Jackson Beck

Superman races to protect a train carrying a billion dollars in defense bonds from a gang of saboteurs who bomb the tracks, wreck a bridge, and commandeer the locomotive. The third of the Fleischer Studios Superman cartoons. The film entered the public domain through non-renewal.

Animation · Action · Sci-Fi

Herman the mouse outwits a hungry cat and a dim-witted dog by pitting them against each other in a battle over the cheese he covets. A Famous Studios Noveltoon, the first solo cartoon for the Herman and Katnip series. The film entered the public domain through non-renewal.

Animation · Comedy · Family

A tour through a topsy-turvy town where fish swim in the fire hydrants, babies deliver their own stork, and the laws of physics are suggestions at best. A Famous Studios Noveltoon directed by Izzy Sparber. The film entered the public domain through non-renewal.

Animation · Comedy

Floor Flusher is a 1954 Popeye cartoon from Famous Studios, directed by Izzy Sparber and distributed by Paramount Pictures. Olive Oyl's kitchen sink won't stop running, so Popeye volunteers to fix the plumbing — but rival plumber Bluto is determined to sabotage the job and flood the house in the process. The escalating water damage builds to the usual spinach-powered showdown, with Jack Mercer, Mae Questel, and Jackson Beck supplying the classic voices. It is in the public domain in the United States.

Animation · Comedy

Popeye's four nephews — Pipeye, Peepeye, Poopeye, and Pupeye — refuse to eat their spinach, so Popeye tells them the story of his great Uncle Hercules, the legendary strongman of ancient Greece. In the flashback, Hercules battles the Bluto-like Brutus in a series of mythological contests, powered by a can of "spinachus." A Famous Studios Popeye cartoon directed by Seymour Kneitel and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The film is in the public domain through non-renewal of copyright.

Animation · Comedy

Parlez Vous Woo is a 1956 Popeye cartoon from Famous Studios, directed by Izzy Sparber and distributed by Paramount Pictures. Olive Oyl has fallen for "The International," a suave, romantic television personality — who turns out to be Bluto in disguise. When the smooth-talking rival invites Olive to his penthouse for dinner, a jealous Popeye follows to expose the phony, and the evening erupts into the usual spinach-fueled brawl. One of the later entries in the long-running series, it features the classic voice trio of Jack Mercer, Mae Questel, and Jackson Beck. It is in the public domain in the United States.

Animation · Comedy

Spree Lunch is a 1957 Popeye cartoon from Famous Studios, directed by Seymour Kneitel from a story by Jack Mercer and distributed by Paramount Pictures. Popeye and Bluto run rival restaurants and compete aggressively for the patronage of Wimpy, whose legendary appetite for hamburgers — and reluctance to pay for them — makes him a challenging customer. The short is notable as the final theatrical film appearance of both Bluto and Wimpy before the Popeye series moved to television. It is in the public domain in the United States.

Animation · Comedy

Popeye and Bluto run rival taxi services and race across the city to pick up fares, wrecking each other's cabs at every turn. When both drivers compete for the same passenger — Olive Oyl — the feud escalates until spinach decides the outcome. A Famous Studios Popeye cartoon directed by Seymour Kneitel and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The film is in the public domain through non-renewal of copyright.

Animation · Comedy

Destruction, Inc. is a 1942 Superman animated short, the tenth in the Paramount series and the second made by Famous Studios after the Fleischer brothers' reorganization. Saboteurs infiltrate the Metropolis Munitions Works, murdering the elderly night watchman and planting explosives throughout the plant. Lois Lane follows the story undercover and is captured by the gang, leaving Superman to stop the destruction and rescue her before the whole works goes up. Released on Christmas Day 1942, the short leans hard into wartime sabotage paranoia. I. Sparber directs, with Bud Collyer and Joan Alexander voicing Superman and Lois. The film entered the public domain through non-renewal.

Animation · Action · Adventure

Electric Earthquake is a 1942 Superman animated short from Fleischer Studios, distributed by Paramount Pictures. A Native American villain uses an electric ray device to threaten Manhattan with earthquakes, demanding the return of the island to his people. Superman must stop the destruction and save the city. The Fleischer Superman cartoons were noted for their art deco style, cinematic animation, and mature storytelling. The film is in the public domain through non-renewal.

Animation · Action · Sci-Fi

Lois Lane's plane is shot down over Africa and she's captured by a German force occupying a jungle temple, where they use the natives' drums to signal strikes on Allied convoys. Superman follows her trail and turns the drums' own warning system against the occupiers. The fifteenth of the Paramount Superman cartoons, made by Famous Studios after the Fleischer brothers' departure, and the series' most direct piece of wartime propaganda. It is in the public domain through non-renewal.

Animation · Action · War

The Arctic Giant is a 1942 Superman animated short from Fleischer Studios, distributed by Paramount Pictures. An expedition to the Arctic uncovers a frozen Tyrannosaurus Rex, which thaws and rampages through Metropolis. Superman must stop the prehistoric creature before it destroys the city. The cartoon is notable for its dinosaur sequence, which predates similar scenes in later films by decades. The film is in the public domain through non-renewal.

Animation · Action · Sci-Fi

The Magnetic Telescope is a 1942 Superman animated short from Fleischer Studios, distributed by Paramount Pictures. A scientist invents a magnetic telescope that can attract meteors from space, but the device goes out of control and threatens Metropolis with a catastrophic comet impact. Superman must destroy the deadly projectile before it hits the city. The film is in the public domain through non-renewal.

Animation · Action · Sci-Fi

The Mechanical Monsters is the second of the Fleischer Studios Superman cartoons, released by Paramount in November 1941. A mad inventor sends an army of flying robots to loot Metropolis — banks, jewel houses, anything they can carry — and captures Lois Lane when she stows away inside one of the machines. Superman battles the mechanical army and flies to the inventor's lair to save her from a vat of molten metal. The robot designs influenced decades of animation, from Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow to a famous homage in The Iron Giant. The film entered the public domain through non-renewal.

Animation · Action · Adventure

Lois Lane is taken prisoner by a race of bird-men living in caverns beneath the earth after a mining expedition discovers their hidden world, and Superman has to burrow down to rescue her before she is thrown to a lake of lava. The last of the seventeen Fleischer/Famous Studios Superman shorts and one of the strangest — directed by Seymour Kneitel with Bud Collyer and Joan Alexander voicing Superman and Lois. The film entered the public domain through non-renewal.

Animation · Action · Adventure

Volcano is a 1942 Superman animated short from Fleischer Studios, distributed by Paramount Pictures. When a dormant volcano on a populated island begins erupting, Superman must save the inhabitants from the lava and ash. The cartoon features spectacular destruction sequences and showcases the Fleischers' talent for cinematic action animation. The film is in the public domain through non-renewal.

Animation · Action · Adventure

Clark Kent and Lois Lane investigate the mysterious death of an Egyptologist at the Metropolis Museum, where Superman must battle the undead guards of an ancient king. An Izzy Sparber-directed Superman cartoon from Famous Studios. The film entered the public domain through non-renewal.

Animation · Action · Adventure

A superstitious cat tries to catch Buzzy the Crow for breakfast, but the clever crow uses the cat's belief in bad luck omens to outwit him at every turn. A Seymour Kneitel-directed Noveltoons short, marking the first appearance of Buzzy the Crow. The film entered the public domain through non-renewal.

Animation · Comedy

Paddy the Leprechaun emerges from his fairy shoe shop to mend shoes for the townsfolk at night, until he is discovered by a little girl who befriends him. A Bill Tytla-directed Noveltoons short. The film entered the public domain through non-renewal.

Animation · Comedy · Family