The Monkey Mystery
Reviewed by Bruce Dettman

My mother and father never knew anything about Mitch and his friends which upon reflection was probably a good thing. Even in the 1950s world I grew up in where parents didn't spot Jack the Ripper or Charles Manson on every street corner and where most kids were fairly free to roam in all directions after school-provided, of course, that we showed up on time for dinner-they probably wouldn't have appreciated knowing that several times a year I made contact with a certain group of gentlemen of leisure, then also known-so as not to be confused with the homeless of today-as tramps or hobos. (My mother once had me in stitches by telling my niece, a new mother at the time, that when I was growing up she always knew where I was). Mitch was the titular head of this small group-perhaps due to the fact that he carried a monkey named Homer with him-who occasionally stopped off in my California hometown and took advantage of a nice picturesque area overlooking the town's main high school. Not only did this spot have a large comfortable grassy area to sleep upon, but also offered a beautiful creek for water and a wooded area for shade. Best of all for their purposes it was so off the beaten path that few visited it save kids like my pals and I who were hiking up to a nearby reservoir in search of alligator lizards when we made their acquaintance. At first we were pretty cautious about them (that parental admonishment of never talking to strangers was indelibly tattooed on our brains) but we were undeniably curious too. They eventually invited into their camp, asked us lots of questions about our town, whether we like school etc. and we in turn badgered them for stories about life on the road. Not long after this some not so subtle requests for helping them with their provisions began, requests we were only too happy to help them out with. I recall going home and lifting some bread, peanut butter, slices of bologna, a few cigarettes from my mother's pack of Kent's and even several ounces of my father's scotch (a special request from Mitch) which I stored in old medicine prescription bottles. The scotch was particularly important because when I added that to my stash he would smile, take a swig of the stuff and let me take Homer on my shoulder. Homer wasn't a particularly attractive Monkey. He was lacking hair on his one shoulder and top of his head, he could have used an orthodontist (and a few breath mints) and wasn't particularly friendly, but still the novelty of having a monkey sit on my shoulder was too much too pass on even if I really didn't trust the little bugger.

I know there are lots of people who think Monkeys are incredibly adorable (Tarzan, Sheena and Jungle Jim, for instance) and obviously this also includes Clark and Lois in the first season's THE MONKEY MYSTERY when they are strolling down the street and happen upon an organ grinder (predictably named Tony and played by Michael Vallon) who not only entertains the neighborhood kids with his music and the antics of his monkey Peppy (who is decked out in a Superman outfit) but who moonlights as a kind of courier getting messages to a couple of criminal agents Crane and Max ( Harry Lewis and Bill Challee).

They are working with a certain government (always unnamed in 50s shows but the Cold War audience certainly didn't need to be hit over the head to realize who this was, right?!). For a penny the hardworking Peppy hands back the payer a fortune on a slip of paper but this time he bungles the job and instead gives the unsuspecting Lois the note intended for the devious twosome and which concerns the arrival of Maria (Allene Roberts), the daughter of Jan Moleska (Fred Essler) a murdered European freedom fighter and scientist whose fate has been depicted in a short prolog set in Central Europe (although looking a lot like Moose Island to me) where the doomed scientist gives his offspring his secret formula hidden in a locket with instructions to get it to the President of the United States or it could mean "the end of freedom on Earth." Naturally Lois, smelling a scoop, hides the information from Clark and heads out to meet the train and the inventor's offspring, but in doing so finds that Maria has been attacked and knocked unconscious and that she is soon the recipient of the same brutal treatment. Thanks to Jimmy, who finds the original note in Lois' office, Clark/Superman puts two and two together and flies to the rescue (leaving behind a particularly annoyed Perry White). There's luckily a doctor on board the train (the ubiquitous Steven Carr) and Lois and Maria will survive. Still the missing locket, which the Man of Steel now realizes, must contain a formula for a defense against the atomic bomb, must be located. It's back to Metropolis and a plan to catch the spies but things go a bit array and not only is Jimmy nearly done in but Peppy almost bites the bullet (literally). Superman saves both though (coming through a window in a beautifully executed maneuver that is clearly George Reeves and not a stuntman), Peppy gets a banana and the nation is safe. Not certain about that protection from the A-Bomb though.

This show, written by Ben Peter Freeman and Doris Gilbert and directed by Tommy Carr, is gritty, dark (despite the monkey antics) and perhaps due to the Cold War trappings, full of permissible violence even if most of it occurs off screen (two women beaten, a an organ grinder knifed to death, the torture and execution of the scientist). No wonder the Kelloggs folks began to wonder about the suitability of the show for kids. We loved it, of course, but who was listening to us?

December 2007
Return to Introduction

The Adventures Continue (TAC) is a website devoted to George Reeves and the Adventures of Superman. All contents copyright© by Jim Nolt unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Nothing from this website may be reproduced by any means, in whole or in part (excpet for brief passaged used solely for review purposes) without the written permission of either Jim Nolt (owner) and/or Lou Koza (editor).

The items contained in the feature pages titled In Retrospect by Bruce Dettman is the copyright and ownership of Bruce Dettman and cannot be reproduced by any means, in whole or in part without Mr. Dettman's written permission.

Superman and all related indicia are trademarks of DC Comics, Inc. and are reproduced for historical purposes only. Use of the name of any product or character without mention of trademark status should not be construed as a challenge to such status. Includes the video captures from the Adventures of Superman.