Margot Kidder gave Lois Lane a quick wit, a husky voice and enough independence to make the romance worth watching. We rate her for that brisk, unpolished warmth, though Superman IV shows how little an actor can do when the comedy stops working.
Fi1m perspective
Margot Kidder's Lois Lane speaks in a husky voice and meets Christopher Reeve's hero on equal terms. Her wit gives the romance something to work with: another person who has opinions of her own. In Superman (1978), that brisk, down-to-earth manner is central to their chemistry. We like Kidder most when her toughness leaves room for tenderness, without requiring her to become meek.
That combination can obscure how much of her work lay outside romantic comedy. Brian De Palma's Sisters (1973) and Black Christmas (1974), in which she played Barb, brought attention before Lois did. The Amityville Horror (1979) continued the horror work after her international breakthrough. In Heartaches (1981), her Rita was a foul-mouthed, world-weary working-class woman, a useful reminder that her bluntness had uses beyond keeping pace with a superhero.
Our difficulty with Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987) is that it gives this lively partnership such laborious business. In Sidney J. Furie's film, Kidder returns as Lois while Reeve negotiates the costume changes demanded by Clark's double identity. We were bored by the routine because the clothes took precedence over any pleasure in their company. The material needs lightness, but every change feels like another task to finish before the comedy can begin.
Kidder's screwball manner needs a quicker exchange than this film can supply. Reeve remains likeable, but the romantic material wastes the advantage of having two actors whose earlier work together combined comedy and tenderness. We would send anyone put off by their partnership here back to their earlier films before judging either actor.
Being so closely identified with Lois also narrowed the attention paid to Kidder's other work. Heartaches offers a place to start looking beyond the role, with its weary, foul-mouthed Rita. For Lois herself, start with Superman; there is no obligation to work through all four.
Biography
Margot Kidder was a Canadian-American actress whose career spanned five decades. She was born Margaret Ruth Kidder on 17 October 1948 in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada, and died on 13 May 2018 in Livingston, Montana.
Kidder began acting in the late 1960s in Canadian television and low-budget films. She gained wider attention with roles in Sisters (1973), Black Christmas (1974) and The Great Waldo Pepper (1975). She is best known for portraying Lois Lane opposite Christopher Reeve in the Superman film series, appearing in Superman (1978), Superman II (1980), Superman III (1983) and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987). Other notable credits include The Amityville Horror (1979) and television appearances such as Smallville and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
