Superman (1978 film) finish writing duties. George MacDonald Fraser was later hired to do some work on the script, but he says he did little. Their script was submitted in July 1976, and carried a camp tone, including a cameo appearance by Telly Savalas as his "Kojak" character. The scripts for "Superman" and "Superman II" were now at over 400 pages combined. Pre-production started at Cinecittà Studios in Rome, with sets starting construction and flying tests being unsuccessfully experimented. "In Italy," producer Ilya Salkind remembered, "we lost about $2 million [on flying tests]." Marlon Brando found out he could not film in Italy
Superman (1978 film) Cheap nonflying special effects. Funny dialog. In sum, 'Superman' is the kind of picture critics tear apart, but still say, 'You ought to see it.'" "Variety" called the film "a wonderful, chuckling, preposterously exciting fantasy," adding, "As both the wholesome man of steel and his bumbling secret identity Clark Kent, Reeve is excellent." Vincent Canby of "The New York Times" wrote in a mixed review, "The Superman comic strip has been carefully, elaborately, sometimes wittily blown up for the big-theater screen, which, though busy, often seems sort of empty." Charles Champlin of the "Los Angeles Times" called the film "a