Superman and the Mole Men is an independently made 1951 American
black-and-white superhero film, produced by Barney A. Sarecky, directed by
Lee Sholem, and starring
George Reeves as
Superman and
Phyllis Coates as
Lois Lane. The film was released by
Lippert Pictures Inc. This is the first
feature film based on the
DC Comics character
Superman. Previously, two live-action, multiple chapter Superman
serials from
Columbia Pictures (1948, 1950), starring
Kirk Alyn and Noel Neill, had been shown in weekly installments in theaters.
Superman and The Mole Mens original screenplay was by "Richard Fielding", a pseudonym for
Robert Maxwell and
Whitney Ellsworth, and was shot in a little more than 12 days on a studio back lot. The film was just 58 minutes long and served as a
trial balloon release for the syndicated
Adventures of Superman TV series, for which it became the only two-part episode, "The Unknown People".