Super Memories

Christopher Reeve as Superman.

Trying to make the most of the last weeks of summer, some friends and I took in the final outdoor movie of the season in Bryant Park Monday night -- the original Superman, starring Christopher Reeve, which I had only the vaguest childhood memories of. Among the things I didn't remember, or never realized in the first place:

1) Christopher Reeve, who's an absolute stunner, was billed below the title -- after Marlon Brando and Gene Hackman.

2) Lois Lane has one of those grand Manhattan apartament -- in a high-rise building with a terrace -- that only newspaper reporters in movies can afford. (Are we sure she wasn't taking payola from Lex Luthor?)

3) The screenplay, co-written by Mario Puzo, is filled with an array of delightfully sexy and suggestive banter, especially in the scene where Lois and Superman first meet, and Reeve and Margot Kidder really make the most of it. Among other tantalizers, Lois tests Superman's X-ray vision by asking if he can discern the color of her underwear.