Adventures of Superman (TV Series) The Talking Clue (1955) User Reviews

Echo Cannon/Canyon

[redryan64 · 6/10 · 1 November 2014]

IN THIS, THE second episode of the 3rd season of the ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN TV Series, the character of Inspector Bill Henderson was given his "15 minutes" of Super fame. The character was given a much more rounded out personality than had been in evidence before.

PREVIOUSLY, THE CHARACTER was the series' resident Law & Order caricature; being shown almost exclusively in his official capacity as a valued member of the Metropolis P.D. The characterization provided by Mr. Robert Shayne was that of what one would expect in an Army Training film. The good Inspector was highly articulate, very competent and indestructibly honest in discharging his duties.

IN TRUE "B" MOVIE fashion, there was a close working relationship between the Metropolis Police and the Working Press. Henderson is very friendly on a quite personal level with Kent, Lois Lane, Perry Whita and even 'young' Olsen.

HOWEVER, WITH THE running of this episode, Bill Henderson was at last a fallible, flesh & blood man. He is revealed to be a Father, apparently a Widower, who has his concerns about his raising of his teenage son.

ENTER THE 'MUGS' from the Metropolis Underworld; who, being led by Gangster Muscles McGurk (Billy Nelson), get the younger Henderson, son Ray (Richard Shackleton) involved in some potential dangerous situations.

AFTER BEING KIDNAPPED (along with Lois-we think), it is Ray's hobby of collecting sounds on audio tape that saves the day.

ASIDE FROM THE usual criminal element and the Super-antics of the namesake star of the show, this is a dramatization of basic human needs and problems; as well as a statement calling for trust and acceptance of others.

Tape recorder episode

[Martinjsxx · 7/10 · 29 January 2023]

I love the Adventures of Superman series so much that out of respect I can't rate any episode less than 7/10 but this one is a bit too much of a stretch and confusing as well. I suppose home tape recorders were new technology at the time so they decided to incorporate its use in an episode but it's a complicated tale of inspector Henderson's son, his tape recorder, a safe, an alarm system at police headquarters and unsolved robberies. It confused me greatly as a kid and even now you have to think a bit to figure out how the crimes were supposedly committed.

The resolution involves solving a clue left by the son in the form of strips of tape that when spliced on a tape reel has the cast playing a version of charades to figure out what the son was trying to convey. First there is no way to know where a particular sound is in an inch or two of tape and if he had the time to locate exactly the right sounds for the game of charades why didn't he just write down the two words somewhere?

Finally another reviewer wrote that this was a funny episode and "Olsen had just spilled an entire pot of glue over his boss". This was a serious episode without laughs and there was no scene of Olson spilling a pot of glue on Mr. White. I don't know what that person was watching but the comment made me re-watch the Perry White scene again looking for the pot of glue scene. It wasn't there.

Not Much Faith in Each Other

[Hitchcoc · 7/10 · 6 February 2015]

Inspector Henderson's son is a sound expert. He collects individual sound effects from many settings and edits them. The Daily Planet crew comes to interview him about this fascinating hobby. While there a bad guy named Claude James (who has been partners with Muscles McGurk....I love these names) is in the office. He notices the tape recorder is running as a safe is opened. Soon thereafter, he and Muscles get back together and play a series of games of Old Maid. McGurk buys a tape from Henderson's son for a hundred bucks. After James is thrown in jail, the crime spree continues. It is assumed that the purchased tape incriminates the young man. Conclusions are leapt to and the possibility of arrest breaks Henderson's heart; he even removes himself from the case. Not long after, the kid is taken to a remote location, Echo Canyon, with his collection of tapes. I remember being amazed at the age of 10 or so how this was all solved. Mostly, I remember how little regard was paid to the kid's character and the assumption that he was guilty until proved innocent.

A Very Funny Episode

[ccthemovieman-1 · 13 July 2006]

This episode, the second one in color and in the third season of Superman, had some real laughs in it for me. First, Perry White (John Hamilton) sarcastically asking what he had done in life to deserve Jimmy Olsen was hilarious. Olsen had just spilled an entire pot of glue over his boss. Hamilton delivered some great lines in response.

Later we once again see one of the dumbest crooks ever on screen in the person of "Muscles McGurk." I guess the name says it all. He was played by Billy Nelson, not a name we'd know but a face you've seen in other Superman adventures.

In this story, Inspector Henderson's teenage kid "Ray," played by Richard Schackleton (where have I seen that name?), shows off his hobby of collecting sounds on tape. The crooks get hold of the tape and use it to rob places.

After much consternation, Kent and the crew figure it out near the end and that's that.