Actress Noel Neill, who would go on to play Lois Lane in The Adventures of Superman starring George Reeves, began her long career as the "girl reporter" in the Kirk Alyn serials. She was ably and sometimes not so ably assisted by Jimmy Olsen, "cub reporter" played by Tommy Bond

Given that the budget for a movie serial was often very small, ways to save money were always employed. As the above pictures illustrate, Alyn would duck out of sight as Clark Kent, return in the Superman costume, and then the animation division would take over. Ironically, in today's market, full motion animation would make this effect more expensive

Return to the thrilling days of "yesteryear" when children were glued to their seats watching Superman extricate himself from the cliffhanger ending of the previous week -- of course their day at the theater would end with yet one more cliffhanger to frustrate them until next Saturday

A flagman frantically tries to signal a train to stop due to a broken rail ahead. Fortunately for passengers Jimmy Olsen and Lois Lane, Clark Kent notices the damaged rail. "This looks like a job for Superman!"

Superman straightens the twisted rail and holds it in place long enough for the train to safely pass, much to the astonishment of the engineer.