# Superman and the Mole-Men
**Superman and the Mole-Men** is a 1951 American black-and-white feature film, 58 minutes long, that was the first feature-length film based on the comic character Superman.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/50320-SUPERMAN-AND-THE-MOLE-MEN) Directed by Lee Sholem and starring [George Reeves](https://www.edgepedia.org/george-reeves) as Clark Kent/Superman and [Phyllis Coates](https://www.edgepedia.org/phyllis-coates) as [Lois Lane](https://www.edgepedia.org/lois-lane), it was produced by Lippert Productions and National Comics Publications and released on 23 November 1951.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/50320-SUPERMAN-AND-THE-MOLE-MEN) The film was devised as a pilot for the television series *Adventures of Superman*, and after its theatrical run it was re-edited into the two-part television story "The Unknown People".[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/50320-SUPERMAN-AND-THE-MOLE-MEN) • [2](https://www.supermansupersite.com/1950adventures.html)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Status | First feature-length film based on Superman[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/50320-SUPERMAN-AND-THE-MOLE-MEN) |
| Release | 23 November 1951; 58 minutes, black and white, RCA sound[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/50320-SUPERMAN-AND-THE-MOLE-MEN) |
| Key credits | Director Lee Sholem; writer Richard Fielding; producer Barney A. Sarecky; music Darrell Calker[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/50320-SUPERMAN-AND-THE-MOLE-MEN) |
| Lead cast | George Reeves (Clark Kent/Superman), Phyllis Coates (Lois Lane), Jeff Corey (Luke Benson)[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/50320-SUPERMAN-AND-THE-MOLE-MEN) |
| Production | Filmed July 10–21, 1951, six days a week, at RKO-Pathé Studios[3](https://www.jimnolt.com/productionschedule.htm) |
| Television reuse | Edited into two 30-minute segments retitled "The Unknown People", aired beginning fall 1952 as the only two-part story of *Adventures of Superman*[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/50320-SUPERMAN-AND-THE-MOLE-MEN) • [2](https://www.supermansupersite.com/1950adventures.html) |
| Legacy | The Mole Men were made canon in DC Comics in *Superman Unlimited* #7 in 2025, 74 years after the film[4](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/dc-movies/74-years-after-their-on-screen-debut-the-first-superman-movie-villains-have-finally-been-made-canon-in-dc-comics/) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Reporters Clark Kent and Lois Lane of the [Daily Planet](https://www.edgepedia.org/daily-planet) arrive in the small town of Silsby to cover the drilling of the world's deepest oil well.[9](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/superman-and-the-mole-men) The drill has penetrated the underground home of a race of small, furry people, who come to the surface at night; because they glow in the dark, the frightened townspeople form a mob, led by the vicious Luke Benson, intent on killing them.[9](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/superman-and-the-mole-men) Superman stands between the mob and the creatures and tries to broker peace between humans and Mole Men.[4](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/dc-movies/74-years-after-their-on-screen-debut-the-first-superman-movie-villains-have-finally-been-made-canon-in-dc-comics/) The film ends with the Mole Men retreating underground and blowing up the drill shaft so no one can follow them.[4](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/dc-movies/74-years-after-their-on-screen-debut-the-first-superman-movie-villains-have-finally-been-made-canon-in-dc-comics/)
The story is a plea for tolerance on behalf of a subterranean race.[10](https://www.supermanthroughtheages.com/fos/thescreen/tv1/) At one point Superman prevents Lois from filing a story before all the facts are known, lecturing her about responsible reporting and the danger of news outlets stirring up a panic.[11](https://www.thewrap.com/superman-woke-maga-superman-and-the-mole-men-movie/) Superman is never physically challenged in the film; the conflict is moral rather than physical.[11](https://www.thewrap.com/superman-woke-maga-superman-and-the-mole-men-movie/)
## Production
The film grew out of [DC Comics](https://www.edgepedia.org/dc-comics)' plan to bring Superman to television. In May 1951 *Variety* reported that DC Comics would be actively involved in funding, developing, and producing a television Superman; the original arrangement saw DC self-financing twenty-six black-and-white telefilms, with a $400,000 budget allocated in July 1951, each to be filmed at the RKO Pathé studios.[5](https://researchspace.bathspa.ac.uk/6284/1/Superman.pdf) Lee Sholem was signed to direct on June 21, 1951, and production of "Mole-Men" was set to begin on July 10.[6](https://www.jimnolt.com/1951thebeginning.htm)
**Shooting schedule.** Filming ran from July 10 through July 21, 1951, six days each week, on the RKO-Pathé lot.[3](https://www.jimnolt.com/productionschedule.htm) With only one day off, the cast and crew then moved directly into the twenty-four episodes of the first season of *Adventures of Superman*, which were completed by the end of 1951.[3](https://www.jimnolt.com/productionschedule.htm) • [7](https://www.supermanhomepage.com/tv/cast-crew/george-reeves.php) On-screen credits and all reviews list only Barney A. Sarecky as producer, though a September 1951 *Hollywood Reporter* item indicated RKO producers Bernard Luber and [Robert Maxwell](https://www.edgepedia.org/robert-maxwell) were also to produce; the extent of their involvement in the released film is undetermined.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/50320-SUPERMAN-AND-THE-MOLE-MEN) A scholarly account credits Robert Maxwell with all editorial and creative duties on the feature, co-writing and producing it along with the first-run television episodes, sharing the producing credit with Bernard Luber.[5](https://researchspace.bathspa.ac.uk/6284/1/Superman.pdf)
The film was based on the comic strip "Superman" by [Jerry Siegel](https://www.edgepedia.org/jerry-siegel) and [Joe Shuster](https://www.edgepedia.org/joe-shuster).[8](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/50320-SUPERMAN-AND-THE-MOLE-MEN?cxt=filmography) Voice-over narration following the onscreen credits introduces Superman as the sole survivor of the planet Krypton, reared on Earth, who uses his powers as the "valiant defender of truth justice and the American Way".[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/50320-SUPERMAN-AND-THE-MOLE-MEN)
## From film to television series
The film opened in theaters in November 1951 and proved quite successful.[7](https://www.supermanhomepage.com/tv/cast-crew/george-reeves.php) After its theatrical release it was edited into two thirty-minute segments retitled "The Unknown People", which aired on television beginning in the fall of 1952.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/50320-SUPERMAN-AND-THE-MOLE-MEN) These two episodes rounded out the twenty-six-episode first season and were the series' only two-part story.[7](https://www.supermanhomepage.com/tv/cast-crew/george-reeves.php) • [2](https://www.supermansupersite.com/1950adventures.html) A total of 104 *Adventures of Superman* episodes were eventually produced, beginning with the re-edited film, and the syndicated series ran from 1952 to 1957 (Reeves played the role through 1958).[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/50320-SUPERMAN-AND-THE-MOLE-MEN) • [4](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/dc-movies/74-years-after-their-on-screen-debut-the-first-superman-movie-villains-have-finally-been-made-canon-in-dc-comics/)
Phyllis Coates did not return as Lois Lane for the second season; [Noel Neill](https://www.edgepedia.org/noel-neill), who had played the role in the 1948 and 1950 Superman serials, took over.[7](https://www.supermanhomepage.com/tv/cast-crew/george-reeves.php)
## Reception and legacy
Contemporary and later commentary has emphasized the film's message over its production values. Critics on Rotten Tomatoes give it a 77% Tomatometer score from 7 reviews; one 2025 review called it "a fascinatingly political vision of Superman", and another described it as cinematically bare-bones but heart-lifting.[12](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/superman_and_the_mole_men) The film has been described as arguably the least entertaining entry in the Superman franchise, while still resonating because Superman is challenged morally rather than physically.[11](https://www.thewrap.com/superman-woke-maga-superman-and-the-mole-men-movie/) On IMDb it holds a 5.5 rating from about 2,800 user votes.[9](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/superman-and-the-mole-men)
The film's place in Superman history is secure on two counts. It was the first feature-length Superman motion picture, though at 58 minutes, as one catalog notes, "just barely", and it served as the back-door pilot (a TV series pilot released first as a standalone film) for the character's first television series.[13](https://www.heritagestatic.com/comics/d/89220-7427-superman-catalog.pdf) It was also the first feature film based on any DC Comics character, since the earlier Kirk Alyn Superman outings were theatrical serials released in weekly installments rather than standalone features.[14](https://dcworld.org.uk/reviews/2018/04/29/history-dc-comics-film-part-1-superman-mole-men/)
**Later visibility.** Rarely shown in the years following its debut, the movie resurfaced during the 1990s via cable TV and home video releases; today it is included with the first-season DVD set of *Adventures of Superman* and can be found on the 2006 DVD edition of *Superman: The Movie*.[2](https://www.supermansupersite.com/1950adventures.html) In 2025, DC Comics made the Mole Men canon in *Superman Unlimited* #7, in which Superman's son Jonathan Kent encounters the subterranean creatures in [Smallville](https://www.edgepedia.org/smallville), ending on a more cordial note than the film.[4](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/dc-movies/74-years-after-their-on-screen-debut-the-first-superman-movie-villains-have-finally-been-made-canon-in-dc-comics/)
## References
1. [Superman and the Mole-Men (1951), AFI Catalog of Feature Films](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/50320-SUPERMAN-AND-THE-MOLE-MEN)
2. [The Adventures of Superman, Superman Super Site](https://www.supermansupersite.com/1950adventures.html)
3. [Production Schedule 1951, Jim Nolt, Adventures of Superman fan archive](https://www.jimnolt.com/productionschedule.htm)
4. [74 years after their on-screen debut, the first Superman movie villains have finally been made canon in DC Comics, GamesRadar (2025)](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/dc-movies/74-years-after-their-on-screen-debut-the-first-superman-movie-villains-have-finally-been-made-canon-in-dc-comics/)
5. [Doctoral thesis on Superman as transmedia storyworld, Bath Spa University research repository](https://researchspace.bathspa.ac.uk/6284/1/Superman.pdf)
6. [The Summer of '51, Jim Nolt, Adventures of Superman fan archive](https://www.jimnolt.com/1951thebeginning.htm)
7. [George Reeves cast and crew page, Superman Homepage](https://www.supermanhomepage.com/tv/cast-crew/george-reeves.php)
8. [Superman and the Mole-Men credits, AFI Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/50320-SUPERMAN-AND-THE-MOLE-MEN?cxt=filmography)
9. [Superman and the Mole Men streaming page with synopsis and ratings, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/superman-and-the-mole-men)
10. [Adventures of Superman! history page, Superman Through the Ages](https://www.supermanthroughtheages.com/fos/thescreen/tv1/)
11. ["'Superman' Too Woke? MAGA Would Have Hated the First Man of Steel Movie, Too", TheWrap (2024)](https://www.thewrap.com/superman-woke-maga-superman-and-the-mole-men-movie/)
12. [Superman and the Mole Men, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/superman_and_the_mole_men)
13. [Superman on the Silver Screen catalog, Heritage Auctions](https://www.heritagestatic.com/comics/d/89220-7427-superman-catalog.pdf)
14. [The History of DC Comics on Film, Part 1: Superman and The Mole Men, DC World (2018)](https://dcworld.org.uk/reviews/2018/04/29/history-dc-comics-film-part-1-superman-mole-men/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Franchise and series entries as standalone works › Superhero and comic-franchise film entries › Comic films before 2000*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license