Crime Wave
Reviewed by Bruce Dettman

I am pleased to report that my ties to organized crime have been non-existent save for a one-time and totally unexpected meeting with a bodyguard and (reportedly) mob hit man named Sid when I was visiting Hollywood a few years ago trying (unsuccessfully) to pitch a script idea. Sid was approximately as broad as Wyoming, somewhat resembled the late actor Aldo Ray, and wore heavy black leather gloves in the 90 degree heat. Having been coached to talk football with him (the only subject he fancied other than his career choice), we chatted about the L.A. Rams for a few seconds and that was that. We did not keep in touch.

Having originally come from a small town not far from Chicago, the one time hub of mobster activity during the 1920s and 30s, my parents had a few unsavory run-ins of their own. As a school girl, my mother lived only blocks away from the site of the St. Valentine's Day Massacre in the windy city and never forgot walking home from school and passing all the police and onlookers that infamous day. My father's uncle, a cabbie, had part of his jaw shot off in something called the Yellow Taxi War, and when they were older and dating, my parents used to lift a few with Al Capone's cousin who owned a tavern just out of the city. My mother remarked on more than one occasion that he was a very nice guy. Naturally, I later used this against her if I had too many beers in my college days and she began to criticize my bad habits ("Well, excuse me, Mom. At least I didn't go out drinking with the Capone family").

Crime Wave, the first season's last show, is a bit of a hodgepodge that probably shouldn't work as well as it does but thanks to Tommy Carr's spirited direction, the dexterous (and underrated) editing of Al Joseph and Ben Peter Freeman's energetic, if occasionally nonsensical script, the show is a highly enjoyable roller coaster of a ride. Not pausing for a second once the opening credits have rolled, we are instantly vaulted into a feverishly paced montage heightened by dramatic narration depicting rampant crime in Metropolis. The clips used to illustrate this lawlessness are culled from both earlier action-filled moments from the series itself (The Mind Machine, No Holds Barred, Night of Terror etc) as well as selected scenes lifted from old B movies (veteran character actor Lane Chandler can be spotted in one of these). If any show in the first year raised the provincial/commercial hackles of the folks at Kelloggs it would certainly be Crime Wave. Scene after scene depict not only visual mayhem of every kind, but also the screams and cries of the victims including a guy purposely crushed by an on-coming truck. No wonder several of the more gruesome and suggestive moments of the violent content was later trimmed from the circulating prints.

This was rough stuff and about as far removed from the later Mr. Zero and Joey as Jethro Bodine from Sophocles. Inspector Henderson and his force don't seem up to the task of curbing the crime spree. Superman, "The First Citizen of Metropolis," volunteers to get down and dirty with the criminal element that has all but run amok. Backed not only by the political muscle of the Daily Planet but by prominent attorney Walter Canby (the deliciously smooth John Eldredge) and his citizens committee, Superman sets out to "declare war on the racketeers." As described by radio/TV announcer Carlton Avery (played by Bill Kennedy whose voice curiously changes depending on whether he is facing or looking away from the camera) Superman is "like an avenging angel sweeping all before him." Borrowing from the F.B.I. in creating his own public enemy list (contrary to popular belief, the Bureau did not initiate this practice until 1950) the Man of Steel goes after the likes of "Big" Ed Bullock, Bill "Shortcake" Mitchell and Mike "The Crusher" Dana as he methodically works his way up the list of twelve to the top man, the unknown Mr. Big.

It comes as no great surprise (not even when I was five or six years old) that Mr. Big is none other than the respectable Mr. Walter Canby, one of the coolest and most unruffled adversaries Superman would ever face on TV. Even in the face of the single-minded Man of Steel devoting himself to uncovering his identity, Canby calmly reassures his minions (Phil Van Zandt and Al Eban) that "We're gonna kill him!" Before this can happen, however, Canby has Sally (Barbara Fuller), the one female member of the gang, follow and take film of certain known associates of Superman , people like Lois ("Who's the doll?"), Inspector Henderson ("crummy copper"), and Clark Kent ("Big sweetheart"). In following the latter-and speaking of uncovering identities-Sally's camera trails Clark dashing into an alley followed by the sudden appearance of Superman. This is definitely food for thought.

"Wait a minute. Run that again," Canby demands.

"I thought you'd like that one," Sally glibly responds.

"Ok", that's enough," he says after viewing the footage a second time. "We're in business."

Well, perhaps so, but oddly-some might even say amazingly-this issue of Clark becoming Superman never is broached after this. Canby apparently only has one thing on his mind, to lure Superman out to Dover Cliff near Willow Falls and place him in an electric flytrap as conceived by an unnamed professor (actor Joe Mell who a few years later would help Whit Bissell turn Michael Landon into the title creature in I Was A Teenage Werewolf). Who Superman might actually be seems of little if any importance to him.

I have to admit that as a kid I wasn't really concerned about Superman's identity being discovered as much as I was worried about his getting hurt or even killed even though I was fairly positive he couldn't really be injured (Kryptonite was a season away). And yet, when he entered that locked room and fell victim to that blizzard of Electrical shards (and I must say he put a lot into his bogus death scene) I had a few disquieting doubts about his survival (even though I couldn't quite fathom why he hadn't just broken through the doors or walls. A question Superman would later ask Canby and his cohorts-who if they have an answer are more interesting in bolting from a very pissed off Superman than in sticking around and chatting).

The closing line is one of the series' most memorable with the Man of Steel bringing a visibly roughed up Canby back to the Daily Planet offices and with a startled Perry, Lois and Jimmy listening announced that "There isn't a number one crime boss in metropolis anymore."

It's a tough and uncompromising ending to one of the toughest and most uncompromising of shows. And I think, one of the best. This is also all Superman's show-and some might think his finest hour-with the regulars not having much screen time allowing instead the Man of Steel to take full center stage.
Only one question remains. What about Sally and even more important, what about that film?

October 2007
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