Superman And The Mole Men

Before Christopher Reeve there was George Reeves as the Man of Steel. This short feature was Reeves' debut in the Superman role, which he reprised the next year in his popular television series. Here he helps out the innocent "mole men" of the underworld, who are disturbed when oilmen start drilling into their homes. It's a simplistic allegory of human rights--Reeves gives a wind-up speech about accepting others and their differences--directed with a certain crudity but retaining an innocence that worked out nicely. SUPERMAN AND THE MOLE MEN later turned up on the TV series as a two-part episode titled "Unknown People."