Post by greenguy on Sept 3, 2019 14:30:36 GMT -5
After almost 40 years this promo has finally surfaced!
As I was a few months away from owning a VCR, I never caught this network promotion. What I recalled about it was, some of the footage not used in the actual finished episode. We do NOT see Katt cover his head before crashing into the Russians car. Nor do we see the shot from inside the car through the windshield, when Madalone jumps on the hood. We also do not see the insert shot from above of the polygraph machine going wild over Maxwell's lies. The last shot exclusive to the promo, is the wide view of the helicopter rising from the underside of the dam.
The 2nd draft script of the alley scene with the Russians says:
ANGLE - PHONE BOOTH
The door springs open and out comes RALPH HINKLEY, MAN OF STEEL. He leaps into the air, does a ricochet off a billboard, and lands on top of the Russians car.
EXT. RUSSIANS CAR
Ralph hits the car, slides off the roof and down onto the windshield.
We know the actual scene did NOT play out like this. From the way it's cut together, and with the footage from the promo it appears Ralph was to run at the car and not being able to control his speed crashes into it. After shooting in the alley, it must have been decided it wasn't enough. A insert of a banana peel and slipping on it was filmed, as was a running shot with Madalone between what appear like sound stages, along with a background plate between those stages to matte Katt into for the brief flying FX shot. Even a "blind newsie" can tell this was shot afterwards, as it does not match the alley location at all. The way it's shoehorned into the scene, and the fact the location doesn't match I think it would have played better with just having Ralph running too fast and hitting the car.
As I was a few months away from owning a VCR, I never caught this network promotion. What I recalled about it was, some of the footage not used in the actual finished episode. We do NOT see Katt cover his head before crashing into the Russians car. Nor do we see the shot from inside the car through the windshield, when Madalone jumps on the hood. We also do not see the insert shot from above of the polygraph machine going wild over Maxwell's lies. The last shot exclusive to the promo, is the wide view of the helicopter rising from the underside of the dam.
The 2nd draft script of the alley scene with the Russians says:
ANGLE - PHONE BOOTH
The door springs open and out comes RALPH HINKLEY, MAN OF STEEL. He leaps into the air, does a ricochet off a billboard, and lands on top of the Russians car.
EXT. RUSSIANS CAR
Ralph hits the car, slides off the roof and down onto the windshield.
We know the actual scene did NOT play out like this. From the way it's cut together, and with the footage from the promo it appears Ralph was to run at the car and not being able to control his speed crashes into it. After shooting in the alley, it must have been decided it wasn't enough. A insert of a banana peel and slipping on it was filmed, as was a running shot with Madalone between what appear like sound stages, along with a background plate between those stages to matte Katt into for the brief flying FX shot. Even a "blind newsie" can tell this was shot afterwards, as it does not match the alley location at all. The way it's shoehorned into the scene, and the fact the location doesn't match I think it would have played better with just having Ralph running too fast and hitting the car.