75 Years of Superman

I have been  reading a lot about Superman lately because of the release of Man of Steel so I revisited the Superman classic movie from 1978 with Gene Hackman as Lex Luthor and Christopher Reeve. I bet this was the only time Marlon Brando was in a comic book movie! This movie still held up, and was enjoyable, except I cringed at Margot Kidder's portrayal of Lois Lane as a damsel in distress that needed to be rescued all the time. 

I much prefer Superman on TV actually. I adored Lois and Clark ,because I am drawn to Clark Kent much more than Superman, as Clark  is vulnerable and a hopeless romantic. Talk about being swept off your feet, and  being on cloud nine, you can literally fly among the clouds with him!  I also liked that Teri Hatcher, as Lois, was the star of the show and a no- nonsense feminist. She and Dean Cain had a great chemistry.  I have recently started watching Smallville which showcases Clark Kent as a teenager, and explores the relationship between Lex Luthor and him before they are arch enemies. I am not sure why he only falls for girls with alliterative names. Lana Lang really?
I haven't read any of the Superman comic books but my jaw dropped to the ground when I found out that the very first comic book Action Comics (1938) is worth 2 million dollars. If only I had kept my Batman comics!  He helped establish the superhero genre.  I love that he is a superhero with the strongest moral code.

I really do sometimes wonder if there is any truth to the rumor that there is a Superman curse, but I hope not for  Henry Cavill's sake!  We all know  that Christopher Reeves died young ,after being disabled for 10 years prior due to a horse riding accident , and look what happened to George Reeves! He committed suicide at age 45. Brandon Routh has not had any bad luck yet, but he wasn't considered a very good Superman and hasn't had any real career trajectory yet. Dean Cain's acting career seems to have stalled as well.  Margot Kidder  has suffered from mental illness but denies that there is a Superman curse.

Hollywoodland is a fascinating biographical docudrama  starring Ben Affleck as George Reeves . I highly recommend it . There was some speculation it was foul play the private detective thought but it remains a  notorious unsolved mystery!

Finally, are you looking forward to seeing Man of Steel?  I have mixed feelings about it because it is the darkest one, and there is no Clark Kent at the Daily Planet, and there are apparently too many fight scenes.  I would like to see Russell Crowe as his  biological Dad, and Kevin Costner and Diane Lane as his adoptive parents.  I like Amy Adams but think she is miscast as Lois Lane.