Superman (1941)

The Man of Steel fights a mad scientist who is destroying Metropolis with an energy cannon.

Director:

Dave Fleischer

Writers:

Jerry Siegel (comic strip created by: Superman) (as Jerome Siegel), Joe Shuster (comic strip created by: Superman)

Stars:

Bud Collyer, Joan Alexander, Jackson Beck

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

Cast

Uncredited cast:
Joan Alexander	...	Lois Lane (voice) (uncredited)
Jackson Beck	...	Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
Bud Collyer	...	Clark Kent / Superman (voice) (uncredited)
Jack Mercer	...	The Mad Scientist (voice) (uncredited)
Julian Noa	...	Perry White (voice) (uncredited)

Storyline

The Mad Scientist threatens to use his Electrothanasia-Ray to cause "total destruction" to the fools who had laughed at him. Lois Lane pilots an airplane to his mountaintop laboratory, but The Scientist has her bound and gagged before she knows it. He forces her to watch on a television screen as his ray destroys a famous bridge. Next, he uses the ray to topple over the Daily Planet, but Clark Kent changes to Superman in time to save the building and put his indestructible body in front of the ray. The Mad Scientist is thrilled at the opportunity to pit his deadly machine against the Man of Steel.

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Plot Keywords:

mad scientist | ray | bound and gagged | airplane | planet | 

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Genres:

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

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 September 1941 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Mad Scientist

Box Office

Budget:

$50,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fleischer Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

10 min 144 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The sound of the planet Krypton exploding in the introduction was achieved by amplifying the sound of an apple being ripped apart by hand.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Voices: Up in the sky, look: It's a bird. It's a plane. It's Superman!
Narrator: [opening narration] In the endless reaches of the universe, there once existed a planet known as Krypton, a planet that burned like a green star in the distant heavens. There, civilization was far advanced and it brought forth a race of "supermen," whose mental and physical powers were developed to the absolute peak of human perfection. But there came a day when giant quakes threatened to destroy Krypton forever. One of ...

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Alternate Versions

In the scene in the editor's office, when Lois Lane runs off to "follow up her lead," Clark Kent originally asked Perry White, "Don't you think that's a dangerous mission for a girl?" In most current prints, the scene is cut so that the line now ends on the word "mission."

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Connections

Version of Superman in Exile (1954)

User Reviews

Simply Inspired

I have no idea why Superman's logo looks the way it does, (probably something to do with one of Joe Shuster's original drawings) but this is still excellent. There is very little dialogue in these films, and the little dialogue that is played is almost inaudible. These shorts are more for the action fan. In the beginning, Superman can only leap (leap tall buildings in a single bound as it were) but before long, the narrator reveals that flight is also one of his attributes (soar higher than any plane!). During the course of these film-noir cartoons, we see Superman battle robot jewel thieves, a dinosaur, the Japanese, and even some Nazis (Hitler himself appeared at the end of that episode)! This probably might not appeal to fans of the modern day Superman, because the guy we see here is the tough, take no prisoners hero of the golden age. Nevertheless, a great series of cartoons, and as a Superman fan, I must say, I enjoyed them.