Adventures of Superman (1952–1958): Season 4, Episode 4 - Peril by Sea - full transcript

"Daily Planet" editor Perry White (John Hamilton) decides to flex his scientific muscles and develops "Formula U183", which will enable him to extract uranium from sea water. Villainous submarine commander Ace Miller (Claude Akins) decides to steal the formula and eliminate not only White but also the entire "Planet" staff--namely, Clark Kent (George Reeves), Lois Lane (Noel Neill) and Jimmy Olsen (Jack Larson). As Miller prepares to torpedo White's seaside laboratory, the editor's only hope for survival rests with Superman (who of course is also Clark Kent, but Perry doesn't know that!)

Are you wondering how healthy the food you are eating is? Check it - foodval.com
---
NARRATOR: The
Adventures of Superman!

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!

NARRATOR: 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.

[♪♪♪]

[♪♪♪]

Jim, I don't think
you ought to be sitting

in Mr. White's chair with
your feet on the desk.

He wouldn't like it.

But Mr. White isn't
here. He's miles away.

Well, I don't think
Mr. Kent would like it either.

But Mr. Kent isn't
here. [DOOR OPENS]

He is now.



And he doesn't like it.

You mean, don't like it?

No, because while
you're sitting there, I can't.

Now, excuse me, old boy.

[CLARK & LOIS CHUCKLE]

I thought maybe you had given up

being temporary
editor of the Planet.

Oh, no, no, just getting a
new ribbon for my typewriter.

Hey, Mr. Kent, we got the
story on those bank robbers

Superman just
captured 10 minutes ago.

That's fast work.

Hey, speaking of fast work,

you should have been
there to see Superman.

Uh, yes, Lois, I'm
sorry I missed it.

By the way, I want you to
play down the Superman angle

in this story, will you?

Yes, sir... Chief.

Oh, incidentally, isn't it
about time we found out

what happened to the real chief?

Yeah, he's been gone
about two months now.

That's a long time
not to be yelled at.

Well, now that you've brought
it up, I have a surprise for you.

We're all going to pay him
a visit him this afternoon.

Honestly? Where?

At the cottage.

You mean, that little house

he built right at the
edge of the ocean?

That's right. We ought
to leave here about 1:00.

This is gonna be interesting.

You can't tell me there isn't
something mysterious going on.

Well, you'll see,
Lois. You'll see.

[♪♪♪]

You find what
you're lookin' for?

Stop all engines.
Hold her steady.

Take a look.

[♪♪♪]

So, what's to see? A
house on the seashore.

But I'd give a lot to know
what's going on in that house.

Huh?

Well, let's face it.

This submarine has made us

a lot of dough in smuggling,

but lately we're
not doing so good.

We need a new
gimmick. Something big.

Big, huh? How about
we smuggle whales?

Full speed ahead.

Make for the secret anchorage
and break out the rubber boats.

We're going ashore
as soon as it's dark.

Why don't we go ashore here,

and take a gander at the joint?

Because that joint is
guarded better than Fort Knox.

They've even got the Coast
Guard protecting it from the sea.

But somehow we
gotta find out what gives.

[♪♪♪]

Uh, this is Lois Lane.
This is Jim Olsen.

We all work for the same paper.

All right, that's
Kent, Lane, Olsen.

Right.

Okay, folks, Mr. White's
expecting you. Thank you.

I still can't believe it.

Mr. White, a real,
honest-to-goodness scientist.

Let's just say a
dabbler in science.

What's in there?

You'll find out
in a minute, Lois.

Jeepers, a scintillator.

A Geiger counter,
Olsen. Be accurate.

First rule of the
newspaper game:

If a story is accurate, you
can never lose by printing it.

Yes, sir, I'll
remember that, sir.

Now...

[CLICKING]

Jeepers... uranium.

A special variety of
uranium called U-183.

Be accurate, Olsen, first
rule of the newspaper game.

Yes, sir, U-183. Yeah.

Now, there's not enough in here

to cause any damage
from a short exposure.

Will somebody please
explain this to me?

Come on over and sit down, Lois.

The chief's gonna
tell you all about it.

Well, Jim, it looks like
we've been working

for a genius all these years.

Yeah, and I used to think...

You used to think what, Olsen?

Well, n-nothing.
Nothing, sir, I...

I just used to think...

Obviously, you don't anymore.

Please, chief,
what's this all about?

Well, actually,
it's all very simple.

For many years,
I've made a hobby

of studying ancient
scientific documents.

This is a copy of one of them.

This was written a
thousand years ago

by a chemist named Archemenio.

It's Greek to me.

Now you're being
accurate. It is Greek.

That particular copy
tells how to extract U-183

from ordinary seawater.

You mean, this
Archemenio discovered that

a thousand years ago?

Yes, and at that time,

U-183 was considered
a worthless white metal.

Now it's the most
valuable metal in the world.

It can be, particularly in
the field of medical research.

Now, up to now, I've
been able to extract

only one millionth of a gram.

But if the experiment succeeds,

the supply of U-183
will be unlimited.

And as soon as the
government found out about it,

they made it top secret.

Yes, I'm guarded night
and day by land and sea.

And all I want to do is
to get back to my office,

where people barge
in without knocking,

interrupt me when I'm working,

and bother me so I could scream.

Golly, chief, then
you do like my work.

Don't call me chief. But
that did feel real good.

Yes, sir, I'm glad.

And I... I want you to know I'm
proud to be working for a man

that's doing so
much for humanity.

That's enough of that, Olsen.

But the whole world
should know about this.

Publicity is the
last thing I want.

You're just being modest, sir.

Oh, no, he's not, Jimmy.

Well, I think we ought
to be getting back.

We have a newspaper
to put out. Yeah.

Bye, chief. Goodbye.

Bye.

Oh, chief, let me know if
there's anything you need, huh?

Right.

[SIGHS]

If only something would happen

to end this experiment.

Nice visit?

Yes, I guess Mr. White was glad

to have a little
company for a change.

Oh, yes, indeed.

The poor man's done
thing but work, work, work.

It's pretty important
work though.

I'm sure it is.

Seven weeks and I
haven't seen Mr. White once.

I don't even know
what he looks like.

He looks like a man who'd
like to get back to his regular job.

I'm afraid the chief
isn't the scientific type.

He runs out of patience.

That's because
he's busy thinking.

He's a pretty terrific guy.

Why, Jimmy, I didn't
know you were such a fan.

Well, I am.

I'm only sorry I cause
him trouble sometime.

But maybe I can make it up

if I do something
real nice for him.

What did you have in mind?

I don't know.

Well, back to work. [CHUCKLES]

Bye, folks.

See ya. Bye.

[♪♪♪]

Sure feels good to get
outta that sardine can, huh?

Hm?

I just said, it
sure feels good...

Wait.

Wait a minute.

Well, this is too good
to be true. What's that?

Listen.

"Planet Editor Turned Scientist

Discovers Age-old Secret."

Byline, "James Olsen."

Now listen to this.

"One of history's greatest
experiments is taking place

"in a little cottage which
juts out into the ocean

at Paradise Sound."

You mean...?

Nah, it couldn't be.

"Here, in this peaceful setting,

"guarded by land and sea,

"Perry White has
discovered the secret

"of extracting the
uranium element U-183

"from ordinary seawater.

"This afternoon,
three Planet reporters,

"Clark Kent, Lois
Lane and this writer,

paid a visit to Mr. White..."

Uranium from the ocean.

Hey, that's better than
making gold outta lead, huh?

Barney, this is it.

With our smuggling
connections all over the world,

that formula could
make us a king's ransom.

There's only one catch.

First, we gotta get the formula.

We'll get it.

How?

I'm not sure yet,

except about these three
jokers from the Planet.

They've got access
to the cottage.

Access? I thought
it was uranium.

I mean, they got a way in.

Ah. Is that good for us?

I'm gonna figure a
way to make it good.

How could you do it, Jimmy?

I'm sorry, Mr. Kent...
Chief... Sir.

You know everything has
to clear through the editor.

I was just trying to
follow the chief's advice.

He said if a story's accurate,
you can't lose by printing it.

Well, this one's
accurate, all right.

About the only thing you didn't
print was the actual formula.

Good thing it was in
Greek, or I would have.

With all those
security measures...

And you practically spell
it out in black and white.

Right now I feel like
jumping out that window

and drinking a bottle of
poison on the way down.

Well, I'm afraid
it's going to be

a little worse than that, Jimmy.

You mean, I have
to shoot myself too?

No,

but I'm afraid you're
going to show Mr. White

that article in person.

Oh, please, Mr. Kent, I'll
do anything, but... not that.

Well, I'm sorry, Jimmy. I'm
not doing this to be mean.

But, sometimes, a good reporter

has to learn his
responsibilities the hard way.

The hard way I don't mind,

but the impossible...

Oh, Lois,

your assignment is to drive him

down to the cottage right away.

Hate to do it, Jim,

but Clark's the boss.

I'm afraid he's right.

Come on.

Oh, uh, Lois...

just a minute.

Let's see, it's about 10:00 now.

That gives you plenty of time
to be back here by 3 sharp.

We've got a lot of
work to do, remember?

Heh-heh, don't I know it.

I promise you, Clark, back by 3.

Good. Let's go.

[♪♪♪]

[♪♪♪]

Um, I don't suppose
there's much chance

of us running out of
gas, is there Miss Lane?

Nope, tank's full.

A blowout, maybe?

Puncture-proof tires.

A breakdown then.

The, uh... The piston rod
breaks through the crankshaft,

and knocks the flywheel
into the distributor cap.

Sorry, Jim, it's
a brand-new car.

Oh, something's
just gotta happen.

It's gotta.

Anything to oblige, kid.

[GASPS] Who...? Who are you?

It doesn't matter, Miss Lane.

Where can we take you,
fellas? You... You just name it.

We wanna go to that little
cottage at Paradise Sound.

Oh, it's not fair.

Everybody's against me.

I think I've seen you
somewhere before.

Didn't we run a story on
you about five years ago?

No, the picture
didn't do me justice.

Right now you just keep
heading for the little cottage.

I won't do it.

That's the spirit, Miss Lane.

Miss Lane, take a look, huh?

Now I remember you. Ace Miller.

You beat a federal
smuggling charge.

Sure, but I'm getting outta the
smuggling racket, Miss Lane...

after one more job. This one.

You're not going to steal
Mr. White's secret formula?

That's right, thanks to
that article you wrote.

Miss Lane, I wish
you weren't here.

At this point I'd
gladly sacrifice myself.

We all make mistakes, Jim.

Yeah, but let's
not make any now.

It wouldn't be healthy.

[♪♪♪]

[♪♪♪]

Good grief, Kent, how did
this ever get in the newspaper?

Oh, hello, Bill. I had a hunch
you might be dropping by.

Well, it seems our
Mr. Olsen embarked

on a truth-in-journalism kick.

As a matter of fact, Bill,

he handed it in to the copy desk
before I could give it my okay.

Well, I trust you fired him?

Well, I did something
a little worse than that,

as a matter of fact.

I sent him down to see Mr. White

and apologize in person.

Well, maybe you can tell
me how how I can apologize

to the county supervisors.

Huh? What do they
got to do with it?

Mr. White's cottage
is on county land.

That makes my office at
least partially responsible

for security measures there.

Oh, no, everything
happens to you.

Everything happens to me.

Now I've got to drive
all the way down there

and check on
everything from A to Z.

Well, there's one bright spot.

Yes, if you hurry, you can
get there before they leave

and have a few quiet
words with our Mr. Olsen.

Yes. Yes.

Yes, I would appreciate
an opportunity

to chew out our Jimmy Olsen.

See you later. Okay, Bill.

[♪♪♪]

Oh, that's all right. I remember
you, Miss Lane, Mr. Olsen.

Oh, I see you've
brought friends.

Well, officer, uh...
That's all right, Miss Lane.

I know you wouldn't bring
in anyone that didn't belong.

We do research at the
Polytech Foundation.

We're going to help
Mr. White with his formula.

Oh, okay, you're clear. Go
right on through, Miss Lane.

Thanks, thanks a lot.

[KNOCK ON DOOR]

Lois, Olsen, I
didn't expect you.

Us either, huh, pop?

Mr. White, I can explain.

I... On second thought,
I'd rather I didn't.

Well, this is preposterous.

What are these...? These
two apes doing here?

Watch your language,
Mr. White. We're sensitive.

Put your hands down.

They hid in the car, chief.

We had to bring them.

That's right. They
had to bring us.

Look the place over, Barney.

Yeah.

Well, what did you come
back here for in the first place?

The answer
couldn't possibly help

the situation now, chief... Sir.

In fact, nothing could.

Where's the formula, Mr. White?

You'll get that formula
over my dead body.

[GUN COCKS] If
that's how it's gotta be.

Olsen, I have a strange feeling
you're at the bottom of this.

He was just trying
to please you, chief,

and it backfired.

"Exploded" is a
better word, Miss Lane.

Find anything, Barney?

This must be it, Ace.

No, no, that's just
some Greek literature

I've been translating.

Since when is the Greek alphabet

made up of numbers? Yeah.

Well, I guess you win.

Okay, as long as
you have the formula,

you might as well have
the sample that goes with it.

But, chief...

Lois, whoever ends
up with the formula

should have everything
that goes with it.

All we can do is hope

that they'll use it for
humanitarian purposes.

Now, that's the kind of
an attitude I appreciate.

Well, come on, you two,
help me to carry it out.

Carry it out? But
it was just on the...

Olsen, haven't you
learned to obey orders yet?

Yes, sir.

Get in here.

As soon as we get the
sample, we'll get rid of them.

[CLICKS]

Open up, or we'll
blast our way in.

Go ahead and
try. It's impossible.

That bolt on the inside
probably saved our lives.

Yes, I didn't want
anyone coming in here

while I was working.

All right, we can
play the same game.

Get the torch.

You're thinking of
burning the joint down,

don't forget we're in it, huh?

It ain't gonna work, Ace.
They know who you are.

Like you said, we
gotta get rid of them.

And not only that,

we gotta make sure nobody
even knows the formula is gone.

Meaning we gotta get rid
of them and this shack, huh?

Exactly. Well,
that's impossible,

without gettin' rid
of ourselves, huh?

ACE: You just leave
the brain work up to me.

Now, go on, light it.

Hey, you in there.

We're welding you in.

Hey, you inside,

make the most of the next hour.

That's all you got, till
about quarter after 3.

You're bluffing!

Figure it out for
yourself, Miss Lane.

I got nothing to
gain by bluffing.

All right, let's go.

They must have figured out some
way to blow up the whole place.

Without themselves
being anywhere near

when it happens.

I'm sure they had no
explosives with them.

Then, theoretically,
they can't do anything.

Well, let's quit
fooling ourselves.

They've figured out something.

We've got until 3:15.

You may as well read
this now, Mr. White.

Then spend the next
hour bawling me out.

At least we'll feel at home.

Leaving already?

Where're Miss
Lane and Mr. Olsen?

Uh, they're... They're...

Oh, they're staying with
Mr. White for supper, officer.

We'll come back for them later.

Imagine Mr. White
could use some company.

Yes, you should see them,

gabbing away like they
only had an hour to live.

Just be sure you
pick them up before 9.

Everyone has to be off by then.

Oh, they'll be off,
all right, officer.

I guarantee it. Okay.

Goodbye. Bye, now.

Now where to, huh?

Back to the little rubber
boat and the submarine.

Ah, I think I see what you mean.

[SIGHS]

Harriet, it's almost 3.

Lois and Jim
promised to be back.

Are you sure they didn't
phone in while I was out?

Oh.

All right, thanks.

Operator, this is a special call

through the Civil Security
Commission switchboard.

Extension 518.

Right. Thank you.

[RINGING]

CSC 518.

This is Clark Kent
of the Daily Planet.

Hello, Mr. Kent.

Hello, Inspector Henderson.

Did I understand you say
hello to Inspector Henderson?

Yes, he's right
here with me now.

Oh, uh, tell me, how long ago

did Miss Lane and, uh,
Mr. Olsen leave there?

Well, they didn't
leave yet, Mr. Kent.

What? Well, that's
impossible. It's...

It's after 3 now.

They're staying with
Mr. White for supper.

Supper? When did
they tell you that?

Well, they didn't exactly
tell me, their friends did.

Friends?

I don't know anything
about any friends.

You know, the two fellas
from the Polytech Institute.

Oh. Well, can you put me right
through to the house, please?

Well, sure.

Well, funny thing,
they don't answer.

Somebody has to
be there, though.

It's all right. Let me talk to
Inspector Henderson at once.

He wants you.

Yes, Clark?

I don't know what's
going on down there,

but I'm not happy about it.

Would you go to the
cottage and check

and call me right back?

I'm on my way.

[♪♪♪]

[KNOCKING]

Hello there, Mr. White?

Listen! That's
Inspector Henderson.

We're in here,
Henderson, in here!

Get out, you'll be
blown up with us.

[♪♪♪]

Wait a minute,
I'll throw the bolt.

It's no use. They
welded it shut.

Get out, Henderson!
You can't help us.

Golly, it's after 3 already.

I can't get it open.

We know that. Get out.

Save yourself.

Inspector, you
haven't got much time.

We'll be blown up any second.

That's impossible.

Nobody could get near enough.

They've got a way.

Somehow they
figured how to do it.

I'll be glad when this is over.

Ready...

Fire!

Something went wrong.

The torpedo exploded too soon.

What happened?

Surface, come into port,
and give yourselves up.

Don't try anything
funny, I'll be watching you.

No! It's Superman!

Superman?

What do we do now?

Ask no questions.

Surface and head for
port, like the man says.

He could crush this sub like
an eggshell with his bare hands.

Engine room, engine room,
surface and head for port.

[BUZZING]

[♪♪♪]

I thought it might be you.

Oh, well...

That's about as close a
call as you've ever had.

Jeepers, Superman,
we heard the explosion.

What happened?

You'll get the full
story later, Jim.

Just be sure you
print it accurately.

Don't ever say that, Superman.

I never want him to
be accurate again.

Say, chief, what
about the formula?

Well, I've gone as far
as I can with that, Lois.

From here on, it's up to the
Civil Security Commission.

I don't suppose there's any
way to thank you, Superman?

As a matter of fact
there is, Miss Lane.

By getting back to
your office at once.

After all, poor Clark Kent
can't get that paper out

by himself, you know.

[♪♪♪]

NARRATOR: Don't miss
the next thrill-packed episode

in the amazing
Adventures of Superman!

Superman is based
on the original character

appearing in Superman magazine.