Memphis Film Festival goes metal

grit magazine steel Superman, the Man of Steel, first leaped into action in ActionComics No. 1 in June of 1938. Five years earlier, thesilver-bullet-slinging masked rider of the Old West, The LoneRanger, debuted as a radio hero on Jan. 30; 2,965 broadcastepisodes followed through 1954. Although the Memphis Film Festival attracts comic book collectorsand old-time radio buffs, the event -- as its title implies -- isdedicated primarily to movies and television. Specifically, itfocuses on the so-called "golden age" of filmed entertainment, whenserials, B Westerns, drive-in science-fiction thrillers, detectivedramas and other not-ready-for-prime-time-but-made-to-order-for-Saturday-matinee adventures thrilled the youngsters who are nowdevoted Memphis Film Festival fans. To this end, many of the veteran actors and actresses scheduled toattend the festival worked opposite George "Superman" Reeves orClayton "The Lone Ranger" Moore in episodes of their classic TVseries, "Adventures of Superman" (1952-58) and "The Lone Ranger"(1949-57). The most notable of these is Noel Neill, 87, the first actress toplay Daily Planet reporter Lois Lane. Neill debuted as Lane opposite Kirk Alyn as Clark Kent/Superman inthe Columbia serials, "Superman" (1948) and "Atom Man vs. Superman"(1950), which gave viewers the first live-action depiction of theSon of Krypton. Neill returned to the role in 1953, replacingPhyllis Coates as Lois for the final 78 episodes of "Adventures ofSuperman." In fact, Neill -- who is making her third Memphis Film Festivalappearance -- has worked with every major Man of Steel. She made anamusing cameo appearance as young Lois Lane's mother in the 1978"Superman" with Christopher Reeve; and two years ago she had asmall but important role as the rich woman bilked by Lex Luthor(Kevin Spacey) in "Superman Returns," with newcomer Brandon Routhas the alien Earth savior. "The boy (Routh) did very good, I think, and the director was areal Superman fan, so he kind of coached the kid," said Neill,speaking by phone from her home near the beach in Santa Monica."Very nice boy, very young. The only thing that worried me ... I'dheard that the new Lois Lane had an illegitimate child, and I said,'Oh no, why did you do that, how am I gonna do all theseconventions now, they'll think I'm a naughty thing...' And theysaid, 'Don't worry, at the end you'll realize that maybe the kid is Superman's child.' "