Kidder as Lois lane
Was just right ...a ho who chain smokes and missed a few teeth but who cares ? She could take a pounding and help supes relieve all his stress
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MovieChat Forums > Superman (1978) Discussion > Kidder as Lois lane
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shareMargot Kidder is the best on screen Lois Lane by a considerable margin. Nobody before or since has come close to her portrayal.
shareCouldn't agree more!
She was so smart and brave and funny and awesome and sexy and mouthy, AND totally in tune with a city that's new to Supes, that you believe that yes. Out of all the millions of women in Metropolis, this is the one he'd be interested in.
I like her as well, very quirky.
shareKaren Allen should've been Lois Lane. Didn't care for Kidder
shareKaren Allen would have been an awesome Lois Lane, no argument there.
shareAllen could play fearless broads, but she lacked the hard edge of intelligence and determination that made Kidder totally believable as the Daily Planet's top reporter. Allen always had a bit of underlying softness, which probably made her more attractive to straight men than Kidder, but which would have made her less believable as a star reporter.
Kidder's Lois Lane was someone who would NEVER let up or back down if she was after a story, or after anything, and you can see why that would appeal to Superman. Humans must seem so frail and timorous to him, living their lives afraid of being damaged, he can sympathize but not empathize, because he's not frail himself, he's fearless because he has nothing to fear. But in Lois, he meets a person who seems to be just as fearless as she is, but who has as much to be afraid of as any other human... but she's fearless anyway, because she's brave!
And none of that dynamic would have worked, without Kidder's never-back-down hard edge.
I thought Brooke Adams would have been a better choice. Similar to Kidder but more attractive, feminine and less rough. Even as an 11 yo boy at the time I didnt get why Superman would go for her.
shareIMHO Brooke Adams wouldn't have been terrible, but she wouldn't have been as good as Kidder. The fact that she was more feminine and less hard-edged would have made her less convincing as the Daily Planet's star reporter, and Kidder absolutely did. You could look at her early scenes and tell that she'd risen to the top of her field because she was more enthusiastic, more intelligent, more energetic, more determined, and more fearless than any of her rivals, and while a regular slob might mind that sort of energy unattractive, I can see how a Superman would be drawn to a woman who was as brave and dedicated as he was. Or even braver, because she wasn't afraid of being held at gunpoint even though she wasn't bulletproof (and an 11 year old boy wouldn't understand that!).
I was maybe 20 when I first saw the film, and even then I got something else about his feelings towards her: He met her when he first moved to Metropolis and was intending to enter the big time as a superhero... and this mouthy, coarse, dynamic woman somehow embodied Metropolis. She not only knew everything about the city in the way that top reporters do, her personality crackled with the vitality and sophistication of a world city.
Now Brooke Adams is a lovely and talented lady, but could she crackle with all the energy of a huge city?
Do you know who Kidder beat out to get the role? Idk if Brooke was even up for it.
shareI looked it up, it was down to Kidder and Stockard Channing. Leslie Ann Warren, Anne Archer were other short list actresses. It said Donnor chose Kidder because she got the humor of “What color underpants am I wearing?”
shareOh Channing could have been great as well! Maybe sharp where Kidder was hard, but hard is a good match for steel, you know? I think Kidder was superb in the role, not a conventional leading lady at all, but someone who seemed like the perfect partner for that Superman, a rare human so bold that she almost seemed to be his equal.
IMHO Kidder and Reeve are one of the great screen couples of all time, I adore them both in their roles, and I adore them as a couple.
Speaking of Karen, WHY IN THE WORLD is she left out of the next Indiana Jones? I know it's not related, just had to ask someone!
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I thought Kidder was great, regardess of the looks. Everyoe gripes about how unattractive she is. As a woman I guess I don't much care. But I will say she was not ugly, just not gorgeous.
A thought just occurred to me today...Carrie Fisher. She was fantastic as tough commanding non-girly wise-cracking Princess Leia. If she could've been that same kind of character in Lois Lane, maybe people would stop griping about her looks. Carrie Fisher is better-looking than Margot Kidder.
I doubt they'd say she wasn't good looking if they went to google and looked up the old black and white photos of her naked from the 70s.
shareKidder was perfect in the first film and Donner footage of part II. However, certain...elements eventually took their toll on her looks and physique and by part IV even though she was still present acting-wise, there was just a kind of curiosity as to of WHY does Superman love this woman so much above any others. Too bad they didn't go the other route and continue Clark's relationship with Lana.
When there's no more room in Hollywood, remakes shall walk the Earth.share