Superman: The Magnetic Telescope (1942) User Reviews

Pretty good

[preppy-3 · 7/10 · 16 October 2004]

A misguided (not mad) scientist has developed a telescope which is basically a giant magnet (!!!). With it he proposes to draw comets to the Earth (for some reason) and then send them back into space. The police warn him not to do it. He ignores them and immediately starts bringing in a comet. The police destroy his equipment...but it's too late. The comet is hurtling towards Earth spitting out huge fireballs causing destruction. The scientist can't send it back because his equipment has been destroyed. Superman tries to smash the comet but it's too strong for him! What will happen?

One of the lesser Superman cartoons but still fun. This is the first where Clark Kent does NOT say "This is a job for Superman" before changing. And there's a sweet little kiss between him and Lois at the end. Worth catching but just OK.

As we witnessed in awe SUPERMAN's Heroic Deeds in saving Miss Lane and all of Metropolis from the out-of-control Comet, we can only ask. "WHY did that Scientist do it?"

[redryan64 · 8/10 · 4 February 2009]

FALLING into a rather long line of tales featuring rather off-beat Scientists, 'THE MAGNETIC TERLESCOPE' ranks as # 6 in the original 17 SUPERMAN Animated Cartoon Short Subjects that came from the Fleischer Brothers/Famous Studios & Paramount Pictures in the early 1940's. While the picture had so many of the hallmarks that were an integral part of the SUPERMAN Cartoons format, it seems to have a certain freshness of presentation that sets it as a stand-out in the fine series.

DEVELOPING the story as the work of a misguided, only slightly mad (perhaps just "fatigued" from slaving at his telescope), but not evil research astronomer; the story became the tale of technological discoveries outstripping our ability to safely use it in a controlled situation. They say that Our Reach should not exceed Our Grasp!" (Hey Schultz, just who are "They" anyway?) AS one would expect, the Staff of The Daily Planet is involved in the business of getting all of the dope on the sudden and unaccountable movement of many of the asteroids, planetoids and comets that are a part of our home solar system.

THE culprit, a lone, self-righteous and megalomaniacal scientist just happens to be in full time residence in an extremely well equipped observatory located conveniently on a mountain top overlooking the city of Metropolis. His Mt. Palomar look-alike stronghold is invaded by Miss Lois Lane and the usual interplay occurs between Miss Lane, Superman and the Scientist. (No Schultz, that's not a threesome!)

JUST as is prevalent in all of the entries, the artwork is astoundingly beautiful, captivating backgrounds and fine character animation. If such a category is used in animation, the "Special Effects" animation featuring the magnetic force and its capture and of that Comet (Name we can't recall).

THE scene where the heavenly body is crashed into the Metropolis street in a slowed down motion and its eventual return to its proper position in our solar system.

THE overall success of the Fleischer/Famous Studios/Paramount Pictures SUPERMAN Series should have been a clarion call to others in Hollywood's Animation producers to attempt to do some similarly serious cartoon shorts with some other characters from features in Newspaper Comic Strips or the more juvenilely oriented world of the Comic Books.

INTERESTINGLY enough, there were never any other such series attempted until the great Comics Revival & Bonanza of that post BATMAN craze of 1966. Fittingly one of the first of such animated comics series wad THE NEW ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN (Filmation Associates, 1966). In keeping with tradition, the voices for the characters of Kent/Superman, Lois Lane and Perry White were rendered by Bud Collyer, Joan Alexander and Jackson Beck; all being veterans of the SUPERMAN Radio Show on Mutual Radio.* THE wheel had spun a full!

NOTE * Both Clayton "Bud" Collyer and Miss Joan Alexander had voiced the characters on three different occasions; being the SUPERMAN Radio Show, the SUPERMAN Theatrical Cartoon Series (Fleischer/Famous Studios/Paramount) as well as the THE NEW ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN (FIlmation Associates/CBS TV, 1966). Mr. Jackson Beck did the Radio Show and the Animated Television Series; but not (as far as we know) the Theatrical Cartoons.

POODLE SCHNITZ!!

The Magnetic Telescope was another worthy entry in the Flesicher Superman cartoons

[tavm · 7/10 · 6 June 2011]

This is the sixth in the Superman series of cartoons produced by Max and Dave Flesicher for Paramount. In this one, a scientist uses his giant magnet to get a comet to come closer. Why he would want to do that, I don't know but the police is so intent on stopping him they put a steel stick in the generator that causes to power in the building to go off. Of course, Lois Lane the reporter is there and, as usual, gets herself in a jam which means Superman will rescue her...Couple of things to note: For once, Clark doesn't say, "This is a job for Superman". And that he and Lois share a kiss at the end with her thinking it was with Supes since it was in the dark (but of course, it is!) The special effects in these cartoons are the thrilling part that makes these worth the effort to watch since unlike the usual stilted Saturday morning weekly efforts done by Hanna-Barbera and Filmation from the '70s, these artists have all the time and money to do these right. So on that note, The Magnetic Telescope was another worthy Superman cartoon.

Superman #6

[Michael_Elliott · 17 May 2009]

Magnetic Telescope, The (1942)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

A scientist, trying to do good, creates a large magnet, which goes out of control after police mess with it. Soon the magnet is bringing meteors crashing to Earth of course only Superman can save the day. Middle-ground animation isn't a classic but it is mildly entertaining even though we're following the same story structure from the previous films. I've heard a few people say that Lois' character was wonderfully written in this series but I have to disagree as she's really coming off as a narrow-minded fool who just constantly does dumb things to get herself in trouble to where Superman must save her. The animation is fairly impressive this time out with the meteor shower being the highlight. I still haven't been overly impressed with this series even though this is only the sixth one.

A classic...

[paul_haakonsen · 6/10 · 7 June 2023]

The 1942 animated short story "The Magnetic Telescope" is definitely the one "Superman" tale from 1940s that stands out for me. I remember this one very vividly from my childhood. And thus, it was really a blast from the past to sit down in 2023 and watch it once more.

The storyline in "The Magnetic Telescope" is entertaining, enjoyable and exciting. And it is amazing that writers Dan Gordon and Carl Meyer could manage to put together such a thrilling storyline with just 8 minutes to the runtime. Quite a nice accomplishment, especially since it is a storyline that has been imprinted with me since the early to mid 1980s.

The art style and animation style in "The Magnetic Telescope" is good, just as it is in all other "Superman" tales of this particular series. There is just something timeless and classic about it, and it works so well, even now 81 years down the line.

"The Magnetic Telescope" is a classic for me, without a doubt, and one of the more enjoyable of tales in this particular series of short tales.

My rating of director Dave Fleischer and Thomas Moore's 1942 "The Magnetic Telescope" lands on a six out of ten stars.

Magnetism Between Superman and Lois

[Hitchcoc · 7/10 · 27 December 2016]

Someone used the term "misguided" to describe the scientists in this series. It's easy when they have true science in mind but don't know what they are dealing with. The others are the ones with criminal intent. Where the science is used to rob or plunder. This is the former, where this guy doesn't know when to stop, causing chaos for the world. Even after his machine is destroyed the results of his actions continue to affect the earth. A comet, a very large celestial body, heads toward the earth and Superman is pretty small compared to it. He must use every tool in his arsenal to dissuade the space junk. Of course, Lois is right there, getting in the way. This is a landmark episode where a kiss is exchanged. I'm sure the kids watching this on Saturday mornings would have yelled, "Mush." There was some innocence at that time. Remember, outside the theater, a war was in progress.

Released as the Manhattan Project was getting underway . . .

[tadpole-596-918256 · 6/10 · 11 January 2020]

. . . THE MAGNETIC TELESCOPE illustrates why it is so vital to America's National Security that ALL science projects, experiments, research labs, think tanks and "Lone Wolf Theorists" be tightly controlled by the U.S. Military. During a season which has seen the advent of the USA's Space Force, as well as Russia's declaration that they possess indefensible super-sonic rockets, THE MAGNETIC TELESCOPE supports the call by the U.S. Senate for Leader Trump to declassify "Project Thor." Thanks to Leader Reagan's foresight and "STAR WARS" initiative, BEDTIME FOR BONZO can now morph into BYE-BYE TO ASIA. A couple dozen "Thunderbolt" strikes from Project Thor can reduce the entire Asian population to a more benign 300 million or so souls. The mere necessity of having to deal with about five billion less fortunate neighbors and countrymen will encourage these Thunderbolt survivors to become much more docile, manageable and supportive of America First interests. THE MAGNETIC TELESCOPE urges Leaders such as Trump and Superman to put losers such as the mad scientist and "Mad Vlad" Putin in their place before it's too late!

Fighting Mad Science With Superman

[Ron Oliver · 10/10 · 28 April 2000]

A mad scientist has developed a contraption capable of pulling celestial bodies out of the heavens. When he succeeds in bringing a highly destructive comet upon Metropolis, and with intrepid reporter Lois Lane in harm's way, only Superman can stop the chaos caused by THE MAGNETIC TELESCOPE.

This was another in the series of excellent cartoons Max Fleischer produced for Paramount Studio. They feature great animation and taut, fast-moving plots. Meant to be shown in movie theaters, they are miles ahead of their Saturday Morning counterparts. Bud Collyer is the voice of Superman; Joan Alexander does the honors for Lois Lane.

The Magnetic Telescope

[Prismark10 · 6/10 · 7 March 2021]

There is a scientist but not a mad one. Just a misguided one who uses his magnetic telescope that draws meteors to Earth.

The police think this is a dangerous idea and decide to tamper with the machine. Only to send it out of control.

A meteor hits Metropolis, luckily Superman is there to save the day.

It looks like Superman used two electrical wires to absorb energy. Never mind the daft science, he used the dark to fool Lois Lane to kiss Clark Kent.

Clark and Lois get it on....

[planktonrules · 9/10 · 12 January 2014]

"The Magnetic Telescope" is one of the better cartoons from the Superman series that the Fleischer Brothers made. The plot is very exciting and is has a neat scene at the end where Clark gets to smooch Lois! It begins with a stupid and very irresponsible scientist testing out his insane telescopic device. It uses magnetics to bring objects closer to the Earth! And, not surprisingly, when he brings a meteor near the planet, it causes some serious damage. However, he's determined to try this again--but on a much larger object!! When a comet is brought near, folks rush the observatory and smash the device--but the comet STILL comes hurtling towards the Earth. Now here is the kicker--Superman tries repeatedly to stop the comet but it's too big and powerful. So, he must do something fast to fix that darned device and hope that it can be used to reverse the path of the object.

As I noticed in several of these cartoons, Superman is NOT all-powerful. He gets knocked down, hurt and overwhelmed from time to time. I actually like this as it added to the suspense. I also loved when the day was saved and Lois THOUGHT she was kissing Superman and it turned out to be Clark (well, at least it was Clark dressed as his alter ego, Clark Kent). Well done.

Hmm, i wonder if that comet is made of Kryptonite

[betina-18954 · 9/10 · 22 February 2018]

Another really great Superman cartoon.

The story is about this scientist, demonstrating his magnetic telescope. A giant, u-shaped magnet connected to the telescope is pointed at a comet and turned on, drawing the comet towards the town. And most of the people of the town, including Clark and Lois, are watching. Something goes wrong, however, and the comet crashes into the town, rolls through the streets, and then tumbles into the ocean nearby. Newspapers the next day, of course report the disaster, and the police are shown arguing with the scientist, who claims the importance of his work is worth the risk of human lives. The police say, as Lois looks on, that they will stop any attempt to try the experiment again, but the scientist refuses to quit, reminding them that any attempt to stop him could prove disastrous. He runs into his telescope room and shuts the door before the police can stop him, and begins his experiment again. Just as the magnet pulls the comet into earth's gravitational pull, the police jam a piece of metal into the electric generator running his machine and cut its main wires with axes. The comet, now out of the scientist's control, hurtles towards the town. As the police and scientist flee, Lois calls the Daily Planet from the scientist's building, reporting the impending disaster as the building crumbles around her and pins her. Clark happens to be standing nearby, and takes a cab to get to the telescope. As he nears the building, pieces of the comet destroy the road in front of them, and the cabby flees; It's now up to Superman to save the day.

Another great cartoon with a great and exciting plot. Although the Magnetic Telescope looks silly, i for some weird reason think the design is kinda cool. And i like how we really see Superman has some real struggles and weaknesses in this one. I know Superman had challenges in the other cartoons too, but he always overcame them. But in this one it's quite different. Superman streaks towards the comet, striking it full-force. He does this two times, but bounces off both times. He then realises that the only way to stop the comet, is to fix the telescope. Hmmm, i wonder if the comet is made of Kryptonite? Who cares, it's just freaking awesome. And who can forget the funny scene in the end, when we see Superman's silhouette, and Lois kisses him; much to her chagrin, the silhouette is Clark.

Another great cartoon in this series. 9/10.

Superman stops a meteor invasion

[Horst_In_Translation · 4/10 · 5 May 2016]

It is nothing really new that Superman occasionally needs to go up against nature phenomenons rather than bad guys and this 8-minute cartoon from the days of World War II is just another example. "The Magnetic Telescope" has a whole bunch of meteors flying down to the earth after a scientist lost touch with reality. And the man in blue is the one who needs to get things straight again. And of course he does. As delusional as the scientist may have been, he is no antagonist in here and he disappears quickly out of the picture. I personally did not enjoy the watch here too much, even if I believe it is not one of the worst from Fleischer's Superman series from 75 years ago. Still, a thumbs down.

Smooches in the Dark

[utgard14 · 8/10 · 13 December 2013]

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 sixth in the Superman series is about a scientist's creation, the magnetic telescope, which can draw comets to Earth. After an initial disaster, where the scientist causes a comet to crash into town before rolling into the sea, the police of Metropolis suggest this guy take a beat before proceeding. The scientist, however, is undeterred and proceeds to draw another comet to Earth. The police interfere and disrupt the telescope's generator, causing the power to go out. Now there's a comet hurtling towards Metropolis with no way to stop it. Superman does his super best but it's no use. He manages to restart the generator and then, in one of the greatest scenes from the entire Fleischer Superman series, he holds together two cut ends of wire and allows his own body to conduct the electric current needed to power the telescope.

A fun, fast-paced entry in the series. The image of Superman with electricity coursing through his body arm-to-arm is pretty cool, as is the cute scene where Lois kisses Clark in the dark, thinking he is Superman.

Look, Up In The Sky...

[azathothpwiggins · 12 April 2022]

Another scientist loses his mind, bringing destruction. Superman goes up against a comet on a collision coarse with Earth. His powers are tested to the uttermost.

The series continues with the formula now well established, and Lois and Clark growing closer. A lesser entry, but enjoyable nonetheless...