SUPERMAN AND THE MOLE-MEN (1951)

SUPERMAN AND THE MOLE-MEN is a 1951 American independent black-and-white superhero film released by Lippert Pictures. Produced by Barney A. Sarecky and directed by Lee Sholem, it stars George Reeves as Superman and Phyllis Coates as Lois Lane. It is the first feature film based on any DC Comics character.[1]

The film's story centers on reporters Clark Kent (George Reeves) and Lois Lane (Phyllis Coates) arriving in the small town of Silsby to witness the drilling of the world's deepest oil well. The drill however has penetrated the underground home of a race of small, bald humanoids who, out of curiosity, climb to the surface at night. They glow in the dark, which scares the local townspeople who form a mob intent on killing the creatures. Only Superman can intervene to prevent tragedy.

Plot
Clark Kent and Lois Lane arrive in the small town of Silsby to report on the world's deepest oil well. That night, two small, furry, bald dwarf humanoids emerge through the shaft and scare the elderly night watchman to death. Lois and Clark arrive at the oil well and find the dead watchman. Clark and the foreman explore the surrounding area for signs of foul play, but then Lois glimpses one of the creatures. However, no one believes her when she tells them what she saw.

The medical examiner is summoned, and he later leaves with Lois. Clark stays behind to confront the foreman, who confesses that the well was closed out of fear they had struck radium and not oil. The foreman proceeds to show Clark ore samples that were collected during different stages of drilling; all of them glow brightly.

Meanwhile, the two Mole Men explore the town, but the residents become terrified because of their peculiar appearance and the fact that everything they touch glows in the dark due to phosphorescence. Soon, an angry mob forms, led by the violent Luke Benson (Jeff Corey), to kill the "monsters". Superman (George Reeves) stops Benson and the mob and saves one of the creatures in mid-air after it is shot from the top of a dam. While Superman takes it to the hospital, the second creature returns to the wellhead and disappears down its shaft.

A doctor announces that the injured creature will die unless it has surgery to remove the bullet. When a nurse refuses to do so out of fear, Clark volunteers to assist. Benson's mob arrives at the hospital demanding that the creature be turned over to them. Superman stands guard outside the hospital with Lois, but a shot is fired from the mob and narrowly misses her. Superman sends her inside and single-handedly disarms the mob.

Three more Mole Men emerge from the drill shaft, this time bearing a strange weapon. They make their way to the hospital, where Benson and his mob see them; Benson decides to go after them alone. The creatures fire their laser-like weapon at him, but Superman jumps in front of the ray, saving Benson's life. Superman fetches the wounded creature from the hospital and carries him alongside his companions as they return to the wellhead. After descending back down, the Mole Men destroy the drill shaft, ensuring that no one can come up or go down it.

Cast
George Reeves as Kal-El / Clark Kent / Superman
Phyllis Coates as Lois Lane
Jeff Corey as Luke Benson
Walter Reed as Bill Corrigan, Mine Foreman
J. Farrell MacDonald as Pop Shannon
Stanley Andrews as The Sheriff
Ray Walker as John Craig
Hal K. Dawson as Chuck Weber
Phil Warren as Deputy Jim
Frank Reicher as Hospital Superintendent
Beverly Washburn as Child
Billy Curtis as a Mole-Man (uncredited)
Jerry Maren as a Mole-Man (uncredited)
Byron Foulger as Jeff Reagan (uncredited)
Themes
The sympathetic treatment of the strangers in the film, and the unreasoning fear on the part of the townspeople, has been compared by author Gary Grossman to the panicked public reaction to the peaceful alien Klaatu in the science fiction film The Day the Earth Stood Still, which was released the same year. Both have been considered retrospectively as the product of (and a reaction to) the "Red Scare" of the post-World War II era. Grossman also cites the later film The Mole People (1956).