Obviously late for his photo-shoot, his model Verushka (as Herself) (wrapped in a black shawl) was seated on the floor impatiently awaiting his arrival ("I""ve been ready for nearly an hour").With the dagger, Rick lept into the action and half-stabbed the Emperor, although both O""Connells were outmatched, and the dagger was broken in two during the fight." While Lois was on the phone with Perry White, FBI agents (led by Colonel Nathan Hardy) surrounded her Metropolis apartment, arrested her when she fled, and took her into custody.[Note: Hiller had passed up the opportunity to work onThe Godfather (1972)to make this film.] The melodramatic and ragic soap-opera, tremendously popular and a financial success (the top-earning film of the year at $106 million) but panned by critics for its sappy content, was based upon Erich Segal""s # 1 best-selling short novel of the same name, released appropriately on Valentine""s Day in 1970.