Written by Seymour Kneitel And Isadore Sparber
Directed by Dave Fleischer
Clark: "This looks like a job for Superman."
Am I really reviewing a ten minute animated Superman movie? Yes, yes I am. How could I not? After all, it's one of the first debuts for the character, cinematic wise. It's also a rather straightforward enough story.
There's Clark Kent (Bud Collyer). He's a reporter living in Metropolis and working for The Daily Planet. He's also the superhero known as Superman and the latter had a villain to take out in such a short space of time.
The villain in question was known as The Mad Scientist (Jack Mercer). He's got a deadly Electrothanasia-Ray that he intended to use on Metropolis. Superman to one side, the other obstacle for The Mad Scientist was a certain reporter.
In the early days, Lois Lane (Joan Alexander) really was the stereotypical damsel in distress and that's pretty much her function here. She's smart enough to work out where The Mad Scientist but still ended up being captured by the villain and needing Superman to rescue her.
The battle between Superman and The Mad Scientist was fairly straightforward too. The Electrothanasia-Ray got easily destroyed, the baddie defeated while Lois got her scoop and no one was the wiser on Clark's true identity.
- Apparently there's seventeen of these short films on the character. They're in the public domain. This short is available on YouTube.
- Perry White (Julian Noa) also appeared while Jackson Beck voiced the narrator and a radio broadcaster.
- The catchphrase "Truth and Justice" popped up here.
- Chronology: 1940s Metropolis.
Superman (1941) told a pretty straightforward story and told it rather well. It's a great debut with some gorgeous animation and strong voice acting.
Rating: 8 out of 10
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