Vietnam dramas dominated the serious edge of 1978's award winning films with The Deer Hunter emerging the Oscar winner for Best Picture and Coming Home earning the Best Actor and Best Actress awards for John Voigt and Jane Fonda, respectively. Despite this focus on one barely ended American war the year was varied enough to produce such unremittingly dark dramas as Midnight Express alongside innovative horror movies like Halloween and Dawn of the Dead. The Broadway fantasy Grease lured moviegoers into the shadow of John Travolta's unique charisma and perhaps the world's most famous comic book hero came to life in Richard Donner's big screen fantasy Superman.

Distilling years of comic book adventures into a single story about the superhero's origin and emergence as an Earthly hero, Donner's movie opens on the eponymous star's native planet. His father Jor-El (Marlon Brando) is unable to convince the ruling council of Krypton that his people will soon destroy their home world. Taking measures to preserve the race he sends his infant son Kal-El to Earth where he will mature under that planet's yellow sun and become a champion of truth and justice.

Subsequently raised in Smallville by a wholesome elderly couple named Kent (Glenn Ford and Phyllis Thaxter), Clark Kent (Christopher Reeve), as Kal-El is dubbed, learns of his superpowers and reins them in for the pursuit of good. He finds himself stronger than an elephant and faster than a speeding bullet just in time to leave Smallville for the comparative bustle of Metropolis.

Working as a mild-mannered reporter for the Daily Planet he finds himself in the midst of shady circumstances when the world's greatest criminal mind Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman) sets to work on the greatest real estate swindle in history. Enlisting the help of newspaper photographer Jimmy Olsen (Marc McClure) Clark manages to investigate Luthor's activities, avert a few horrible tragedies, discover his heritage and his fortress of solitude and otherwise mature into a fine law enforcement weapon of unknown limitations save one: the presence of all-weakening Krytponite.

As Clark struggles to balance the fame of his alter ego he also falls in love with fellow reporter Lois Lane (Margot Kidder). Unable to see the man through the superhero, however, Lois pursues the caped crusader much to Clark's chagrin. Eventually courting her successfully he spoils Luthor's plot and becomes the biggest thing in Metropolis since bold-faced hyperbole was introduced in the Daily Planet.

Part sincere story of a simple young man endowed with extraordinary powers, part special effects showcase and part send up of the entire comic books industry based on Superman himself, Donner's film was a $55 million blockbuster. Tagged with the phrase, "You'll Believe a Man Can Fly!", Superman was the perfect combination of escapism, simplified emotion, two-dimensional characterization and oddly non-destructive bad guys all of which was meant to appeal to the broadest possible popular cross-section.

Children turned out for the action sequences, seemingly inexplicable effects and easy moral situations. Adults, but women especially, took note of Reeve as the muscular and handsome young star who'd previously been all but unknown.

Like many aspiring actors before and since Reeve was anonymously plying his craft in New York City-based Off-Broadway productions when he was plucked from obscurity for his once in a lifetime role at the center of the world. Though he had the right kind of mid-American good looks the positive assessment of his gifts was limited to his overall component and face up through his jet-black hair eventually parted on one side for Clark Kent and on the other for Superman.

Quickly passed over to the instruction of David Prowse, a world-class weightlifter and the man better known for being the body of Darth Vader, Reeve was transformed during the film's pre-production phase. He went from being a good looking but otherwise plain actor into being the epitome of masculine beauty circa 1978. He worked out so much during the film's production, in fact, that the traveling matte shots taken of him at the beginning of the shoot didn't match later shots and had to be re-taken.

Reportedly Steven Spielberg was first offered the Superman project in the mid-'70s although the film's producers were hesitant to fully accept his participation. Postponing a final decision to see the results of Jaws that would confirm his viability as the film's director, he took a different direction once his fish film took off and thus Richard Donner was given the job. Producers then lured Brando into his brief, though memorable, role of Jor-El for the princely sum of $4 million. These primary creative components in place, Superman was green lighted and shoved off in the direction of becoming a box office champion.

Seeing Superman today results is a somewhat disappointing experience. Where the opening titles, John Williams winning theme and still photos from the picture remain filled with possibility, the film itself is somewhat flat and slow moving. It's innocence and overall lack of self-consciousness now seems somewhat campy and dated in light of a more contemporary approach to presenting comic book heroes that's more concerned with such considerations as superhero libidos, dark fantasies and destructive capabilities.

Still, the movie spawned three direct sequels in its own franchise along with a related title in Helen Slater's vehicle Supergirl. Then there have been two subsequent TV series in addition to the George Reeve black-and-white original, various Saturday morning cartoons and an entire class of children's entertainment devoted to people dressed in blue and red. Altogether the original Superman was the most commercially successful in the series having earned some $134 million in domestic grosses to match $166 million abroad.

Like the source comic book that knows good years and bad, later Superman movies became less convincing, more ridiculous and harder to enjoy. Unlike a comic book serial, however, motion pictures require substantially more capital investment. Failures aren't tolerated with follow up efforts to the last weakest link in any series is generally the end.

Foundering after the poisonous results of Superman IV: The Quest for Peace in 1987 the series seemed doomed to video store obscurity. New reports concerning a fresh movie series with a less traditional point-of-view abound but no resulting film has yet to be put into production. Should the producers of any subsequent Kryptonian adventures learn the lessons of history they will capitalize on the fundamental Depression-era myth that spawned citizen Superman. Instead of substituting special effects for characterization, superstardom for plot and public relations outreach for a good script they need only rely on that one quality Christopher Reeve had in spades when he nailed the zeitgeist of 1978's healing landscape. They'll need to make Superman a man, not an ideal, but they'll have to make him super, not indestructible, all of it with the right balance of boyish sexual charm and knowing affection for a population worth protecting.

In this regard, we are the real litmus test of Superman's draw at movie theaters, in graphic novels and in comic books. If we can't be decent enough to warrant protection from a higher power then how can we expect that high superpower to embody our fantasies of good entertainment?