The Girl Who Didn't Believe in Superman

[Jim Kelly]

I finished watching the second season of ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN today. The final episode is called "Around the World with Superman" (written by Jackson Gillis) and I was astonished to find this had the same plot as "The Girl Who Didn't Believe in Superman" by Bill Finger, Wayne Boring and Stan Kaye from SUPERMAN No. 96 (March 1955). I first read that story when it was reprinted in SUPERMAN 242 (September 1971).



You would think that the comic book story came first, but in fact episode 26 of season 2 aired on March 13th, 1954; while SUPERMAN 96 went on sale January 25th, 1955. So it seems like the TV show had the idea first. Of course, Mort Weisinger was the story editor for all the TV episodes and he was the editor of the SUPERMAN comic book--so the idea was probably his either way.

I was an emotional wreck after watching the TV episode. It just touched me in a profound way. I think this is the idea of Superman--as corny as it may seem--that a lot of people identified with back in the day. It's that vital element that so many movies and other TV shows try to approach yet flinch away from because it's too sentimental and sincere for them to handle.

[Jim Kelly]

There's a nice synopsis of the story on the SILVER AGE COMICS blog for February 8, 2010 and that link should work if all else fails. The story was also reprinted in SUPERMAN IN THE FIFTIES (2002).

One of the interesting differences between the TV and the comic book version is that, in the TV episode, Superman simply uses his x-ray vision to direct the surgeon in peforming the operation, while in the comics version, Superman is actually shown learning everything to be done in such a procedure (at super-speed) to perform the operation himself. However, we never get to see Dr. Superman in action, oh shucks!

I've always associated this bit with the Rock Hudson classic directed by Douglas Sirk, MAGNIFICENT OBSESSION from 1954, based on the 1929 novel of the same name by Lloyd C. Douglas. There was an earlier film, likewise titled and based on that novel, back in 1935, but it's the Douglas Sirk movie I remember best.

[Kuwagaton]

The site you originally referenced was blocked here for piracy.

Good to know the comic has already been reprinted because we'd be about 3 omnibus collections away, chronologically.

The tv show has always been a blank spot for me. I love the acting but always dread the sfx budget. It's my mission to check both out this week since you describe them as memorable.

[Jim Kelly]

The connection with the 1954 MAGNIFICENT OBSESSION is probably no accident, given the little girl who plays Anne Carson on the TV show, Judy Nugent, also plays Judy in that movie.