Superman (1978 film) Superman (1978 film) Superman (informally titled Superman: The Movie in some listings and reference sources) is a 1978 superhero film directed by Richard Donner starring Christopher Reeve as Superman based on the DC Comics character of the same name. An international co-production between the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Panama and the United States, the film stars an ensemble cast featuring Marlon Brando, Gene Hackman, Christopher Reeve, Jeff East, Margot Kidder, Glenn Ford, Phyllis Thaxter, Jackie Cooper, Trevor Howard, Marc McClure, Terence Stamp, Valerie Perrine, Ned Beatty, Jack O'Halloran, Maria Schell, and Sarah Douglas. It depicts Superman's origin, including his infancy as
Superman in film and "Atom Man vs. Superman" in 1950, both starring Kirk Alyn and Noel Neill. "Superman and the Mole Men" is a 1951 superhero film starring George Reeves as Superman and Phyllis Coates as Lois Lane. The film was produced by Barney Sarecky and directed by Lee Sholem with the original screenplay by Richard Fielding (a pseudonym for Robert Maxwell and Whitney Ellsworth). Shot on a low budget, it served as a trial run for the syndicated TV series "Adventures of Superman", for which it became a pilot two-part episode titled "The Unknown People". In 1973, producer Ilya Salkind convinced his