The Gem Theater: Superman Serial 1948

Introduction

Downtown Wichita Falls, Texas, in the mid 1940’s was a bustling metropolis for a boy of 7 just away from the farm and ranch community where he was born. My father, a cook and cowboy by trade, had just started as one of the first cooks for the Casa Manana restaurant in 1947. He moved us to an apartment on Ohio Street, right across from the Gem Theater, between 7^th and 8^th Streets. It’s here that we would stay for the next three years. The Gem Theater became a magic palace for a young mind. But it had to share that distinction with the rest of the magic that was Wichita Falls. I attended San Jacinto and Carrigan elementary schools, as well as Reagan Junior High, and belonged to the Boys Club on 6th Street. Please join, and share your stories and pictures through a Guest Blog, of early Wichita Falls - or your home town. Contact me at fadingshadows40@gmail.com or leave a comment. We could use old pictures of movie houses, drive-in theaters, and other nostalgic pictures related to our youths.

Sunday, September 18, 2016

Superman Serial 1948

SUPERMAN, 1948 serial from Columbia, a 15-chapter cliffhanger starring Kirk Alyn as The Man of Steel and Noel Neill (who only recently passed away) as Louis Lane, with Carol Forman as the notorious Spider Lady. Not the best serial by any means, but the one that made an unforgettable impact on an 8-year-old boy in 1948. I had only discovered Superman and Batman comic books the year before when my family moved us to Wichita Falls, and for me, the day Superman began at the Tower Theater on Indiana Street was the beginning of my love for serials. It has remained one of my favorites since childhood. I was planning on waiting until 2018, the 70^th anniversary of its premiere, to watch it again, but this past week’s medical emergency taught me that we are not promised two more years, or indeed, even one more year, so I watched it again this past weekend. I still plan on watching it one more time in summer of 2018, if I’m still around.