''Terror on the Midway'' (1942) is the ninth of seventeen

animated Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby image, still images are manipulated to create Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on cel, transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and e ...

Technicolor Technicolor is a family of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes. The first version, Process 1, was introduced in 1916, and improved versions followed over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black-and ...

short film A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...

s based upon the

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

character

Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...

, originally created by

Jerry Siegel Jerome "Jerry" Siegel ( ; October 17, 1914 – January 28, 1996) Roger Stern. ''Superman: Sunday Classics: 1939–1943'' DC Comics/ Kitchen Sink Press, Inc./ Sterling Publishing; 2006 was an American comic book writer. He was the co-creator of ...

Joe Shuster Joseph Shuster ( ; July 10, 1914 – July 30, 1992) was a Canadian-American comic book artist best known for co-creating the DC Comics character Superman, with Jerry Siegel, in ''Action Comics'' #1 ( cover-dated June 1938). Shuster was involv ...

. It was the final

Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. **Paramount Picture ...

cartoon short by

Fleischer Studios Fleischer Studios () was an American animation studio founded in 1929 by brothers Max and Dave Fleischer, who ran the pioneering company from its inception until its acquisition by Paramount Pictures in 1942, the parent company and the distri ...

. The eight-minute short features Superman attempting to stop the chaos created when several circus animals escape their cages and restraints, including a giant gorilla named Gigantic. It was originally released on August 28, 1942, by Paramount Pictures.Terror on the Midway (1942)
/ref>

Plot

Clark Kent Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...

and

Lois Lane Lois Lane is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, she first appeared in ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1 (June 1938). Lois is an award-winning ...

are at a midway, Lois to cover its events. She expresses her regret that she did not have a more exciting assignment. Clark leaves for his own assignment as the show begins. Terroronthemidway2

Later that night, a monkey wanders from the main

tent A tent is a shelter consisting of sheets of fabric or other material draped over or attached to a frame of poles or a supporting rope. While smaller tents may be free-standing or attached to the ground, large tents are usually anchored using g ...

and accidentally opens the cage of a giant gorilla, Gigantic. Growling, Gigantic sends everyone into pandemonium. Circus workers attempt to tie Gigantic down with ropes but are overpowered and forced to flee. While the workers struggle to keep the animals under control, some of the

elephant Elephants are the largest living land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant ('' Loxodonta africana''), the African forest elephant (''L. cyclotis''), and the Asian elephant ('' Elephas maximus ...

s stampede, or rear up against their owners, knocking other cages open. Outside the

Daily Planet The ''Daily Planet'' is a fictional newspaper appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with Superman. The newspaper was first mentioned in ''Action Comics'' #9 (November 13, 1939) – Underworld Politics ...

, Clark hears police cars. He follows them in a taxicab. Back at the circus, Lois takes pictures of Gigantic and the fleeing attendees. She notices Gigantic lumbering toward a young girl who emerged from the wrecked cart. She lifts the girl out of the ring. Clark and the police arrive but are unable to subdue the elephants, so he changes into his Superman costume and begins returning the elephants,

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body (biology), body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the ...

s, and

black panther A black panther is the Melanism, melanistic colour variant of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') and the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Black panthers of both species have excess black pigments, but their typical Rosette (zoology), rosettes are al ...

to their cages. He hears a scream: Lois is trapped at the top of a tent pole and Gigantic is climbing towards her. Superman tries to get her to safety but Gigantic seizes him. Struggling, they fall from the pole, knocking over the ladder, which then hits a power circuit, starting a fire. When Gigantic is distracted by the burning tent pole snapping, Superman deals him a subduing blow and ties him up in a

safety net A safety net is a type of net (device), net designed to protect people from injury after falling (accident), falling from heights by limiting the distance they fall, and dissipating the impact energy. The term also refers to devices for arres ...

. Lois slips from the falling pole, but Superman flies up and catches her. He then smothers the fire with his cape. At the Daily Planet Lois types the story, and Clark observes she was lucky to get the kind of story she wanted in the end, but when Lois says it was lucky that she lived to write it, Clark reminds her that her survival is due to Superman.

Voice cast

Bud Collyer Bud Collyer (born Clayton Johnson Heermance Jr., June 18, 1908 – September 8, 1969) was an American radio actor and announcer and game show host who became one of the nation's first major television game show stars. He is best remembered for ...

as Clark Kent/Superman *

Joan Alexander Joan Alexander (born Louise Abrass; April 16, 1915 – May 21, 2009)
''

Jackson Beck Jackson Beck (July 23, 1912 – July 28, 2004) was an American actor best known as the announcer on radio's '' The Adventures of Superman'' and the voice of Bluto in the Famous era Popeye theatrical shorts. Early years Beck was born on July 23, ...

as the Narrator *

Jack Mercer Winfield Bennett Mercer (January 31, 1910 – December 7, 1984), known professionally as Jack Mercer, was an American voice actor. He is best known as the voice of cartoon characters Popeye the Sailor Man and Felix the Cat. The son of vaudevil ...

as Sideshow Barker

References

External links

*
''Terror on the Midway''
at the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

''Terror on the Midway''
at the

Internet Movie Database IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

{{Supermanshorts 1940s American animated films 1940s animated superhero films Superman animated shorts Fleischer Studios short films Paramount Pictures short films Circus films American animated short films American animated superhero films Short films directed by Dave Fleischer Animated films about gorillas Films scored by Winston Sharples Films scored by Sammy Timberg Films scored by Lou Fleischer 1942 animated short films