The Mechanical Monsters (1941)

Director:

Dave Fleischer

Writers:

Jerry Siegel (characters) and
Joe Shuster (characters) ...

Release Date:

21 November 1941 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Short | Action | Adventure | Family | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

Plot:

Superman battles a criminal mastermind and his robot army.

Plot Keywords:

Robot | Superman | Platform | Jewelry | Giant Robot

Cast

  (Cast)

Joan Alexander	...	Lois Lane (voice) (uncredited)
Bud Collyer	...	Superman / Clark Kent / Scientist (voice) (uncredited)
Julian Noa	...	Narrator (voice) (uncredited)

Runtime:

9 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #3142) | Argentina:Atp

Company:

Fleischer Studios

Goofs:

Continuity: When the flying robot lands at the House of Gems, the number 5 is clearly visible painted on his back. In all subsequent shots, however, the robot is labeled as #13.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Voices: Up in the sky, look! It's a bird. It's a plane. It's Superman!
Narrator: Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, this amazing stranger from the planet Krypton, The Man of Steel: Superman! Empowered with X-ray vision, possessing remarkable physical strength, Superman fights a never-ending battle for truth and justice, disguised as a mild-mannered newspaper reporter, Clark Kent.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004)

Superman #2

Mechanical Monsters, The (1941)

*** (out of 4)

Second in the Fleischer/Paramount series has another mad scientist moving into town and bringing along his giant robots. He sends these robots out to steal money and jewelry, which gets reporter Lois involved but of course she's taken hostage and Superman must save the day. I found this film to be much more entertaining than the first because, while the stories are just a like, this one here features much more action, which makes the film overall more exciting. I really liked the monsters this time out and especially the way they were drawn. I also liked most of the action sequences including the best one, which involves Superman having to use his cape to stop some burning fluids from getting on Lois. The story itself was rather weak and unoriginal but it's good enough to make this short worth watching.