, I've, uh, been up with him all night,

and that's as far as I've gotten.

He keeps saying that Superman must have flown him

up to the room

or how else would he have gotten there.

[♪♪♪]

How can ya fight Superman?

I can't.

But I can keep him so busy with his own troubles,

he won't have time to bother with us.

Come in, Atlas, come in.

[RUSSIAN ACCENT] Where's job?

You tell me you have job for me.

I do, Atlas, I do.

Pellini and myself have sort of formed a detective agency,

and we'd like you to work with us.

Atlas no detective.

Atlas the strongest man in the world.

Sure, I know.

But what are you going to do when the circus closes?

I work.

I know. I checked up on you.

You've registered with an agency for babysitters.

[LAUGHING]

[CHOKING]

Atlas, put him down.

I sorry. Atlas don't like for people to laugh on him.

Then forget this job as a babysitter

and come to work with us.

After a while we might even let you wear a badge.

Yeah. Okay.

What do I do?

Well, the first thing we do...

What you do?

You tell Atlas you detective.

We are.

We just got word that some crooks

were about to rob this vault,

so we've been hired to remove the money

before they can get it.

But why you want Atlas?

Your job starts now.

I want you to bend those bars.

Why? You've already got the safe opened.

Do as I say.

Or are the bars too thick for the great Atlas?

No bars too thick for Atlas.

Good.

That's enough.

Now all we have to do is reconnect the burglar alarm.

Reconnect it?

That's right, reconnect it.

"Police still baffled by Flying Burglar."

What else can they expect us to be but baffled?

A burglar who seems to fly

through the windows of skyscrapers.

And escapes from locked jail cells.

Only, the commissioner isn't baffled.

He says to stop this man, or else.

[PHONE RINGS]

Yes?

Right.

The alarm just went off at the Cityside Loan Company.

Cityside Loan is on the 17th floor of the Mallory Building.

Maybe we got him this time.

Looks like he finally made a mistake.

Wanna come along?

No, I better phone the lead in. Go ahead.

I'll, uh, join you later.

[♪♪♪]

Superman. What are you doing here?

[CHUCKLES]

I just dropped by, inspector.

When did you get here?

Just a moment ago.

Did you see anyone here?

No.

Did you do this?

Why, no, inspector.

It was this way when I arrived.

Well, you know, these bars are built

so they can't bend very easily.

I don't know of anyone who could do this but you.

I'm sorry, Superman,

but I'll have to place you under arrest.

All right, inspector. I guess you will.

It worked, Pellini, it worked.

They put Superman in jail.

What he do?

What he do?

[CHUCKLES]

He get in our way, that's what he do.

Yeah, but if... If we pull another job

while Superman's still in jail,

well, then they'll know he's not guilty.

That's right.

That's why we can only pull one more job.

But it has to be a big one.

A real big one.

We've got a pretty good case against you, you know.

You were found at the scene of the crime.

The bars were bent in a manner requiring super-strength.

The safe was opened by a master cracksman

or by someone who saw the tumblers and combination

with his x-ray vision.

And I was on the top floor of a building

in a room that could only be entered by a window.

Like I say.

There's only one thing wrong with this plot.

Where's the loot?

You threw it out the window to your confederates down below.

Oh, I did? To whom did I throw it?

Well, who knows? Jimmy Olsen, Lois Lane.

Clark Kent, maybe.

Inspector, you don't really believe this drivel, do you?

[LAUGHS]

Of course I don't.

But it takes the commissioner off my back for a few minutes.

And you must have had some reason

for letting me arrest you without any argument.

That's right.

Now, somebody obviously wanted me out of the way.

So they arranged this crime to look as though I had done it.

But how was it done?

Well, how, we don't know. Who, we do.

Obviously it's the man who escaped from your jail.

Now, if we pretend to go along with his plans, inspector,

maybe he'll trip himself up.

Now, that's a long shot.

Yes. Maybe we can even help him a little.

Help him? How?

By setting a trap

high in the sky where our man obviously likes to work.

For example, the new Chapman Building on 4th Street.

That should be completed now, isn't it?

It is completed.

They placed the flagpole on top of it today.

Good.

Now, if we could just arrange to get a certain story

in the next edition of the Daily Planet...

That shouldn't be too difficult.

Here's Lois Lane now. Look.

This is the biggest miscarriage of justice...

Now, now, now, Miss Lane,

you mustn't blame the good inspector.

He's only doing his duty.

And you must admit, on the face, I look pretty guilty.

Now, that's ridiculous.

And everybody on the paper is working hard to prove it.

Except Clark.

Nobody's been able to find him.

Oh, I'm sure you'll find he's doing the best he can.

But you can be of help to me, Miss Lane.

Me? How?

Simply by publishing a little squib to the effect

that the ball on the flagpole in the new Chapman Building

is made of solid gold.

Solid gold?

"Solid gold."

Sixty pounds of solid gold.

That's what it says.

And to top it off, the famous Kuldesack diamond

is embedded in the gold ball.

"Together, the gold ball and the huge diamond

are worth a quarter of a million dollars."

This can be our last job, Pellini.

Except there's one thing I'm not so happy about.

It also says an armed guard is on duty 24 hours a day.

Don't worry about him.

Okay.

Then tonight, right after the show.

And in the meanwhile,

I'll go look at the building, the Chapman Building.

I always like to look a building over in the daytime

before I try scaling it at night.

Come on, Atlas.

One minute.

I don't like.

The gold ball and big diamond,

she don't belong to us.

Why we take?

Because Superman and some of his crook friends

stole that stuff from a bunch of widows and orphans.

And we're going to get it back for those nice old ladies.

And those poor little kids.

We nice fellas, huh?

The best, Atlas. The very best.

Come on.

MAN: Anybody home?

What do you want?

My name's Olsen.

I'm a reporter for the Daily Planet.

So? Um...

My paper's doing a follow-up story

on what happens to performers after the circus closes.

What happens to anybody who loses his job?

He looks for another one.

Well, that's the general idea.

But what kind of jobs do they look for?

What do they get?

For instance, an escape artist like Harman the Great,

what kind of a job is he qualified for?

I am Harman the Great.

Really?

And this must be your famous escape trunk.

No. Wow.

I see can why you're not worried about another job.

This is stage money and phony jewelry.

It belongs to Konko the clown.

It has your name on it.

Mr. Olsen...

you came here looking for a story.

That's right.

I can give you a better story than you figured on.

How would you like to do a series

exposing all my famous escapes?

Oh, that'd be great. But are you sure you wanna tell?

Well, the circus is closing.

I have no further use for the tricks.

I'm sorry for that, but it would be a great story.

Yeah, well, there's no use beginning with the easy ones.

Locks, handcuffs, everybody knows how to do those.

They do?

But what about my famous trunk escape?

Would you like to know how that's done?

Really?

Would you really show me how to do that?

I sure will.

Do you remember how it goes?

Sure.

They, uh... They strap you in a straitjacket,

lock you in a trunk,

and then lower the trunk into a tank of water.

Precisely. Now, uh...

would you like to try this on for size?

There. How does that feel, Mr. Olsen?

Well, it's a little snug.

Good. Now the next step.

I will lock you in the trunk.

And as soon as I hit the...

But first, you ought to tell me how to get out of this.

All in good time, Mr. Olsen.

All in good time.

If you will just step inside.

There, that's right.

Now, just bend down.

Here we are.

With Clark still missing, we're a bit short-handed

on this "Flying Burglar" story.

Mr. Kent's trying to get Jimmy,

take him off the feature till Clark gets back.

What feature's that, Miss Lane?

He's interviewing the circus performers

to see what they're gonna do when the circus closes.

Like the, oh, tattooed man and the escape artist

and how they're gonna make a living.

Well, I hope they don't turn to crime.

My job is tough enough

without having an escape artist in jail.

Escape artist.

Inspector, are you thinking what I'm thinking?

I'm thinking I've already had an escape artist in my jail.

That's right.

That's how all those safes were opened so easily.

And those bent bars.

Atlas, the strong man.

And the 30-story work.

Pellini the Human Fly.

Well, how do you like that?

They took three men, put them together

to make one imitation Superman.

Hey, wait a minute.

Jimmy may be with them right now.

I better go call the office.

Inspector, can you get me out of here?

I'll get a court order today.

No, wait a minute. There may not be time for that.

Would you mind if I escaped?

I can't give you my official permission.

But I can turn my back.

Thank you. Jimmy might be in danger.

[AIR WHOOSHING]

[♪♪♪]

Ready? It's time to get going.

I'm ready.

Put that trunk in here, will you, Atlas?

JIMMY: Hey! You forgot to tell me how to get out.

Huh?

I been in here for hours.

A nosey reporter.

Huh?

Oh, it's a new act I'm working on, Atlas.

Ventriloquism.

I just I wanna see if I can throw my voice underwater.

Put me down. Let me out of here.

You pretty good. Yeah.

Just like inside.

Drop it in there, and let's get going.

Now, we've got a big job ahead of us.

There. Well, let's go.

Come on, Jimmy.

Superman.

How did you get yourself in this one?

I was practicing the underwater escape bit.

Yes, I can see that.

That's a dangerous thing to fool with.

What do you mean? I got out, didn't I?

So you did. So you did.

Where's Harman the Great?

I lost him in the shuffle.

I don't know where he went.

[CHUCKLES]

Well, I think I do.

I want you to collect Miss Lane

and meet me at the Chapman Building quickly

because I have a very good story for you.

We'll be there. Okay.

And there's not much to all this.

[THUD]

You hit guard pretty hard.

That's how you gotta treat those crooks.

Remember the widows and orphans?

Okay.

Now, you remember how we work it?

Sure, sure. Okay.

Good.

Now, as soon as I get down the rope, you follow.

You sure you can make it with that weight?

Oh, sure.

Atlas.

Superman. You supposed to be in jail.

Well, you can see I'm here.

You used to be big hero.

Fine man.

Atlas try to be like you.

Now you crook.

Crook?

You steal gold and diamonds from widows and orphans.

[GRUNTS]

Those two men were fooling you, Atlas.

They're the crooks.

You no crook? No.

Hold gold ball. I go down rope.

I have strong talk with them.

Oh, we can make it quicker than that.

The fool! He dropped it.

And almost killed us.

We jump? Pretty far.

[LAUGHS]

Nothing to it. Just hang on.

I fool all right.

Now I almost kill you.

[BOTH GRUNT]

JIMMY: Got it.

That'll make a great picture for the front page, Jim.

That is a good picture, Olsen.

And partly on the strength of it,

the police have released Atlas.

Golly, that's great.

So he can stay with the circus.

And now that you've recovered your money,

you won't have to close your show.

Oh, I'm afraid it's not that easy, ma'am.

Two of my star performers turned out to be bad apples.

Show won't be much without 'em.

Well, can't they be replaced?

Well, sure. There are a couple of great acts

I could get over from Europe.

But by the time I could manage it,

I couldn't make my play dates I've contracted for.

Well, Mr. Dawson, tell me, uh,

how much time do you have?

Oh, couple of weeks.

What would you think of Superman, uh,

as a replacement for those new acts?

Well, he'd be the greatest attraction imaginable,

but I hardly think he'd do it.

Oh, I think he will, Mr. Dawson.

In fact, I can almost assure you he will.

LOIS: Golly, Clark, won't that be wonderful,

seeing Superman in a circus?

Hey, we can all go together.

Oh, I'm sorry, Lois. I forgot to...

You know, I'm going on my vacation next week,

and I've already made arrangements.

You know, Clark, sometimes I think

you're jealous of Superman.

Could be, Lois.

I never thought of it before.

Could be.

[♪♪♪]

NARRATOR: Don't miss the next thrill-packed episode

in the amazing Adventures of Superman.

Superman is based on the original character

appearing in Superman magazine.