Simply Super
Today’s classic is “The Bulleteers”, one of the 17 Superman cartoons Paramount released in the early 1940’s. All of these toons are nothing short of terrific, but “Bulleteers” has always been a favorite, my vote for the absolute best of the series. The plot concerns a trio of thugs who terrorize Metropolis piloting a miraculous vehicle that has more functions than a Swiss Army knife. They smash their plane/car/torpedo into public buildings, demand ridiculous ransoms, and wear snazzy costumes with pointy helmets and diaphanous sleeves. These guys are just begging for a comeuppance from you know who!
The animation is lush, the production design is gorgeous, but it’s the story telling technique that’s truly amazing here. Director Dave Fleischer doesn’t waste a frame, presenting every detail of a very lean narrative in the most dynamic fashion imaginable. Gothic shadows, subjective angles and a fabulous montage of “tracking shots” are just a few of the tricks used to make this one more exciting than just about any live action cliffhanger I can remember.
They called them “Superman” cartoons, but I always thought Lois Lane was the big deal in most of these eight minute thrillers. It took the animators a couple of films to nail down her character design and personality, but once they did —wow! The crazy, competitive, stop-at-nothing chutzpah that fuels Lois in Jerry Siegel and Joe Schuster’s comic book original, is actually amplified in the animated cartoons. This time out, she snubs Clark Kent, hurls herself into harm’s way to get the story, tries personally to sabotage the bad guys (the girl is handy with a monkey wrench!) and is almost cut in half for her efforts — all within the blink of a well mascaraed eye. The guy in the cape does pop in to wrap things up, but I think I know who the real star attraction is!
ReFrederator is back tomorrow with another comic strip favorite, and this time we’re off our trolley!
»
On April 26th, 2006 at 12:00 am
Hey, nice photo! Not the cartoon one, which is nice in its own right, but the one of you. People ought to be able to see who’s writing this stuff.
On April 26th, 2006 at 12:00 am
Hey, did anyone else notice the backwards “S” for one frame? It’s right when Superman first appears from the phone booth.
It’s at 00:05:21.06 to be exact.
On April 26th, 2006 at 12:00 am
Good eyes! Yeah, I first noticed that many years ago (I’ve seen this one dozens of times over the decades.) — never found a reasonable explanation why it’s there. Should have mentioned it in the blog. Thanks for catching it!
On April 27th, 2006 at 12:00 am
Dave, I’m really digging your insight! Thought I’d let ya know.
On April 27th, 2006 at 12:00 am
Thanks for the support, moral and otherwise!