Terror on the Midway

This has always been one of my all-time favorites of the original SUPERMAN series, but also one of the most puzzling to me.

It is very different in tone, feel, design and execution from all the rest of the series. Most particularly because of its "darkness." I mean this both literally and figuratively.

While all the others are, for the most part, bright and cartoonish in their color design, TERROR is dark, gloomy, murky and downright sinister -even in the opening scenes of what should be a bright, cheerful circus setting.

The opening shots of the circus posters and scenes appear to me more to be still-frames, rather than intended snapshots, as though the original footage has been replaced with these artificial still shots. I am strongly tempted to believe that these particular shots were modern substitutions for the original footage.

Later, when the gorilla makes his appearance, it is plainly evident (from the excessive graininess) that the original image has been photographically enlarged to produce the close-ups of Lois Lane and the gorilla.

The unusual (and uncharacteristic) lack of detail in the close-up of Lois, combined with the strange quality of the speed at which she moves suggests that the close-up was manipulated from a much longer shot and perhaps slowed down somewhat.

The initial close-up of the gorilla is even more extreme (and highly effective as a terror shot) and suffers more from darkness and lack of detail.

A later shot of Superman wrestling with the ape also shows signs of tampering, like the poorly framed shot of Superman and the ape which, because of the clumsy re-framing of the image, results in an awkward and lengthy close-up of Superman's backside. Surely this was NOT the original intent of the film-makers.

Can anyone provide any insight?

TERROR ON THE MIDWAY is a great monster-on-the-loose short. When a gigantic go-rilla escapes from his cage, mayhem breaks out, including the release of other circus animals. Lois finds herself cornered by the angry ape, bringing Superman into the picture.

As the final entry by the Fleischer bros., this is a good one. The fierce go-rilla is well-realized and Superman actually takes it easy on the big lug, when he could simply turn him into oatmeal.

More fantastic animation, and so much action crammed into 8 minutes! Great fun for kids and adults...

Terror on the Midway (1942)

** (out of 4)

Ninth film in the Superman series has Lois and Clark going to the circus to write a story on it when a large gorilla breaks loose and starts causing damage. When Lois finds herself in trouble it's up to Superman to save the day. This is a pretty weak short in the series as Superman actually doesn't show up until the six-minute mark, which is even stranger when you consider the short doesn't even run nine-minutes. It's nice seeing him not having to battle some sort of mad scientist but instead just a large gorilla. It's also nice seeing him take a beating from the creature, which was another new touch to the series. With that said, that's pretty much all there is here because the rest is pretty dull. Not enough action to make the film worth viewing and as with the rest there isn't any comedy.

I love the Fleischer Superman cartoons. The animation is smooth and fluid with vivid colors. The distinct art-deco style, vintage science fiction imagery, and use of noirish shadows gave them a look unlike any other cartoons. The music and voice work is superb. They're fun, accessible, enduring animation classics.

The ninth in the series (and last for Fleischer) is a very simple story about Lois and Clark on assignment covering a circus when things go haywire and a large gorilla named Gigantic escapes and begins to attack people. Clark takes his sweet time about it but eventually changes into Superman, where he battles the gorilla, as well as other animals, to restore order to the circus.

I have mixed feelings on this one. There is a certain laziness about the story and, for a nine minute cartoon, it does seem to inexplicably have some padding. Still, the sequences with the animals are well-animated and exciting. It's entertaining, as the whole series is, but clearly something is missing. This would be the last Superman cartoon to be done by Fleischer Studios. Paramount would seize control of the studio, fire Dave and Max Fleischer, and rename it Famous Studios. Many of the same artists and animators would carry over, as would the voice talent. But the Fleischers would no longer be making Superman cartoons.

The band strikes up a march as playful kids wave pennants, Lois smiles and shifts her gaze lazily; clowns caper, elephants dance. It's a high moment of oblivion, humanity with its guard down. --The sort of scene Hitchcock laid out with such care, so that the mayhem, when it strikes suddenly, is fully felt.

Outside, a tiny monkey playing with a bright metal ring starts at a shadow. Jumping away, he doesn't release the ring in time; this pulls the cord that it's attached to, which springs open the latch on a circus wagon. Brief transition, and we hear a low growl at the entrance of the main tent, over the music and sounds of the crowd. We track reactions in montage as every person freezes in place. Then, only after we have been allowed take in the ripeness of the delicious moment of growing terror, are we shown what has paralyzed everyone.

The few minutes of this cartoon work exactly like prime early Hitchcock. It builds deliberately, lovingly toward a pivotal/revelatory brilliant set piece that is still exciting.

Before every large budget film tried to encompass the destruction of planet earth and the end of space time within its plot thread, choice nuggets of time-- like the one in this simple little cartoon-- were what cinema was all about. You'd wait for a moment. The moment built slowly and deliberately. Everything wasn't yielded at once. The experience was cumulative, not all sensory avalanche from first shot to last. Ultimately, the overdone-gasm sort of film doesn't last. It is seen through; the novelty, which is all it has, exhausts itself after a few viewings. Claptrap-- even well-mounted, noisy, big, breathless claptrap-- is still only that.

I see this great short as a wonderfully fresh, storyboard-like look at how feature films used to be put together. For that reason, I give it ten stars.