History Film / Supergirl

* MagicMirror: Selena has one, and it can serve as a portal to the Phantom Zone!

* AllStarCast: Not to the extent of ''{{Superman}}'' and its sequels, but besides Dunaway and O'Toole, there's Peter Cook (as Selena's mentor), Mia Farrow (Kara's mother), and Brenda Vaccaro (Selena's sidekick), all of whom have reputations comparable to the parent franchise's players.

* NoSocialSkills: This was inconsistently applied with Kara; unlike her cousin, Kara arrives on Earth as a teenager instead of being raised amongst humans as a young child. She speaks fluent English, but doesn't understand certain customs (such as handshakes). She doesn't realize the function of a brassiere, either -- though considering her modest chest size and her mother being played by Mia Farrow, this may make more sense. Perhaps Krypton is a PlanetOfHats where the Hat is {{Pettanko}} sized?

* ProductPlacement: ''Supergirl'' was blatant about this, even by 1984's standards. One of the movie's biggest action scenes takes place in and around a Popeyes Fried Chicken franchise. Popeyes is even prominent in the background of some of the most memorable stills from the movie of Helen Slater as Supergirl. (This does ''not'' lead to a teamup of the Maid of Steel and a [[{{Popeye}} certain sailor man]], though.[[hottip:*:Who the restaurant isn't named for, incidentally. According to the company, it was named for the protagonist of ''another'' film, ''TheFrenchConnection'' - starring none other but Lex Luthor.]])

* JerryGoldsmith

Oh, yes, almost forgot one thing: the plot. Well, if anyone can make heads or tails of it, feel free to leave a brief summary, because we're '''''still''''' stumped.

* ProductPlacement: ''Supergirl'' was blatant about this, even by 1984's standards. One of the movie's biggest action scenes takes place in and around a Popeyes Fried Chicken franchise. Popeyes is even prominent in the background of some of the most memorable stills from the movie of Helen Slater as Supergirl. (This does ''not'' lead to a teamup of the Maid of Steel and a [[{{Popeye}} certain sailor man]], though.[[hottip:*:Who the restaurant isn't named for, incidentally. According to the company, it was named for the protagonist of ''another'' film, ''TheFrenchConnection'' - starring none other but Lex Luther.]])

* ProductPlacement: ''Supergirl'' was blatant about this, even by 1984's standards. One of the movie's biggest action scenes takes place in and around a Popeyes Fried Chicken franchise. Popeyes is even prominent in the background of some of the most memorable stills from the movie of Helen Slater as Supergirl. (This does ''not'' lead to a teamup of the Maid of Steel and a [[{{Popeye}} certain sailor man]], though.[[hottip:*:Who the restaurant isn't named for, incidentally. According to the company, it was named for the protagonist of ''another'' film, ''TheFrenchConnection''.]])

After considering many other actresses for the title role, Helen Slater was cast as Kara/Supergirl (marking her film debut), while Faye Dunaway played the movie's primary villain (the witch Selena) and Peter O'Toole portrayed Kara's Kryptonian mentor Zaltar. In an attempt to offer continuity with the Superman films, Marc [=McClure=] reprised his role as Jimmy Olsen, and Lois Lane's sister Lucy (Maureen Teefy) appears as the roommate of Linda Lee (Supergirl's secret identity).

* DawsonCasting: The casting of Kara isn't too bad by the usual standards of this trope; Helen Slater was 20 at the time, playing a high school age girl. But Lucy Lane? Actress Maureen Teefy was 31 at the time the movie was made! And, well... let's ''hope'' Jimmy Olsen (played by the 27 year old Marc McClure) is an example, as [[EpheboPhile the alternative interpretation]] is more than a little creepy.

* DawsonCasting: The casting of Kara isn't too bad by the usual standards of this trope; Helen Slater was 20 at the time, playing a high school age girl. But Lucy Lane? Actress Maureen Teefy was 31 at the time the movie was made!

* ProductPlacement: ''Supergirl'' was blatant about this, even by 1984's standards. One of the movie's biggest action scenes takes place in and around a Popeye's Fried Chicken franchise. Popeye's is even prominent in the background of some of the most memorable stills from the movie of Helen Slater as Supergirl. (This does ''not'' lead to a teamup of the Maid of Steel and a [[{{Popeye}} certain sailor man]], though.)

* DawsonCasting: * The casting of Kara isn't too bad by the usual standards of this trope; Helen Slater was 20 at the time, playing a high school age girl. But Lucy Lane? Actress Maureen Teefy was 31 at the time the movie was made!

** Principal Danver also falls slightly under this trope. In the comic book, the Danver are Supergirl's foster parents on Earth. Perhaps this character (or one of his relatives) was supposed to adopt Supergirl in a sequel that was never made.

* ClarkKenting: Kara disguises herself as "Linda Lee" on Earth. Helen Slater didn't have the acting chops to pull this off convincingly in her film debut, so her efforts in this area fell flat compared to Christopher Reeve's masterful efforts in the Superman movies.
** Could have been done in purpose since, unlike Superman, Supergirl is hiding her existence to the world (As in her first adventures in the comics). Since nobody knows about Supergirl, she doesn't need to act differently as Linda Lee.

* BigBraToFill: While often (but [[DependingOnTheArtist not invariably]]) buxom in the comic books, Slater's Supergirl is modestly endowed.
** Actually, the movie costume is slightly... er... stuffed. Helen Slater's real breast is even smaller.

'''''Supergirl''''' is a 1984 film which followed ''SupermanIII''; it was produced largely due to Christopher Reeve's lack of interest in portraying the Man of Steel a fourth time. Series producers Alexander and Ilya Salkind wanted to milk more money out of the franchise, and since they owned the film rights to Supergirl, they appeared to have found a way to continue the franchise despite no longer having its star actor.

After considering many other actresses for the title role, Helen Slater was cast (this would mark her film debut). Faye Dunaway played the movie's primary villain, the witch Selena, and Peter O'Toole portrayed Kara's Kryptonian mentor Zaltar. In an attempt to create some continuity with the Superman films, Marc [=McClure=] reprised his role as Jimmy Olsen. Lois Lane's sister Lucy (Maureen Teefy) also appears as the roommate of Linda Lee (Supergirl's secret identity).

The film, which was directed by Jeannot Szwarc, had its running time slashed by its North American distributor from 125 minutes to 105 minutes for the North American theatrical release -- and it was slashed even further (to 92 minutes) for broadcast networks and syndication. Scenes cut from the film include a "flying ballet" in which Kara discovers the powers she has on Earth.

''Supergirl'' was released on DVD in its 125-minute International Cut and a 138-minute DirectorsCut.

!!This film contains examples of:

* CanonForeigner: Selena, Zaltar, and every other character except for Supergirl, her parents, Jimmy Olsen, and Lucy Lane fall under this trope.

* ClarkKenting: Kara disguises herself as "Linda Lee" on Earth. Helen Slater didn't really have the acting chops to pull this off convincingly in her film debut, sadly, so her efforts in this area fell flat compared to Christopher Reeve's masterful efforts in the Superman movies.

* HeyItsThatVoice: Keen viewers would recognize Bianca as the voice of [[JohnnyBravo Bunny Bravo]].
* InvisibleMonsters: Selena sends an invisible demon to fight Supergirl (and reduce the movie's special effects budget).
* MostCommonSuperpower: This was definitely averted. Helen Slater, whose bra size is reported to be 32A, said the following in an interview about the film: "In the comics, Supergirl is quite, um, buxom...so I hope people won't come to the film expecting that."
* MuggingTheMonster: The two truckers who accost Supergirl soon after her arrival on Earth.
* NewPowersAsThePlotDemands: Given the extreme liberties taken with her cousin's powers, such as [[SupermanII telekinesis]] and [[SupermanIV "Rebuild-the-Great-Wall-of-China Vision"]], ''Supergirl'' surprisingly averts this. Kara has all the powers she's supposed to have, with no "extras" pulled out of thin air specifically for the movie.
* NoSocialSkills: This was inconsistently applied with Kara; unlike her cousin, Kara arrives on Earth as a teenager instead of being raised amongst humans as a young child. She speaks fluent English, but doesn't understand certain customs (such as handshakes). She doesn't realize the function of a brassiere -- though considering Supergirl's modest chest size (see above) and her mom being played by Mia Farrow, this may make more sense. Perhaps Krypton is a PlanetOfHats where the Hat is {{Pettanko}} sized?
* ProductPlacement: ''Supergirl'' was blatant about this, even by 1984's standards. One of the movie's biggest action scenes takes place in and around a Popeye's Fried Chicken franchise. Popeye's is even prominent in the background of some of the most memorable stills from the movie of Helen Slater as Supergirl. (This does ''not'' lead to a teamup of the Maid of Steel and a [[{{Popeye}} certain sailor man]], sadly.)

* WrittenInAbsence: The producers having failed to get Christopher Reeve to make a cameo appearance, so the movie includes a radio news report that Superman has just left Earth on an intergalactic peacekeeping mission. Reeve's Superman ''does'' briefly appear once in the movie -- as a poster in Lucy Lane's dorm room.

This 1984 followup to the previous year's ''SupermanIII'' was produced largely due to Christopher Reeve's lack of interest in portraying the Man of Steel a fourth time. Series producers Alexander and Ilya Salkind still wanted to get more money out of the franchise, and owned the film rights to Supergirl, which looked like a way to continue the franchise despite no longer having its star actor.

After considering many other actresses including Brooke Shields, Helen Slater was cast in the title role, her film debut. Faye Dunaway played the movie's primary villain, the witch Selena, and Peter O'Toole portrayed Kara's Kryptonian mentor Zaltar. Providing some continuity with the Superman films, Marc [=McClure=] reprised his role as Jimmy Olsen. Lois Lane's sister Lucy (Maureen Teefy) also appears as the roommate of Linda Lee, Supergirl's secret identity.

The film, directed by Jeannot Szwarc, had its running time slashed by its North American distributor from its 125-minute international cut to 105 minutes for the North American theatrical release, and slashed even further to 92 minutes in broadcast network airings and syndication packages. Cut scenes included a "flying ballet" in which Kara discovers the powers she has on Earth.

''Supergirl'' was released on DVD in both its 125-minute International Cut and a 138-minute DirectorsCut.

* AttemptedRape: Two truckers Kara encounters soon after her arrival have this on their mind.[[hottip:*:One is Matt Frewer in a pre-''MaxHeadroom'' role!]]

* ButNowIMustGo: Supergirl retrieves the Omegahedron and returns home to Argo City at the end of the movie, apparently saving the city but leaving no obvious SequelHook.
* CanonDiscontinuity: This, alongside ''SupermanIII'' and ''[[SupermanIV IV]]'', are ignored by SupermanReturns.
* CanonForeigner: Selena, Zaltar, and every other character except for Supergirl and her parents, Jimmy Olsen, and Lucy Lane.
* CanonImmigrant: The headband Supergirl started wearing in 1984 and was wearing when she died in ''CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'' was added at the request of the movie producers, who wanted DC's Supergirl to look like the movie version. DC agreed to the change... and then the producers changed their minds. Screen test images of Helen Slater wearing the headband [[http://www.oocities.org/supergirl_helenslater/test-pilot.htm can be seen here]].
* ClarkKenting: Kara disguises herself as "Linda Lee" on Earth. Unfortunately, Helen Slater didn't really have the acting chops to pull this off convincingly in her film debut, particularly compared to Christopher Reeve's masterful efforts in the Superman movies.
* DistaffCounterpart: Unsurprisingly noticed InUniverse by Selena's sidekick, Bianca:
-->'''Bianca:''' "You know, I think I recognize the costume."

* InvisibleMonsters: Selena sends an invisible demon to fight Supergirl and reduce the movie's special effects budget.
* MostCommonSuperpower: Averted. Helen Slater, whose bra size is 32A according to several online sources, noted in an interview with ''Starlog'' magazine, "In the comics, Supergirl is quite, um, buxom... so I hope people won't come to the film expecting that."

* NewPowersAsThePlotDemands: Averted, somewhat surprisingly given the extreme liberties taken with her cousin's powers, such as [[SupermanII telekinesis]] and [[SupermanIV "Rebuild-the-Great-Wall-of-China Vision"]]. In this movie, Kara has all the powers she's supposed to have, and no "extras" pulled out of thin air for the movie.
* NoSocialSkills: Inconsistently applied with Kara, who unlike her cousin, arrives on Earth as a teenager instead of being raised here. She speaks fluent English but doesn't understand customs like a handshake, or the function of a brassiere. (Though considering Supergirl's modest chest size (see above) and the fact that her mom is played by Mia Farrow, this may make sense. Perhaps Krypton is a PlanetOfHats where the Hat is {{Pettanko}} sized?)
* ProductPlacement: Blatant, especially by 1984 standards. One of the movie's biggest action set pieces take place in and around a Popeyes Fried Chicken franchise. Popeyes is even prominent in the background of some of the most memorable stills from the movie of Helen Slater as Supergirl. Sadly, this does ''not'' lead to a teamup of the Maid of Steel and a [[{{Popeye}} certain sailor man]].
* UpUpAndAway: Averted. Director Jeannot Szwarc deliberately tried to avoid making the flight scenes similar to those in the Superman movies, opting instead for a more "feminine" ballet-inspired take.
* WrittenInAbsence: The producers having failed to get Christopher Reeve to make a cameo appearance, the movie includes a radio news report that Superman has just left Earth on an intergalactic peacekeeping mission. Reeve's Superman ''does'' briefly appear once in the movie (sort of), as a poster in Lucy Lane's dorm room.

* CanonDiscontinuity: This, alongside SupermanIII and [[SupermanIV IV]], are ignored by SupermanReturns.

* CanonDiscontinuity: This, alongside SupermanIII and IV, are ignored by SupermanReturns.