FAQ for
Superman (1978) More at IMDbPro »

Smallville is the fictional U.S. town where the baby Kal-El was found and raised by Jonathan and Martha Kent. The movie Superman (1978) located Smallville in the state of Kansas. This tradition has carried through into subsequent Superman comic-book stories, animation and television series. Earlier comics stories placed Smallville in the north-eastern United States, somewhere near the eastern seaboard. Some comics-related sources in the 1970s and '80s placed Smallville in the state of Maryland.

Superman's Metropolis is a fictional U.S. port city located on the north-eastern Atlantic coast. In the DC Comics Universe, Metropolis is considered to be located in New York State (which is said to be geographically larger in the DC Comics universe than it is in our own). It was originally a stand-in for New York City, but has since acquired a character all its own. Some sources had previously placed Metropolis in the state of Delaware across from Gotham City on the shore of Delaware Bay; however, this has been superceded by more recent continuity.

Some have said that the Metropolis of the movie Superman (1978) replaces New York City entirely.

The physics in the running scene do not seem to match up, because he's moving a lot faster than he really should be. This is because he is finally acquiring his ability to fly. The running scene is sort of like his "first stage" in his ability to fly.

The effect is achieved by dangling the actor just above the ground with wires, and having a fast moving rig pull him across the intended path. In some shots, it is clearly blue-screened.

It was revealed in a documentary contained in the 2001 DVD release of Superman, that he was paid $3.7 million for just two weeks of work.

A cannon was placed in the ground in front of the actor's foot. It was carefully timed, so that when the actor kicked, the ball would be shot to a superhuman distance. The effect was further enhanced by having a brief insert shot that showed Clark actually kicking the ball, then cutting to the cannon shot.

Anybody? !*Possibly*! after he turned back time, he had the ability now to stop both of Luthor's guided missiles. Just a wild guess.

Another possibility is that Superman was exhausted by turning the Earth, so much so that he couldn't possibly have reversed time further without putting himself in mortal danger. Still, this should have given him enough time to stop both missile launches.