Bruce Scivally
Published by McFarland
Bruce Scivally’s Superman On Film, Television Radio and Broadway, is an awesome book! It’s impossible to find a better way of describing it.
The version that I read was first published in 2008. Henry Cavill wasn’t there, but the cover photo had a copyright expiration date of 2022. Whatever. There are choices in this book.
There was hardly a single page that I read without learning something new. The author covers every major version (and several minor versions) of Man of Steel fairly, and is on-point throughout the book. Let’s leave out my opinion of Ray Middleton.
After reading a number of books, articles and websites, I do not consider myself an expert on Superman’s history, but am certainly familiar with it. George Reeves was Superman long before I had ever seen a comic. The reruns of Superman were constants in my early years, even though he passed away months before I was born. Like kids from the decade prior, I wore a dishtowel, jumped on rocks, and made a whoosh sound.
It was interesting to learn about the cast, sets, effects and politics of the show. The section about Reeves’ untimely demise is equally succinct, but not exploitative.
It is the same for coverage on Christopher Reeve’s later life-changing incident, which was detailed following solid coverage about his four Superman films and their decreasing returns.
The book is not only about Reeves & Reeves. It also includes stories from Bob Holiday, Bud Collyer, Kirk Alyn, Kirk Alyn serial Superman and Lois & Clark.
All of this is, of course, documented in the style of a McFarland & Company book with eight pages of bibliography and 18 pages of notes.
If you have ever enjoyed any of the versions of DC’s Superman, Superman On Film, Television Radio and Broadway is a great book for an evening or afternoon in bed.