SEEING DOUBLE:

At this point I must backtrack to mention a number of specific scenes from the Mankiewicz screenplay in particular. These scenes not only add great detail and richness to the Superman saga but also clear up some long-unanswered questions.

While the majority of the Mankiewicz script served as the blueprint for the final film version and its extended television counterpart, one specific scene has generated much controversy and speculation among the fan community since its first viewing in 1982. When ABC first broadcast the extended version of "Superman", some 45 minutes of footage was restored to the context of the story (this extended version was further expanded with five minutes of footage in 1995 for its broadcast on KCOP-TV and is the subject of a previously written article by Hiphats).

In the scene in question, Superman searches for Luthor in the tunnels underneath Metropolis and is tested by bullets, fire, and ice. Luthor and his henchmen react with surprise as Superman easily overcomes each obstacle and reaches Luthor's hideaway. This sequence added much action and excitement to the overall story.
Earlier in the script and film, Otis questions Superman's invulnerability by asking Luthor, "You mean, fire and bullets can't hurt this guy, but (Kryptonite) will kill him?!?" Yet in the later scene, Otis also reacts with surprise as Superman surpasses each obstacle.
The question we must now ask ourselves is: how can Luthor and his henchmen react with shock and surprise at Superman's invulnerability if they had questioned one another on those exact invulnerabilities earlier in the film? Some fans and critics have debated that it was implied from the criminals' reading of the article in the Daily Planet about Superman's powers. But there is more than meets the eye.
The answer lies in the Mankiewicz shooting script: Luthor had already tested Superman once before with the exact same tests.

In a subplot scripted after Superman's first night in Metropolis, one extra day lapses in the context of the story. Clark is at Lois' apartment the following morning, and the two discuss what happened the previous night. At that moment, while Lois is in the next room getting ready for work, Clark hears on the news the threat made by Luthor to annihilate half of Metropolis with a poison gas pellet. Clark leaps out of Lois' apartment window and flies downward, changing to Superman. The
scene then continues very similarly to what appears in the final film, as Superman flies through Metropolis. (This would also explain the photographs of Superman over the skies of the city that appear in the newspapers - i.e. "It Flies!" and "Look Ma, No Wires!")

However, Superman lands at an abandoned warehouse which is surrounded by police. He enters in and is met by the onslaught of bullets, fire, and ice, as Luthor, Otis, and Eve monitor via closed-circuit television safely away from the scene. Even the dialogue is exactly as appears in the final version (example: "You like cuteness, huh? Dimples... I'll give you dimples!"). After Superman breaks through the ice barrier, he reaches a room with the poison gas pellet dangling on a wire above a vial of acid. Surrounding the pellet and acid is an electrical fence. Superman breaks through the fence, and the electrical charge surges through his body, just as the pellet begins to drop. He catches the gas pellet, swallows it, then drinks the vial of acid as a chaser. The scene then segues into the next day at the Daily Planet, as Perry White shows his staff the news headlines.

In the Newman-Benton draft this scene appears only one time and serves greater dramatic measure as it complements Superman's first appearances in Metropolis. (Whether this scene was filmed still remains unknown.) In the context of the Mankiewicz shooting script, it serves to provide a strong visual dynamic and an equally strong visual narrative. Both scenes posit strong character traits about both Superman and Luthor -
Superman is still a force for good and willing to assist the law, while Luthor is more evil-minded. Luthor's first threat on the city was a serious attack; the second time served as a ruse to lure Superman into a Kryptonite trap.

Another scene that appears in the Mankiewicz draft is a much shorter, humorous moment, as a hapless cab driver has an unfortunate run-in with Clark Kent. The first time this scene occurs, Clark has just arrived in Metropolis and is in awe of the big city. (A similar version of this scene was used in the opening scenes of the "Lois and Clark" pilot, as a bus has a run-in with Clark.) The second time this moment occurs, it is at night during the dramatic helicopter incident. Once Clark realizes he cannot change in a miniature phone stall, he runs off looking for a place to change into Superman. He runs across the street and steps in front of a cab (the same cab from the earlier scene!), which crashes into him. This quick interlude provides a comic moment during a tense situation. Though it remains to this day unknown whether this scene was shot for the first film, it is later referenced in the news broadcast shown at Luthor's hideout (and later revised and used in "Superman II").

I mention these two pairs of scenes for one common characteristic: narrative repetition. In the course of the "Superman" scripts, had the final Mankiewicz draft been filmed shot for shot as is, then the repetition would result in the loss of some viewer involvement. The question most likely asked by viewers would have been: "They've already done this once before in this movie, so why do it twice? It makes no sense."

During the shooting or the editing of the movie, a decision was made to remove these scenes of repetition, perhaps to prevent the disruptive flow of the story context. Only one of the scenes mentioned - the second trial by bullets, fire, and ice in the tunnels of Metropolis - survived into the final filming as we know it. Whether these additional scenes were filmed or not, it remains unknown to this day.

WHEN TWO BECOME ONE (AND TWO):

With production way over schedule on the double project, and scenes for both "Superman" and "Superman II" already shot and in the can, the Salkinds and Warner Bros. executives kept breathing down Richard Donner's neck to encourage him to finish the project. Tensions had already begun to mount on the set, namely with the Salkinds, Donner, Marlon Brando, and Margot Kidder, but specifically between the Salkinds and Donner over the films' creative vision and direction.

Enter Richard Lester. The veteran director of the Beatles' movies "A Hard Day's Night" and "Help!" had established a good rapport with the Salkinds during filming of the "Musketeers" project and came aboard at their request as an unofficial associate producer. His main purpose, though, was to serve as go-between to the Salkinds and Donner and to watch over the film's budget and Donner's shooting schedule.

Donner and Lester enjoyed a good working relationship and developed a mutual rapport during filming. Never once did Lester interfere in Donner's filming on the sets. Yet it was a decision by Lester that gave Donner the needed momentum to finish "Superman". In order to meet a 1978 release date, Lester recommended that the "double feature" approach end, that Donner focus on finishing the first film, and that the cast and crew could return to finish filming "Superman II" shortly afterwards. Donner enthusiastically agreed. By that time some 60-70 percent of material for "Superman II" had already been filmed. Yet Lester's decision saved the "Superman" films from certain disaster.

This creative decision extended into the shooting scripts as well. Tom Mankiewicz had completed his drafts for both films by April 1977, and his "Superman II" treatment was set aside for the remainder of filming during late 1977 and into 1978. Yet certain scenes from "II" had already been filmed by this time, and certain elements from "II" needed to be lifted and used for the finale of the first film (similarly, scenes from "I" were eventually utilized for "II" - more on this coming soon).

While Mankiewicz' script provided the bulk of the final product, one element was needed to bring "Superman" to a close. Reportedly in the climax of "Superman II", Lois dies during the battle between Superman and the Phantom Zone villains, and in order to save her life, Superman defies Jor-El's instructions of non-interference and turns back time. As a result of his decisions, the Fortress of Solitude is destroyed.
To heighten the tension and build "I" to an appropriate climax, Richard Donner and Christopher Reeve created an ending that borrows in part from the climax of "II". In the new ending, Superman arrives too late and finds Lois dead in her car as a result of being crushed inside from the earthquake. (Note : Richard Lester suggested that in the original ending of Superman, there was too much emphasis on the special effects and no human emotions. Hence Lois Lane's death) In his anguish he turns back the world and reverses time, returning to a point before the ground rips open. Though some critics and fans have argued that this scene defies logic and continuity, it provides a satisfying conclusion to the film.

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