Supergirl is a 1984 British superhero film based on the DC Comics character of the same name that was directed by Jeannot Szwarc & starred Helen Slater in the lead role.
The film was first released in the United Kingdom in July of 1984 and later released in the United States in November of 1984.
Plot[]
| Spoiler Warning: The following contains important plot details of the entire film. |
Kara Zor-El lives in an isolated Kryptonian community named Argo City in a pocket of trans-dimensional space. A man named Zaltar allows Kara to see a unique and immensely powerful item known as the Omegahedron, which he has borrowed without the knowledge of the city government, and which powers the city.
However, after a mishap, the Omegahedron is blown out into space. Much to the distress of her parents, Kara follows it to Earth (undergoing a transformation into "Supergirl" in the process) in an effort to recover it and save the city.
On Earth, the Omegahedron is recovered by Selena, a power-hungry would-be witch assisted by the feckless Bianca, seeking to free herself from her relationship with warlock Nigel. Whilst not knowing exactly what it is, Selena quickly realizes that the Omegahedron is powerful and can enable her to perform real magical spells. Supergirl arrives on Earth and discovers her powers.
Following the path of the Omegahedron, she takes the name Linda Lee, identifies herself as the cousin of Clark Kent and enrolls at an all-girls school where she befriends Lucy Lane, the younger sister of Lois Lane who happens to be studying there. Supergirl also meets and becomes enamoured with Ethan, who works as a groundskeeper at the school.
Ethan also catches the eye of Selena, who drugs him with a love potion (which will make him fall in love with the first person he sees for a day); however, Ethan regains consciousness in Selena's absence and wanders out into the streets.
An angry Selena uses her new-found powers to animate a construction vehicle which she sends to bring Ethan back, causing chaos in the streets as it does so. Supergirl rescues Ethan and he falls in love with her instead while in the guise of Linda Lee.
Supergirl and Selena repeatedly battle in various ways, until Selena uses her powers to put Supergirl in an "eternal void" known as the Phantom Zone. Here, stripped of her powers, she wanders the bleak landscape and nearly drowns in an oily bog. Yet she finds help in Zaltar, who has exiled himself to the Phantom Zone as a punishment for losing the Omegahedron.
Zaltar sacrifices his life to allow Supergirl to escape. Back on Earth, Selena misuses the Omegahedron to make herself a "princess of Earth", with Ethan as her lover and consort. Emerging from the Phantom Zone through a mirror, Supergirl regains her powers and confronts Selena, who uses the Omegahedron's power to summon a gigantic shadow demon.
The demon overwhelms Supergirl and is on the verge of defeating her when she hears Zaltar's voice urging her to fight on. Supergirl breaks free and is told by Nigel the only way to defeat Selena is to turn the shadow demon against her.
Supergirl quickly complies and begins flying in circles around her, trapping her in a whirlwind. Selena is attacked and incapacitated by the monster as the whirlwind pulls Bianca in as well. The three of them are sucked back into the mirror portal, which promptly reforms, trapping them all within forever.
Free from Selena's spell, Ethan admits his love for Linda and that he knows that she and Supergirl are one and the same, but knows it is possible he may never see her again and understands she must save Argo City.
The final scene shows Kara returning the Omegahedron to a darkened Argo City, which promptly lights up again.
Cast[]
- Helen Slater as Kara Zor-El\Linda Lee\Supergirl
- Faye Dunaway as Selena
- Peter O'Toole as Zaltar
- Hart Bochner as Ethan
- Mia Farrow as Alura In-Ze
- Brenda Vaccaro as Bianca
- Peter Cook as Nigel
- Simon Ward as Zor-El
- Marc McClure as Jimmy Olsen
- Maureen Teefy as Lucy Lane
- David Healy as Mr. Danvers
- Sandra Dickinson as The Pretty Young Lady
- Matt Frewer as Eddie
- Kelly Hunter as Argonian Citizen
Production[]
After gaining the film rights for Superman: The Movie in 1974, Alexander Salkind and his son, Ilya purchased the rights to the character of Supergirl in the event of any sequel or spin-off should occur.
After the critical and commercial disappointment of Superman III, the Salkinds decided to make a Supergirl movie to regenerate the franchise.
The producers attempted and failed to get director Richard Lester (who had directed Superman III and completed the second film after original director Richard Donner was fired).
After Robert Wise turned down the offer to direct the film, French filmmaker Jeannot Szwarc was ultimately chosen after meeting with Christopher Reeve. He also sought advice from Richard Donner over some technical aspects of the production.
Hundreds of actresses tested for the role of Supergirl/Linda, among them Demi Moore and Brooke Shields (who was Alexander Salkind's top choice for the role), but they were rejected by Ilya Salkind and Jeannot Szwarc, who wanted an unknown actress for the role and they picked Helen Slater to play Supergirl.
Dolly Parton turned down the role of Selena before it was offered to Faye Dunaway.
Much of "Supergirl" was shot at Pinewood Studios in London where almost 85% of the film was shot. It took place between the summer and fall of 1983.
Christopher Reeve was supposed to make a cameo appearance in the film, but he dropped out before filming began, but a picture of Reeve dressed up in his "Superman" costume is featured in the film.
In order to do the outdoor flying sequences in the film, Helen Slater had to train three hours a day for three months and was suspended by wires from a 200-foot tower crane.
Although the Salkinds financed the film completely on their own budget, Warner Bros. were still involved in the production as the studio owned the distribution rights to the film and its parent company, Warner Communications (who was also the parent company of DC Comics, which held the original copyright). The entire film was shot, edited and overseen under the supervision of Warner Bros.
Release[]
For the film's release, Warner Bros. only had a slot open for July of 1984, but the producers wanted it to be released during the holiday season. Due to that issue (along with the disappointing critical and financial performance of Superman III and Supergirl), the studio relinquished its distribution rights to the Salkinds.
However, the film proceeded to be released overseas and it received a Royal Film Premiere in the United Kingdom in July of 1984.
When "Supergirl" was released in the United Kingdom, it received poor reception from critics and fans.
In the United States, the film was released in November of 1984.
The test audiences found "Supergirl" overlong and the film was edited from 135 minutes to 105 minutes for its North American release.
Reception[]
Box Office[]
"Supergirl" opened at #1 at the box office, grossing $14,296,438 during its opening weekend, but dropped to #7 by its fifth week, grossing only $315,462.
The film is widely considered to be a box office bomb after making only $14.3 million in North America. It closed in theaters on January 27, 1985 after only 68 days in release.
Critical Reception[]
"Supergirl" received poor reviews from critics.
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film was given a 7% rating based on 27 reviews with its average rating being 3.2\10.
The critics' consensus says: "The effects are cheesy and Supergirl's wide-eyed, cheery heroine simply isn't interesting to watch for an hour and a half."
Roger Ebert gave the movie a one-star rating, saying, "When it goes for campy laughs, it falls flat on its face."
According to Janet Maslin from the New York Times about Helen Slater's performance in the film, she says she "makes a four-square heroine of unrelenting sincerity; a sturdy ingenue, she is great fun to look at but hardly a live wire."
Accolades[]
1985 CVF Awards
- Worst Picture: Timothy Burrill (nominated)
- Worst Actor: Peter O'Toole (nominated)
- Worst Actress: Helen Slater (nominated)
- Worst Supporting Actor: Hart Bochner (nominated)
- Worst Supporting Actress: Faye Dunaway (nominated)
- Worst Director: Jeannot Szwarc (nominated)
- Worst Screenplay: David Odell, based on Supergirl by Otto Binder and Al Plastino (nominated)
1985 Saturn Awards
- Best Actress: Helen Slater (nominated)
1985 Razzie Awards
- Worst Actor: Peter O'Toole (nominated)
- Worst Actress: Faye Dunaway (nominated)
Theatrical Trailer[]
Supergirl (1984) Trailer
Supergirl U.S. Trailer