Factual error: As the beginning shows Krypton explode, there is a huge cloud of dust at the remains of the planet that then fades to nothing. Only space dust would not act like that from an entire planet exploding. It acted like dust settling on the ground and just fading away, rather than dissipating into space. (00:01:25)
Superman (1941)
Directed by: Dave Fleischer
Starring: Jack Mercer, Jackson Beck, Bud Collyer, Joan Alexander, Julian Noa
Revealing mistake: When the narrator says that Superman can leap a tall building in a single bound and shows Superman doing so, you can see in the background by some trees, an odd animation glitch. A curved, thin black line by the trees wiggling back and forth. (00:01:55)
Continuity mistake: As the narrator is saying that Superman disguises himself as Clark Kent, you see Superman standing there perfectly still and the image fades into him having on civilian clothes and turning into Clark Kent. As the image fades, his jaw becomes thinner when he is Clark Kent, despite him being the same person. (00:02:10)
Trivia: This series is where Superman first "learned" how to fly. Before this series, in the comics and radio, he was only able to jump very high and far, hence "leap tall buildings in a single bound". They decided that it just didn't look right on film and they decided to have him fly, but it's still depicted as if he has to get a jumping start.
Trivia: The Fleischer brothers were at first reluctant to take on making this series. This is because that it would require a much more realistic design and style of animation than they usually do. Trying to discourage Paramount from giving it to them, they said they would need about $100,000 per episode, approximately four times the budget of most Disney films at the time. To their shock, Paramount agreed to give them half that, which has made the classic Superman series, accounting for inflation and adjustable dollars, the highest budget animated series in history.
More trivia for Superman
Narrator: Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. The infant of Krypton is now the Man of Steel: Superman! To best be in a position to use his amazing powers in a never-ending battle for truth and justice, Superman has assumed the disguise of Clark Kent, mild-mannered reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper. (00:01:50)
Clark Kent: This looks like a job for Superman. (00:06:25)
Question: So I have seen several places where people have been claiming that The Mad Scientist in this first episode was based on Nikola Tesla, and have seen many people complaining about him being portrayed as a bad guy in this. However, IMDb trivia states that "Boris Karloff' engineer Poelzig in Edgar G. Ulmer's The Black Cat (1934) was the inspiration for The Mad Scientist..." I've tried looking into it a little bit, but I can't seem to determine which is the correct person that The Mad Scientist was based on... Maybe both?
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