Original subtitles

[♪♪♪]

NARRATOR: Faster than a speeding bullet.

More powerful than a locomotive.

Able to leap tall buildings at a single bound.

MAN: Look! Up in the sky! MAN 2: It's a bird!

WOMAN: It's a plane! MAN 3: It's Superman!

Yes, it's Superman, strange visitor from another planet

who came to Earth with powers and abilities

far beyond those of mortal men.

Superman, who can change the course of mighty rivers,

bend steel in his bare hands,

and who, disguised as Clark Kent,

mild-mannered reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper,

fights a never-ending battle

for truth, justice and the American way!

And now, another exciting episode

in the Adventures of Superman!

[♪♪♪]

Thank you.

Happy birthday, Mr. Olsen.

Huh? Oh, thanks.

How did he know it was my birthday?

And how did he know my name?

I guess you're getting to be quite a celebrity.

No. This is something you two cooked up.

Still makes a guy feel good.

A guy's birthday only comes once a year.

Now there's a sharp observation.

"Marco and Freddie, novelty act."

Well, I wonder which one is the trained seal, Marco or Freddie.

I bet it's not a trained seal act.

I say they're acrobats. What do you say, Mr. Kent?

No, you're both wrong. It's a ventriloquist act.

And pretty good, I understand.

[♪♪♪]

Well, here we go.

[APPLAUSE]

Thank you. And good evening, ladies and gentlemen.

Freddie, say good evening.

What's good about it?

Well, say good evening to the nice people.

Oh, what's nice about them?

[AUDIENCE LAUGHS]

MARCO: Freddie, you're being difficult.

Did you get up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?

Well, I'll tell you, Marco,

that bed, trouble is it's sort of snew.

What's snew?

Nothing. What's new with you?

[AUDIENCE LAUGHS]

MARCO: I understand that you missed school today.

Why was that?

FREDDIE: I, er... I had a toothache.

Well, did you go to the dentist?

No. Why should I?

The one that ached was only jerked out yesterday.

MAN: Under the apple tree.

What's that?

MAN: I said, under the old apple tree.

Freddie, this is the third time this week you've missed school.

What's the matter? Don't you like school?

Oh, I can take it or leave it.

FREDDIE: I think I'll leave it.

MAN: Down by the old mill stream.

Down by the old mill stream.

Down by...? Down by the old mill stream.

Missing school so often,

no wonder you're still in the third grade.

Why, a boy of 14... MAN: Eleven and a half.

MARCO: A boy of 14... MAN: Eleven and a half.

All right, all right. Eleven and a half.

A boy 11 and a half shouldn't...

[AUDIENCE MURMURS]

Ladies and gentlemen, excuse me.

What happened?

Is that all there is to the act?

No. Something went wrong.

Clark, I had a funny feeling before he rushed off

that he and the dummy were talking at the same time.

I know that's impossible but... Impossible or not, they were.

Come on, let's go back and see Marco.

I give you all the best lines, all the best gags.

But that isn't good enough, you have to add words of your own.

What are you trying to do, take over the act?

Mr. Marco, can I see you a minute?

Oh, yes. Come in.

LOIS: We're from the Daily Planet.

You were out front? Then you heard?

Yes, that's why we'd like to ask you...

Look at him sitting there so innocently.

"In the shade of the old apple tree.

"Down by the old mill stream.

Eleven and a half."

He knows he's 14. He's been 14 for the last 10 years.

It wasn't Freddie's fault, Mr. Marco.

Someone else put those words in his mouth.

Someone else? But who?

Obviously someone out there in the theater.

But why would anyone...?

Oh, of course, to ruin my act.

Some unscrupulous rival who's jealous of my success.

Can you think of anyone?

Well, there's... No real performer would stoop that low.

Has anything like this ever happened before?

MARCO: Yes, about a month ago. We were playing Portersville.

I thought Freddie was trying to take over the act.

I had a talk with him afterwards and he promised...

Oh, but of course it wasn't Freddie at all.

What were the words he added then?

Well, he kept saying he was only 10 years old.

And I don't remember the rest.

And there's no explanation you can think of?

None at all. It's all very, very strange.

Well, thank you, Mr. Marco.

If anything like this happens again,

you'll let us know, won't you?

We may not be able to do much but we can help a little.

I'll let you know. Lois.

LOIS: You sent for us, chief?

Yes, come on in.

Lois, Kent, do you remember that business a while back

with an armored car, the one from Green's Incorporated?

Remember it? Are you kidding, chief?

An armored car with half a million in cold cash

just doesn't disappear every day.

Got any new leads, chief?

No, I haven't.

All the police know is what they started out with.

The car was last seen

heading onto the turnpike for Watsonville.

And never showed up at the other end, vanished into thin air.

That's about the size of it.

Now, here's what I want.

Hop out to Green's and see what's happened there

since the disappearance.

Maybe there's been a shake-up, extra precautions,

security measures, things like that.

Talk to Harry Green, the president. Get pictures.

I want a background yarn for the Sunday supplement,

something I can use in two parts.

Right.

Oh, and don't forget, give me plenty of pictures.

Okay.

LOIS: Head just a little higher, Mr. Green.

That's it. Now hold it.

Thank you.

Now for one of you and your secretary, Mister, uh...

Davis. No, no, I...

Come on, Davis. It doesn't hurt.

If you'll just stand there at the corner of the desk

and hand Mr. Green a paper.

That's it. Hold it.

Thank you.

Now, Mr. Green, those extra precautions

you were telling us about.

Well, since that amazing robbery,

we've worked out a system which is absolutely foolproof.

Neither the guard nor the driver of the car

knows until the very last minute

what time to take off or what route to follow.

They operate under sealed orders.

Sealed orders? That sounds interesting.

There's a car due to take off right now.

I'll show you how it works.

Have the guard on car 11 report to me here.

Davis, get me the envelope for car 11.

Davis and I work out the routes the night before.

We only make one copy, seal it in an envelope

and lock the envelope in my private files.

No one has keys but Davis and myself.

Thank you.

RECEPTIONIST [OVER INTERCOM]: The guard's here, Mr. Green.

Send him in.

Good morning, Chuck. Good morning, sir.

Here are your instructions.

Start at once for the State Commercial Bank,

finish loading at 11:30, then open the envelope.

Is that clear? Yes, sir.

Very well. Take off now.

That does sound like a foolproof scheme.

It is, Mr. Kent. Absolutely foolproof.

Well, thank you very much for your kindness.

Thank you. Goodbye.

Come on, Lois.

State Commercial Bank.

Okay, Bob, this is it.

We're to go out Apple Tree Road

and turn onto the Old Mill cutoff.

[♪♪♪]

What is it, Bob? Breakdown, huh?

Looks phony to me.

[♪♪♪]

Hi, Jim. Morning.

Oh, hey, Mr. Kent, I've been reading your story

about the armored car robbery.

Clark, where have you been? I've been looking all over.

It's about that story, Lois. It certainly is.

The route of the armored car,

it went out Apple Tree Road to the Old Mill cutoff.

And that's what the dummy said the other night,

"Under the apple tree, down by the old mill stream."

Not only that, he said he was 11 and a half years old.

That's 11:30, the time

the armored car took off from the bank.

Well, looks like you've both figured it out.

Whoever put those words in the dummy's mouth

was tipping off the crooks that pulled the job,

letting them know when and where to do it.

Clark, we've got to go to Henderson with this.

Sure. Let's go.

Not you, Jim. You've got some work to do.

[WHINES]

Jim.

Jeepers.

CLARK: If you ask me, inspector,

there's someone behind this ventriloquist,

feeding him the information.

How's that again, Kent?

Well, now, look,

first there are the men that actually pull the job.

They get their instructions through the ventriloquist,

and that's all they know.

Then there's the ventriloquist himself,

the one that puts the words in the dummy's mouth.

Now, he gets his instructions, let's say, over the phone.

And as for the payoff,

the ventriloquist must get his through the mail.

The crooks take theirs when the job's through.

And as for the rest of it, well, that's delivered

in some roundabout way to whoever's behind all this.

In other words, a chain.

None of the parties know each other,

so no one can squeal if anything goes wrong.

That's it.

Well, I'll buy that, Kent.

But what makes you think there is a second ventriloquist?

Why couldn't Marco be the one...?

Marco? Don't be ridiculous.

He and the dummy were talking at the same time.

We'll check on him anyway.

In the meantime, I'd better call Harry Green,

tell him we've got some new leads.

Get me Harry Green.

Leads? I don't care about leads. What I want is action.

Look, inspector,

it's over a month

since that first disappearance

and what have you accomplished?

Absolutely nothing.

And now this second robbery, what are you doing about that?

Insurance? Of course we are insured.

That's not the point.

How long do you think my clients are going to stand for this?

Look, inspector, I told you before, I want action

and if I don't get action soon,

I'll personally call in the commissioner.

What is it, Davis?

This young man's from the Planet about those pictures.

Oh, yes.

Here are three I've selected I think will do.

They're for the second installment

of that feature story your paper's running.

Tell Mr. White if those aren't enough,

I'll have our public relations department send over some more.

Thank you, sir.

Um, Mr. Green. Yes?

About those robberies,

I wouldn't worry too much if I were you.

You see, me and my associates

have just given the police an important clue.

Is that right? Yes, sir.

What's more, we're working on the case too.

So you see, everything will turn out all right.

Well, that's very nice to know.

Thank you very much, Mister, er...

Olsen. James Bartholomew Olsen.

Well, thank you, Mr. Olsen.

USHER: Davis? DAVIS: Yeah. Who are you?

Don't give me that. You know who I am and I know you.

You take a good picture, Davis.

What does that mean?

I saw that article in the Sunday Planet.

I recognized you right away.

They used to talk a lot about you in the big house,

only your name wasn't Davis then.

It was Al Roselli.

USHER: You pulled that big jewelry job back in '41.

What do you want?

Guess.

Go on, I'm listening.

I want more money.

I take a big risk each time for a measly $1000

while you get 100 times that much.

All you do is sit here, make one phone call,

start the whole thing rolling.

What risk do you take? Get out.

You ain't scaring me none, Davis.

I got enough on you to... Get out!

Now, wait a minute.

[♪♪♪]

Hello. Get me the chief.

Yeah, yeah, quick.

Hello, chief. This is Jim.

I'm down at Green's office. I just stumbled on something.

Sure I got the pictures.

But listen to me, chief, this is important.

It might crack the whole case.

What case? Why, the robberies, the armored cars.

Look I was just coming out of Mr. Green's office when I...

Hello, Jim? Jim, are you there? Jim?

What happened?

I don't know.

But I wouldn't be a bit surprised

if that boy's got himself in a jam again.

Lois, get Kent and hop right out there.

I'll get in touch with Green.

[♪♪♪]

Clark, come on. Jim's in trouble at Green's.

Would you sign here, please?

What is it?

Oh, I see. The men from the safe rental company.

Yeah. We came to pick up that safe you're not using.

How will you get it to the street?

The freight elevator isn't working

and there are 15 flights of stairs.

Don't worry, mister.

We've got a block and tackle rigged up on the roof.

All we do is lower her out the window.

Come on, Fred.

Oh, Davis, just a minute.

That young man Olsen, from the Planet.

Have you seen him around?

No, I haven't.

[♪♪♪]

Boy, she's heavy.

Take her away.

Holy Toledo! I said it was too heavy.

That other rope will never hold.

[TRAIN WHISTLE BLOWS]

This always happens. Jim's in trouble.

Well, it's only two blocks, Clark,

and I can't go through a red light.

Lois, look!

It's Jim. He's in that safe.

He's in that safe?

But, Clark, how did...?

[♪♪♪]

Jimmy, are you all right? Yeah, I guess so.

My legs are a little weak, that's all.

That was a close one.

And if it hadn't been for Superman, why...

How is it you always manage to show up at the right time?

That's my job, Miss Lane.

Where was I? Up there?

Gosh.

Jim, a word of advice.

After this, keep out of other people's safes.

JIM: You bet.

[SUPERMAN TAKES OFF]

Well, inspector, that's Jim's story just the way it happened.

So that's why you brought me here tonight.

Now, why couldn't you have...?

I'll be right back.

[♪♪♪]

USHER: What? Another job? Tonight.

Davis, you've got your nerve

after what happened this afternoon.

What do you mean, "What happened?"

Look, Davis, I'll do it but from now on, my price is 5000.

That's right, you heard me, five grand.

Well, okay.

All you gotta do is tell me what to say.

Miss Lane, why couldn't you have let me know all this before?

I could've had the whole case wrapped up by now.

With Davis and the usher in the pokey,

maybe Green would stop breathing down my neck.

He's a friend of the commissioner, you know.

The usher is going to pass on some more information tonight.

Oh, is he now? Yes.

Tomorrow, there'll be another robbery, another armored car.

There'll be no robbery. I'm pulling that guy in right away.

I wouldn't do that if I were you, inspector.

Let him go ahead. Let him put his words in the dummy's mouth.

True, he'll be telling the crooks

the time and the place of the robbery.

At the same time, he'll be telling us.

You and your men can set a trap.

No go. I'm nabbing that guy right away.

This is your chance to see how the robbery's done

and find out what they do with these armored cars

and the missing guards and drivers

and maybe even the stolen money.

[AUDIENCE APPLAUDS]

Thank you. And good evening, ladies and gentlemen.

Freddie, say good evening.

What's good about it?

All right, Kent. I'll string along.

Freddie, this is the third time

you've missed school and played hooky this week.

What's the matter? Don't you like school?

Oh, I can take it or leave it. I think I'll leave it.

USHER: With Uncle Irving and Aunt Magnolia.

I said, with Uncle Irving

and Aunt Magnolia.

MARCO: Missing school so often,

no wonder you're still in third grade.

Why, a boy of 14 shouldn't... USHER: Thirteen and a half.

A boy of 14...

Thirteen and a half.

[AUDIENCE MURMURING]

Ladies and gentlemen, I'm sorry. Excuse me.

Did you get it, Lois?

Irving Boulevard and Magnolia Street.

Thirteen and a half, that'll be 1:30.

Good, Irving and Magnolia at 1:30 tomorrow afternoon.

We'll be there with bells on. And now our friend the usher.

You'll need more than the usher.

I'll get Davis later.

Davis isn't the only one. You want Green too.

What are you talking about, Clark?

What's Green got to do with it? Think he'd rob his own company?

It was Green's voice I heard on the phone.

Oh, you're crazy.

Okay, I'll prove it to you. See you later.

Well, there he goes again.

Inspector, where does he disappear to all the time?

I don't know.

Maybe he runs into an alley, takes off his glasses

and turns into Superman.

Let's go.

[♪♪♪]

[DOOR CLOSES]

Davis. What?

Is something wrong?

Okay, Green. Your plan worked.

Now we can quit playing cat and mouse.

Cat and mouse? I don't know what on earth you're talking about.

You set me up as the fall guy.

You knew that if anything went wrong with your plans,

the first one the police would come for

is me, a three-time loser.

Your record? Of course I knew about that but...

They came to my apartment, the police.

But I got away. They're not getting me yet, Green.

I've got a score to settle first.

Davis, put that gun away. Have you lost your senses?

I'll take that gun, Davis.

Whoever you are, stay away from me or I'll shoot.

Don't be a fool, Davis.

You're in the clear now, better keep it that way.

In the clear? But I thought...

I know what you thought, Green,

but you're all through, you've given yourself away.

Shoot him, Davis, shoot!

[GUNSHOTS]

That won't do you any good, Green. Nothing will.

SUPERMAN: You have a date with

Inspector Henderson at police headquarters.

He'll be interested to know what half a million dollars

in stolen currency is doing in your safe,

still in the original bank wrappers.

Well, Kent, the trap worked.

We tailed the crooks to their hideout,

recovered the armored cars, the missing men and the money.

All of it, inspector?

No, not all. About 200,000.

But that plus the half million

that Superman brought in last night when he delivered Green.

Er, Kent, I guess I owe you an apology.

You were right after all but how you knew that...

Yes, how did you know it was Green

on the other end of that phone?

Well, Lois, like I was telling you last night...

[PHONE RINGS]

Yes. Henderson speaking.

Oh, you'll have to speak a little louder.

All right, Clark, if you're so smart,

who's on the other end of the phone now?

The chief, and if we're not back at the Planet

in 15 seconds flat, we're both gonna get fired.

Now, come on.

Oh, for you, Kent. Your boss...

Hey!

[♪♪♪]