Adventures of Superman
The Phony Alibi
TV Flash files “The Phony Alibi” as hour 87 of 104 in the TV Flash guide — Adventures of Superman (1952–1958) on Syndication, season 5, episode 9, aired 1957-05-03, 30 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S05E09: listed hour 87 of 104 in the Adventures of Superman guide, hour 9 of 13 in season 5. It aired 1957-05-03 (30 min). The listed hour before it is “Close Shave” (S05E08). Next is “The Prince Albert Coat” (S05E10).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
Ed Crowley's gang has just robbed the Wentworth Jewelry Store. Schultzy Garfield pulled off the heist. Unfortunately, the authorities are unable to catch him as he is driving more than one hundred and twenty miles per hour out on Highway 201. This is truly a job for Superman, who has received a call about the incident from Inspector Bill Henderson as Daily Planet reporter Clark Kent. Acting as an impervious road block, the Man of Steel halts Garfield's getaway car, allowing the police to take him into custody. Another crime has been halted by Superman. Little does the caped hero realize that his encounters with the Crowley Mob are only just beginning.
Viewer FAQ
Where does The Phony Alibi sit in the Adventures of Superman guide?
S05E09 is listed hour 87 of 104 — hour 9 of 13 in season 5, season 5 episode 9.
When did Adventures of Superman S05E09 air?
The Phony Alibi aired 1957-05-03 and is listed at 30 minutes.
Where should I start?
Start with Reeves in the Daily Planet ensemble — Coates or Neill as Lois, Larson as Jimmy — and the weekly civic cliff. Color seasons are a later texture, not a prerequisite.
In the series
Why this series still plays
George Reeves's Adventures of Superman is the first live-action cape kids treated as scripture: black-and-white mythmaking that later went color without losing the civic-sermon tone. Watch it in 2026 to see how superhero television learned to sell truth, justice, and a weekly cliff before blockbusters industrialized the idea.
Look, up in the sky. (I said spoiler-free. The cape is the spoiler, and the kids already knew.) George Reeves put the cape on a syndicated schedule (1952–1958), 104 episodes across six seasons, and made truth, justice, and a weekly cliff into kids' scripture. Clark Kent, Lois Lane (Phyllis Coates, then Noel Neill), Jack Larson's Jimmy Olsen chased stories at the Daily Planet while Superman foiled crooks and mad scientists. Later seasons filmed in color though many stations still aired in black-and-white; the…
Filed against
- George Reeves as Superman / Clark Kent
George Reeves's Superman / Clark Kent was the first live-action cape kids treated as scripture — Adventures of Superman as 1950s black-and-white mythmaking that later went color without dropping the civic-sermon tone. Truth, justice, a…
- Phyllis Coates as Lois Lane
Phyllis Coates played Lois Lane on Adventures of Superman, the 1950s first live-action cape kids treated as scripture — George Reeves, black-and-white mythmaking that later went color without losing the civic-sermon tone. Truth, justice,…
- Noel Neill as Lois Lane
Noel Neill’s Lois Lane made Adventures of Superman the first live-action cape kids treated as scripture — 1950s black-and-white mythmaking, George Reeves, civic-sermon tone that later went color without losing the weekly cliff. TV Flash…
- Jack Larson as Jimmy Olsen
Jack Larson’s Jimmy Olsen made Adventures of Superman feel like a newsroom with a cape in the closet — cub-reporter bounce, civic-sermon 1950s mythmaking, kids treating live-action flying as scripture. Camera, crash, loyalty. TV Flash…
- John Hamilton as Perry White
John Hamilton’s Perry White barked Adventures of Superman into civic-sermon form — George Reeves’s first live-action cape kids treated as scripture, black-and-white mythmaking that later went color without losing the tone. Truth, justice,…