I recently came across a photo of a Superman costume on display at the Egeskov castle in Denmark, and through further investigation, found additional information – on display and photographed – pertaining to its origins and provenance.
Wikimedia Commons Photo (LINK):
High Resolution Archive: Egeskov Castle Superman Costume – Wikimedia Commons
On another website, hvattum.net, I found another photo of the costume, as well as the photo of the accompanying provenance (LINK 1, LINK 2):
High Resolution Archive: Egeskov Castle Superman Costume – hvattum.net
High Resolution Archive: Egeskov Castle Superman Provenance – hvattum.net
The documentation that is on public display with the costume reads as follows:
Sheet 1 of 3
THIS IS THE ORIGINAL SUPERMAN COSTUME WORN BY
CHRISTOPHER REEVE
DURING THE FLIGHT SEQUENCES IN THE FILM
SUPERMAN – THE MOVIE
THE FILM, SHOT IN 1978, WAS THE FIRST IN A SERIES OF CULT FILMS THAT BECAME SOME OF THE GREATEST SUCCESSES IN THE HISTORY OF CINEMA
IN THE US ALONE, THE FILM EARNED $134 MILLION AT THE BOX OFFICE
THE ROLE OF SUPERMAN WAS THE HIGHLIGHT OF CHRISTOPHER REEVE’S CAREER
Sheet 2 of 3
Here are the authentic Superman (The Movie) flying costume and the authentic Superman III “walking” costume from my personal collection. Both are part of Hollywood history and are fantastic pieces. The Superman flying costume was acquired about 7 years ago from Super Hollywood (who has also supplied Planet Hollywood with a suit in their London location) through a good friend of mine. I traded both cash and some original 1960s Batman television series items for it and it has been one of the centerpieces of my collection. The flying suits are tougher to acquire that the walking suits. I was told that it was screen worn and used in some that the flying effect was achieved by use of a blue screen. This accounts for the unusual shade of blue of the costume (almost a turquoise color), so it would show up against the blue screen. The color of the suit was then color-corrected during the editing stage of the film production, but if you look close enough, you’ll notice this color suit in a few scenes (guess the editor fell asleep). The slits located on the cape and body suit are where the harness wires ran through that suspended Christopher Reeve in the air. The cape isn’t padded (like the Superman III cape). The omission of the padding helps the cape to blow in the wind to enhance the flying effect. A phenomenal piece (from my #1 all-time favourite movie) that I will truly miss.
The Superman III costume was acquired from the same source about a year after the first costume. It is a “walking” suit. As I told you during our phone conversation, this costume wasn’t screen worn, but still made for production on the movie. It is a beautiful shade of blue and features a padded cape. More of a “show” suit. An absolutely gorgeous piece. I paid all cash for it.
I honestly hate to part with them (especially the flying suit), but from the sound of things, I trust that they are going to a good home. Good luck in finding the other pieces to complete the costumes. I hope you cherish them as much as I have. Thanks for everything and look for your two Superboy belts to arrive in a couple of weeks. I’ll be in touch.
Sheet 3 of 3
This letter is to certify the authenticity of this costume worn in the film Superman: The Movie (1978) by actor Christopher Reeve. It was purchased by us form a collector, Mr. Jesse Washington III of Chesapeake, Virginia. He purchased the costume from Mr. Armando Alvarez owner of the Super Hollywood Prop Collection of Deltona, Florida. Mr. Alvarez was a friend of Ilya Salkind, Executive Producer of all Superman films, and acquired this costume directly.
This particular Christopher Reeve costume is very rare and was used only for the flying sequences. The teal color of the outfit was necessary for “blue screen” filming to give the illusions that Superman was flying. After filming Christopher Reeve hanging from a harness, fitted via the slits cut into the tunic and cape, the blue screen background would be replaced by the scene in the movie and the color of the costume adjusted with filters.
The letters on display refer to two “Super Hollywood” Superman costumes – a Superman: The Movie “Flying” suit and a Superman III “Walking” suit – but I’ve only found photos of the one costume as seen above.
This is part of the ongoing series of articles about costumes in the marketplace attributed to use by Christopher Reeve in the Superman films of the 70s and 80s (see related articles below).
Jason De Bord
Additional Related Articles: Market Watch | Superman