Adventures of Superman (TV Series) The Big Squeeze (1953) User Reviews

Living Down a Bad Reputation or Over-Paying for One's Past Mistakes.

[redryan64 · 8/10 · 15 October 2008]

CONTINUING the second season of ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN's outstanding array of episodes we have "The Big Squeeze". This is probably about as good example of how the common and everyday occurrences that happen in the seemingly dull and boring lives of the masses of the World may indeed have certain aspects of Heroism and the "Super" in them. This of course goes double for the folks leading these lives of "quiet desperation." In short, there are a lot of Supermen out there; even if they can't fly and see through anything but lead. (This is the one inability of Krypton's Last Son's exceptional eye power that plays a big part in the story, by the way.)

IN addition to the obvious circumstance that this is a Superman story, the emphasis is on the ordinary, the common man. In this case, we have a family man working hard at his job in order to give his family a better life. This alone is an overall fine theme; which is most befitting that 1950's post World War II period in the U.S.A.; as well as the rest of Civilization. After all, did not the adult generation of that time live through both the Great Depression, as well as The Second World War?*

ADDED to this drama, we add the element of an otherwise solid citizen, Dan Grayson (Hugh Beaumont); who has the specter of having done some time in the penal system, prior to his present, successful life. Dan is now up for consideration for the annual award from the Daily Planet as being "The Outstanding Citizen of Metropolis." It is at this time that some of the unsavory characters from his past come a calling into his life.

ABBRUPTLY showing up one day without prior notice, unannounced were some members of a gang of stick-up & second-story thugs. They demand Dan's cooperation in providing them with an "inside man" in order that they can knock over the fur company that Dan has so diligently worked for and managed to become a trusted employee. The proposition is simple. Either Dan Grayson goes along with them, or they will expose his past to the community.

GRAYSON'S dilemma is mainly that of keeping up the good name of his family and their feelings than for any of his own concerns. He tries to explain his old mistake to his son; who lacks the maturity to comprehend all that is given to him to assimilate. The heartache is very heavy at this point.

BEING blackmailed or not, Mr. Grayson flatly refuses to join in the criminal enterprise, and is kid-napped by the felonious mob and held in a cave with lead-lined walls. Alerted to the crime, Superman is unable to visually scour the hills and find his whereabouts; until one of the gang has a momentary gaff by cracking some walnuts. Dan Grayson uses his cunning to induce the one thug into doing so, thus allowing Superman not to see him via X-Ray Vision; but rather for the Man of Steel hear the cracking sound by way of his Super-Hearing. The sound was clearly audible and the rescue was complete, both the kidnapping was over and the Fur Company is kaput.

IN the end all is told and is out in the open, with Superman explaining that a man who is living a law abiding life; but had done something in the past, for which he has paid his debt to society is worthy of our trust, love and understanding. The message resonated well with not only Dan's Son, Tim (Brad Morrow); but also with all of us Baby Boomers watching then and all the kids who see the show today.

DAN Grayson receives his Daily Planet award; it being made all the more impressive because of his former life.

PURPOSELY designed to be a sort of TV Screen Morality Play, "The Big Squeeze" succeeds in getting its point across, without being neither heavy-handed nor too preachy. The story revisits an old, often forgotten adage. One should not only tell only the truth about someone; but should also not relate any happenings that could be harmful to another and not to judge one too harshly based on any rumor, story or hearsay.

"THE BIG SQUEEZE" certainly rates up near the top of the 100+ Superman TV Episodes for incorporating all of these elements into its 30 minutes (including the original Kellogg's Corn Flakes & Frosted Flakes commercials.

NOTE * Not to take anything from Tom Brokaw's book, THE GREATEST GENERATION; but we did make this observation about our own Parents and their compadres long, long ago.

POODLE SCHNITZ!! .

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Clark teaches us to give ex-cons a chance

[sssuperman-dot-com · 9/10 · 22 August 2015]

Oddly, despite a few plot hiccups, this still manages to be one of my favorite episodes, due to having several rather unique and interesting aspects.

I always really love it when this show, or any Superman thing, really, has plot lines that focus heavily on Clark Kent's journalism. After all, the perpetual problem for Supes is that "everything is too easy for him" and thus it's not that impressive, but clearly superpowers doesn't give him a (big) advantage in reporting, so it enables me to respect the character a lot more and it helps illuminate the fact that there's much more to him than muscle. What makes things extra interesting, though, is that in this case, he's not just the "crime-busting" reporter we see in other episodes, as great as that is. He's doing something much more peaceful and "small" - selecting the Daily Planet "Citizen of the Year". It's always nice to see this side of the character illuminated. Obviously, most of the show is based around the character's crime- fighting, but it's always nice to see his more positive, gentle, "human" side. For me, this manifests that aspect of the character in a subtle way.

Along the same trail of thought, it's really nice to see Superman doing something as a part of his job that some might dub "insignificant", especially compared to the anti-crime stuff, but still seeming to put care into it. It makes him seem more human that he should have to do something that's not really that earth-shaking, and more endearing that he seems to put care and thought into doing his job - that he seems to think doing something like selecting the Citizen of the Year is important, even though he's also the person who puts countless criminals behind bars. It also emphasizes something compelling about this particular version of Superman: how he's so deeply involved in his community. In some versions of Superman, it feels like what Superman does isn't very connected to everyday people's lives. He's always just flying off and taking down some distant supervillain. In this show, though, it really feels as though he's in the midst of us, that he cares about the same things we care about. The truth about Superman is that Clark Kent is just another Metropolis citizen who cares and is concerned about his community. Superman is just one way he tries to help out, but really, his caring about the people around him is something that characterizes his entire life - whether he's writing an expose of a major criminal enterprise or something as simple as a Citizen of the Year column.

Clark Kent writing a Citizen of the Year column is nothing fascinating or unusual in and of itself. But what's interesting is that it's a major focal point of the episode, the springing-off point for the entire plot line. To me, it says a lot about the writers' priorities and how they saw Superman.

Aside from that, the major thing I really love about the episode is the fact that it actually has a message to send. Of course, this show as a whole can be seen as morally educational, giving kids a great role model in the form of Clark/Superman and obviously teaching that crime doesn't pay. But here, it's something more than a generic "moral of story", and it doesn't even seem to be primarily aimed for children. It's a very specific message that ex-convicts should be given a second chance. It can be seen as a simple moral message, "people can change", but it can also be seen as something mildly political. But it's not presented in a remotely polarizing way; the way it's framed makes it seem more like something that anyone who believes in basic moral truths like justice, mercy and forgiveness would listen to. In short, not only is this episode trying to send a message that's not just a simple moral message, which is very unusual for this show, it's doing so in a really effective way. It conveys its message with the utmost clarity, but without insulting anyone or the viewers' intelligence at all. I really, REALLY wish more shows and movies could manage to do this. Even if you don't actually agree with the message and think that ex- cons should be treated with caution or whatever, it's hard to deny that the way they present it is awesome, and it's hard not to admire that the writers actually tried to create a positive change through this show.

One final aspect that I find pretty interesting: at one point, Clark actually tries to cover up the fact that Dan Grayson is an ex-con. What I find so fascinating about this is that it takes something that'd typically be seen as completely negative – a reporter covering up negative information about someone he likes – and puts a different spin on it, enables us to see it from a different perspective. I kind of wish Superman media would do stuff like this with Supes' civilian job more often. I mean, reporters are not seen solely in a positive light; how about highlighting some of the more negative aspects of Clark's profession, but from his perspective? There are also other things you can do with the more negative aspects of reporting, like having Clark object to some other reporter's bad tactics, or having bad reporting by Clark or some other DP reporter damage Superman.

Anyway, aside from those specific admirable aspects that really stand out, this episode is a pretty fine, solid plot line, though it's not exceptionally clever in its "plotting" or anything. It's fairly average, to be honest. But the things just mentioned really make the episode for me. Definitely worth watching, maybe even more than once.

Where's the Beaver?

[Hitchcoc · 7/10 · 1 February 2015]

This moralistic offering stars Hugh Beaumont, Ward Cleaver from "Leave It to Beaver." He becomes the victim of a blackmailer. It seems that Hugh was in prison for participating in an armed burglary (he went along with some friends, thinking it was for a joyride), serving three years. Now he has become a humanitarian, earning Metropolis's man of the year. He works for a fur company, has a nice nuclear family which is not aware of his history. The blackmailer wants him to help set up a robbery or he will inform the family and the boss. When his little boy asks Clark Kent not to put his father back in jail, the father confesses to Clark. The heist takes place without Hugh's participation other than providing a key. He is fired and disgraced, but Superman is now enlisted in efforts to clear his name. This is another episode that makes a point about people deserving second chances. It's an OK episode..