Posted By Dan Greenfield on Jun 12, 2024 | 13 comments

An ANNIVERSARY RETROSPECTIVE: The much-maligned flick premiered June 12, 1983. It also happens to be Superman Day…

By CHRIS FRANKLIN

Superman III isn’t a great movie.

OK, we got that out of the way. I’m not going to lie and tell you Superman III (which premiered in the US on June 12, 1983, before going wide five days later) equals its two predecessors in cinematic quality. It doesn’t. It’s often maligned, and honestly, it deserves some of it. At its core, the direction of the film is misguided. Rather than go with their initial ideas of using Brainiac or Mr. Mxyzptlk as the antagonists, the creators took a random comment Richard Pryor made during a talk show appearance about wanting to be in a Superman film and ran with it. So, the film star and trailblazing comedian is shoehorned into a Superman adventure that isn’t really all that funny.

Producers Ilya Salkind and Pierre Spengler hoped that Pryor would ad lib and improvise his way through the screenplay by David and Leslie Newman. He didn’t. Despite his innate abilities to make people laugh and sympathize with him, Pryor’s unlikely computer genius Gus Gorman seems like he wandered in from another film at Pinewood Studios. Richard Lester, now entrenched as the series director having taken over from Richard Donner on Superman II during production, takes the humor elements he elevated in that cobbled together masterpiece and cranks it up to 11. The humor in the film is often just silly, and it’s puzzling what demographic the jokes and gags are really aimed at (the fighting crosswalk icons are a real headscratcher).

For the heavies, Robert Vaughn does his best as megalomaniacal business tycoon Ross Webster, with Annie Ross as his controlling sister Vera, and Pamela Stephenson as his “psychic nutritionist,” the not-as-dumb-as-she-seems Lorelei Ambrosia. Despite their best efforts, they can’t help but seem like fill-ins for the previous films’ Lex Luthor, Otis and Miss Tessmacher.

Despite all this, there are some great elements in this film. The character of Clark Kent (Christopher Reeve, of course) gets some major development as he heads back home for his high school reunion, where he reacquaints himself with a lost love in the form of none other than Lana Lang (Annette O’Toole). And what bigger challenge could Clark face than a twisted version of his own super persona? A while back, my podcasting pal and fellow 13th Dimension contributor Rob Kelly discussed Superman III five minutes at a time on our Superman Movie Minute podcast.

I’m not going to say it was always easy, but we did find several silver linings worth celebrating during our coverage. So, let’s squeeze this lump of coal into a diamond, and discuss 13 THINGS TO LOVE ABOUT SUPERMAN III!

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13. The Comic Book Adaptation. Comic book fans bemoaned the lack of adaptations for Superman: The Movie and Superman II. This was due to an ironclad stipulation in the contract of initial Superman film scriptwriter Mario Puzo, author of The Godfather, who demanded a hefty fee for any adaptation of his work. DC published magazine-like treasury specials but couldn’t interpret the movies in comics form. With Superman III, and its lack of a Puzo-connection, that all changed. The Superman Movie Special (as the indicia calls it) hit shelves June 23, 1983, with a photo cover of Christopher Reeve.

Inside writer Cary Bates, penciller Curt Swan, and editor Julius Schwartz adapted the movie screenplay. All stalwarts of Bronze Age Superman comics, this issue could easily pass for a typical Superman comic of the era, despite the occasional actor likenesses, and the inks of Sal Amendola, who’s linework doesn’t really mesh all that well with the work of legendary Superman penciller Swan. If this feels like a typical Bronze Age Superman or Action Comics issue, that’s fitting, as the movie’s plot mimics many Superman comics of the era.

An everyman (in this case Gus Gorman) is manipulated by some outside force into becoming a menace of some kind, and Superman is inevitably dragged into the plot to stop the threat. It was a formula often used by Bates and other writers of the time.

For good or ill, it makes Superman III, in many ways, closer to the feel of the contemporary comics than the other films in the series, minus all the added attempts at humor.

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12. The Photo Booth Souvenir. The opening of the film is Lester’s slapstick montage of how incredibly dangerous it is to live in Metropolis. Clark Kent responds to the chaos by ducking into a photo booth but is unaware that a young child and his mother have already put their money in to use it. Christopher Reeve emerges in full Superman glory, only to notice the family — and the photos that have processed out of the booth. Grabbing them, he sees the sequence of his change from reporter to Man of Steel. He charmingly rips off the last picture, which is just a nice headshot of Superman, and hands it to the boy, patting his head.

This very cute bit is even more endearing when you learn the boy is portrayed by Aaron Smolinski, who played young Clark when he first emerged from the rocket ship and met his adoptive parents in Superman: The Movie, and would go on to appear as a soldier in Man of Steel.

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11. The Fate of Good Ol’ Brad Wilson. Despite reconnecting with Lana, the Smallville High Reunion has a downside for Clark. He has to once more contend with “good ol’” Brad Wilson, his tormentor from his teen years. Fans of the first film remember Brad as the jerk jock who purposefully gives Clark more work to do as the football waterboy so he can’t spend time with Lana and hang out with the other kids. Essentially the Flash Thompson to his Peter Parker.

Proving that sometimes karma can be a cruel mistress, Brad is now a washed-up has-been and a bit of a drunk, with only his high school football victories to keep him warm at night. Brad can’t even get past still wanting to monopolize Lana’s time and is flummoxed by her interest in Clark. Throughout the film, Brad gets his comeuppance, including a memorable slapstick outro. Gavin O’Herhily does a great job of making Brad at least somewhat sympathetic, at least in a pitiful way.

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10. The Tractor Save. Clark and Lana’s countryside picnic is interrupted when Lana’s son Ricky (Paul Kaethler) is knocked unconscious while searching for his dog Buster. With his x-ray vision, Clark spies Ricky laying in a field, with a row of combine tractors heading toward him. The transformation into Superman behind a plank wood fence reminds one of early zoetrope animation, and the shots of the Man of Steel flying low above the wheat is also a great visual. When Superman darts in front of the tractor, grabbing the blades and stopping the combine, the weight and danger of the machine seem very real.

Despite the nearly fatal encounter, what kid wouldn’t want to wake up in Superman’s arms, mid-flight? After dropping Ricky off to his mom and making brief but friendly chit-chat, Superman takes off, only for Clark to reappear with Buster. Mother and son are very excited, but Clark is blase, seeing Superman every day in Metropolis. Listen for Clark’s mumbled reaction as the scene transitions to the next, and Ricky asks for Superman’s autograph: “(Sigh), I don’t know. If I had a nickel for every time some little kid…”

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9. The Chemical Plant Fire. On their way to Smallville via bus, Clark Kent and Jimmy Olsen (Marc McClure) come upon a raging fire at a chemical factory. This of course, is a job for Superman, but also one for Jimmy, who dares the danger to get some shots for Perry White (Jackie Cooper). While Superman ingeniously saves a group of workers using a large silo as a slide, Jimmy manages to climb a fire truck ladder to get a better view. Superman learns that the acid in the plant will become volatile and create a cloud that can eat through anything when super-heated. But first he has to save Jimmy, who manages to fall from the ladder and break his leg. Superman warns the fire chief of the acid danger, but the water pump houses go out, leaving the firefighters with no way to stop the raging blaze.

They point Superman to a nearby lake, and the Man of Steel flies off. Using his super-breath, he freezes the top portion of the lake (don’t worry kids, you can still see water in it, so he didn’t kill all the animals living there), and flies it to the plant, dropping it on the smoke and flames, and creating rain that puts out the fire and brings the acid temperature back to safe levels. Could Superman just have frozen the acid and the fire with his freeze breath? Probably, but there’s no denying this is an exciting and well-staged sequence. The shots of Reeve walking through the flames to get to Jimmy really show Superman’s power in a quiet but effective way.

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8. The Lois/Lana Rivalry. One thing NOT to love about Superman III is the treatment of Margot Kidder. Having been very vocal about the firing of Richard Donner, the producers relegate her role to a glorified cameo, despite being the female lead in the previous two films. Kidder’s Lois Lane appears in the first scene in the Daily Planet, off to a Caribbean vacation. She doesn’t reappear until the very end of the film, having returned with a first-hand account of the corruption in the vacation market. Lois asks Clark to lunch, but he begs off, having made plans with Perry White’s new secretary… Lana Lang. Lana walks in, and shaking hands, Lois notices the giant diamond ring she’s wearing.

When Lana tells her Clark gave it to her, the look on Kidder’s face is priceless. One can imagine the gears turning in her mind, wondering if she made a mistake, putting Clark “on the shelf” only for her double L competition to scoop him up. Of course, this calls back to the classic Lois/Lana rivalry in the comics, but unfortunately Lana is nowhere to be seen in Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, so the potential of this love triangle (or is that a square with Superman?) is never realized.

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7. Scary Robot Lady. When Gus Gorman’s super computer goes sentient, it pulls lead villain Ross Webster’s bossy sister Vera into its core. What follows traumatized a generation, with wires animating and holding actress Annie Ross in place as metal plates begin to appear all over her screaming face. Her eyes close and reopen to reveal silver, pupil-less orbs, and what walks out is a truly frightening meshing of woman and machine (played no doubt by another actress).

Looking more like something off the cover of Heavy Metal than a Superman comic, the cyborg monstrosity quickly puts the hurt on Ross the Boss and Lorelei, with powerful finger and eye beams. Superman returns and sends those blasts right back at her, taking her out. Her appearance is brief, but the nightmare fuel unleashed on young children viewing this movie is indeed very real!

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6. The Clark/Lana Romance. Despite the shenanigans, the real heart of this film in the sweet, budding romance between Clark Kent and Lana Lang. Upon seeing each other for the first time at their class reunion, the two are instantly smitten, and both seem like they want to pick up where they never really got to leave off. Reeve and O’Toole have a real electric and charming chemistry. Despite the sparks flying, there’s still humor in their scenes, with the couple seemingly having two conversations at once every time. Clark thinks they are about to kiss, when Lana is distracted by her car’s leaking oil pan, for instance.

Excited by the chance at a new life, Lana accepts Clark’s invitation to move to Metropolis, and takes a job at the Daily Planet as Perry White’s secretary. She also accepts the HUGE diamond ring Clark gifts her, via Superman’s ability to compress coal into diamond. It doesn’t take much to see that at least in THIS universe, Lana is indeed a viable option for the love of Clark’s life, and maybe a better fit for him than even Lois Lane.

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5. “Evil” Superman. Pryor’s Gus Gorman has his supercomputer create synthetic Kryptonite, hoping it will kill the Man of Steel, and remove him as an obstacle to Ross Webster’s plans. Due to a missing ingredient that Gorman substitutes with tar, it does not kill him, but it does affect him, much like the Red Kryptonite seen in the comics. Superman’s baser instincts begin to take over. He’s more concerned with making time with Lana than saving a truck dangling off a bridge. He pulls pranks like blowing out the Olympic torch and straightening the Leaning Tower of Pisa. The beautiful Lorelei even seduces him into damaging an oil tanker that refuses to listen to the supercomputer’s commands, creating an oil spill. That’s really the most despicable act this “Evil” Superman does.

By today’s standards of heroes gone bad, he’s not truly awful, as he’s not killing anyone. But still, it’s dark for this franchise, especially the scene that launched a well-worn meme of Superman drinking shots in a bar, and flicking peanuts at the bottles behind the counter. Visually, the contrast between this new, corrupted Kal-El and the classic version is achieved by making the costume colors darker (oddly presaging the colors used in Superman Returns) and giving him a five o’clock shadow (presaging Tyler Hoechlin’s rarely clean-shaven Last Son of Krypton on the television series Superman and Lois).

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4. The Junkyard Fight. The greatest action set piece in the film is one of the highlights of the entire franchise. The less-altruistic Superman’s conscience seems to be fighting this turn to the dark side, and after a push from the cries of Lana’s son Ricky, it manifests itself as pure Clark Kent, who emerges from Superman’s body. The result is the two halves of the Man of Steel engaging in an exciting and very well-executed battle in an abandoned junkyard.

Reeve seems to relish playing the wild and almost animal-like Superman, while still infusing this action-hero version of Clark with the same neurotic ticks he made famous. The alter-egos throw everything at hand at each other, from tires, to acid, to giant magnets. As Superman grows weaker, Clark grows stronger, but the twisted Man of Tomorrow manages to knock his alter ego cold, laying him on the conveyer belt of a grinding machine.

He symbolically crushes Kent’s glasses as he listens to his screams, but is confused when no remnants of Clark emerge on the conveyer’s other side. Clark blasts from the machine, and he’s had enough of this imposter. He goes for his rival’s throat and chokes his surprised super-ego into non-existence. Which leads to…

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3. THE Shirt Rip. Clark, sans glasses, stands up, looks skyward reverently, and as Ken Thorne’s interpretation of John Williams’ main theme swells, rips open his shirt to reveal the true, pure red and yellow of Superman’s iconic “S” shield.

The look on Reeve’s face sells the responsibility he’s gladly taking on once more. Despite the iconic reveal in the first film, and the Curt Swan-like transformation in the alleyway in Superman II, this is the most triumphant and impactful shirt rip in the series, and everyone knows how important that is to Superman lore. There’s a reason I had the poster of this image, pulled from the Superman III tie-in Starlog magazine, on my wall for years.

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2. Annette O’Toole. Perfectly embodying the prototypical high school sweetheart, Annette O’Toole shines as longtime comics paramour Lana Lang. It’s not hard at all to see why Clark is so instantly taken with her after they meet again. O’Toole’s Lana wasn’t the adult anchorwoman of the era’s comics, but a divorced mother trying to make ends meet in a town that didn’t have much opportunity for her. She demonstrates throughout the film that she is doing her best to raise her son Ricky, while still longing for something better for them.

Thanks to O’Toole’s endearing performance, the audience wants her to succeed in life, and even love with Clark, despite the existence of her more famous rival for Superman’s affections. O’Toole was a huge fan of Superman growing up, and she readily admits she was moonstruck by Reeve in costume, and it shows. It’s a shame this Lana never reappeared in the franchise, but O’Toole was able to make an equally indelible mark as Clark Kent’s mother Martha Kent during the run of the TV series Smallville.

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1. Christopher Reeve. Of course, the best thing in any of these four films is Superman himself, Christopher Reeve. One of the rare instances of perfect casting, Reeve embodied the role of the Man of Steel better than nearly anyone before or after him. The confident but relaxed ease with which he plays the costumed hero makes the character seem completely natural and believable, whether he’s welding an oil tanker back together with heat vision or attending a small-town ceremony in his honor.

More than any other film, this movie gives Reeve a chance to flesh out Clark Kent beyond just a disguise for Superman. Knowing Clark didn’t have to carry these films, he worked on making it believable that Clark’s friends wouldn’t suspect his dual identity, and therefore went broad with the double act. But now, back home in Smallville, and rekindling his relationship with Lana Lang, we see a Clark that is more than a put-on. Sure, he’s still a bit of a klutz and a tad neurotic, but Reeve’s natural charm shines through in his scenes with Annette O’Toole, and the audience begins to root for Clark to get the girl for once, not Superman.

When it’s Clark who has to face his super-doppelganger, we totally buy that this mild-mannered reporter may just have a chance in wrestling control back from his twisted twin. And as mentioned previously, Reeve expertly sells just how far Superman has fallen, while still maintaining a roguish, somewhat likeable air, so we don’t hate the character after the situation is resolved.

While the stunt casting of Richard Pryor seemingly steals the spotlight from the title hero, on closer inspection, this film gives Reeve a lot to do with the character he was born to play.

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MORE

— 13 QUICK THOUGHTS: Why CHRISTOPHER REEVE Was the Greatest SUPERMAN Ever. Click here.

— SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE Turns 45: Celebrating the Ultimate MAN OF STEEL. Click here.

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13th Dimension contributor Chris Franklin is a graphic designer, illustrator, writer, and podcaster, who co-hosts and produces several shows on the Fire and Water Podcast Network, including JLUCast.