Gary Cooper plays Lex Kearney, a U.S. Army major posing as a Confederate sympathizer. Kearney's ruse unmasks rustlers of Union horses, even though his true allegiance is revealed.

As an infant, Superman is sent to earth from the doomed planet Krypton. As he grows up, he learns he has super powers which he must hide from the ordinary mortals around him. But the time comes when Superman's powers for good are revealed to the world. Superman battles with supercriminal Lex Luthor and his cohorts as they attempt to destroy California by activating the San Andreas fault