Superman's 50th Anniversary

Superman's 50th Anniversary
Written by	Adam Green Bruce McCulloch Rosie Shuster Robert Smigel
Directed by	Robert Boyd
Presented by	Dana Carvey
Music by	Hal Willner
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
Production
Producers	Lorne Michaels
Running time	60 minutes[1]
Original release
Network	CBS
Release	February 29, 1988 (1988-02-29)

Superman's 50th Anniversary: A Celebration of the Man of Steel is a 1988 American live action/animated television special made to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Superman.^[2]

Premise

Host Dana Carvey looks back over the history of Superman featuring sequences utilizing footage from the Max Fleischer Superman animated shorts, the Adventures of Superman starring George Reeves, and the Christopher Reeve Superman as well as vignettes wherein guest stars portraying various citizens of Metropolis give their two cents on Superman.

Cast

Host

• Dana Carvey

Guests

• The Amazing Kreskin
• Tom Davis
• Al Franken
• Hal Holbrook
• Jan Hooks
• Jack Larson
• Noel Neill
• John Randolph
• Christopher Reeve
• Robert Vaughn
• Fred Willard

Sketch cast

• Fred Willard as Finn Howard
• John Randolph as Morton Simon
• Robert Vaughn as Ross Webster
• Jackson Beck as Announcer
• Marcia Gay Harden as Marcia Connolly
• Robert Smigel as Brainwave

Production

With the approach of Superman's 50th Anniversary, CBS enlisted producer Saturday Night Live producer Lorne Michaels and staff writer Rosie Shuster (who by chance was a cousin of Superman co-creator Joe Shuster) to produce a prime TV special to mark the event.^[3] Later that same year, CBS would also air the Ruby-Spears produced Superman animated series^[3]

Reception

In his review for The New York Times, John J. O'Connor praised Dana Carvey as the host as well as the history covered regarding Superman, but criticized the comedy sketches as "labored" and "uninspired".^[4] Conversely, Terry Atkinson praised the special in a review for the Los Angeles Times calling it "a delightful and frequently irreverent 60 minutes of nostalgia and nonsense."^[5]

References

1. '"Superman's 50th Anniversary: A Celebration of the Man of Steel (1988)". tcm.com. Retrieved 2024-10-10.
2. Terrace, Vincent (June 6, 2013). Television Specials: 5,336 Entertainment Programs, 1936–2012, 2d ed. McFarland. ISBN 9781476612409. Archived from the original on May 2, 2024. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
3. Rossen, Jake (2008). Superman Vs. Hollywood: How Fiendish Producers, Devious Directors, and Warring Writers Grounded an American Icon. Chicago Review Press. p. 217. ISBN 978-1-55652-731-9. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved October 22, 2016.
4. "TV Review; Superman At 50, A Special". The New York Times. February 29, 1988. Archived from the original on May 25, 2015. Retrieved October 13, 2024.
5. "Television Reviews : Superman Special Due on Channel 2". Los Angeles Times. February 29, 1988. Retrieved October 13, 2024.

External links

• Superman's 50th Anniversary at IMDb