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Spacewarp, v. 4, issue 2, November 1948
Page 4
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mgmparamountrepublicmgmparamount gm re paramountrepublicmgmparamountrep FLICKERING FUTURE by T.E.WATKINS 1605 Wood Ave. Kansas City 2, Kansas The train is coming down the tract, TOOT, TOOT, TOOT! The station agent and Clark Kent look down at a broken rail. We sit back in our movie seats with a smug sense of satisfaction. There is not danger, that train will not jump the track because we know who Clark Kent is. He is not a bird, he is not a plane, HE IS SUPERMAN! All he has to do is reach down and twist that rail back in place with his little finger. Shucks, he could blow it back in place. The station agent dows not know that the man beside him is SUPERMAN. The train is coming down the track, TOOT, TOOT, TOOT!! The agent rushes up the track to warn the train. We wonder why Clark Kent delays. Twist that rail, boy, that agent can't stop that train. Kent looks around, spies haystack, runs behind haystack, trumpets sound, train whistle toots, agent waves madly, and taTA, taTA, out from behind the haystack comes (oh my achin' eyes) SUPERMAN in full regalia -- long underwear and cape. O.k., o.k., so he can't twist rail without special underwear. Let's go, SM, the train is coming fast, TOOT, TOOT, TOOT! Whizzes past agent. This is a job for SUPERMAN! Off he goes. Gets in front of train. Mighty muscles bulge as he pushes on engine and stops train cold. People get out and gather round. Eyes pop. And THEN, with many a grunt and groan, SUPERMAN twists rail back in shape. Oh, well, I suppose SUPERMAN has to have his egoboo and he doesn't twist rails unless someone is looking. But not for our 45[[cent symbol]]. We've seen the feature anyway and this is the serial. On our way out we notice that the kids have their eyes glued to the screen. Don't sneer at the little darlings -- they are future stf fans. They are getting their ABCs. They will start out on SUPERMAN and Buck Rogers and perhaps continue to enjoy van Vogt, Williamson and Russel. The thing that disappoints us is the lack of good science fiction on the screen. There have been auite a number of fantasy pictures and some I would call semi-science fiction, but very few real science fiction pictures. Four pictures produced since the silent era I would call science fiction of a sort. "Just Imagine" was a stf humor picture produced by Paramount in the middle thirties. It had something of the flavor of Edgar Rice Burroughs and his Martian stories. The city-of-the-future scenes and rocket scenes were done in miniature and were just as phoney as a lead dime. The movie patrons laughed at the picture instead of with it. Paramount never made another. "Frankenstein" was a success, but Universal loused it up with frequent and corney sequels. "The Shape of Things To Come" was an 4 [[illustration text]]EMC[[end illustration text]]
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mgmparamountrepublicmgmparamount gm re paramountrepublicmgmparamountrep FLICKERING FUTURE by T.E.WATKINS 1605 Wood Ave. Kansas City 2, Kansas The train is coming down the tract, TOOT, TOOT, TOOT! The station agent and Clark Kent look down at a broken rail. We sit back in our movie seats with a smug sense of satisfaction. There is not danger, that train will not jump the track because we know who Clark Kent is. He is not a bird, he is not a plane, HE IS SUPERMAN! All he has to do is reach down and twist that rail back in place with his little finger. Shucks, he could blow it back in place. The station agent dows not know that the man beside him is SUPERMAN. The train is coming down the track, TOOT, TOOT, TOOT!! The agent rushes up the track to warn the train. We wonder why Clark Kent delays. Twist that rail, boy, that agent can't stop that train. Kent looks around, spies haystack, runs behind haystack, trumpets sound, train whistle toots, agent waves madly, and taTA, taTA, out from behind the haystack comes (oh my achin' eyes) SUPERMAN in full regalia -- long underwear and cape. O.k., o.k., so he can't twist rail without special underwear. Let's go, SM, the train is coming fast, TOOT, TOOT, TOOT! Whizzes past agent. This is a job for SUPERMAN! Off he goes. Gets in front of train. Mighty muscles bulge as he pushes on engine and stops train cold. People get out and gather round. Eyes pop. And THEN, with many a grunt and groan, SUPERMAN twists rail back in shape. Oh, well, I suppose SUPERMAN has to have his egoboo and he doesn't twist rails unless someone is looking. But not for our 45[[cent symbol]]. We've seen the feature anyway and this is the serial. On our way out we notice that the kids have their eyes glued to the screen. Don't sneer at the little darlings -- they are future stf fans. They are getting their ABCs. They will start out on SUPERMAN and Buck Rogers and perhaps continue to enjoy van Vogt, Williamson and Russel. The thing that disappoints us is the lack of good science fiction on the screen. There have been auite a number of fantasy pictures and some I would call semi-science fiction, but very few real science fiction pictures. Four pictures produced since the silent era I would call science fiction of a sort. "Just Imagine" was a stf humor picture produced by Paramount in the middle thirties. It had something of the flavor of Edgar Rice Burroughs and his Martian stories. The city-of-the-future scenes and rocket scenes were done in miniature and were just as phoney as a lead dime. The movie patrons laughed at the picture instead of with it. Paramount never made another. "Frankenstein" was a success, but Universal loused it up with frequent and corney sequels. "The Shape of Things To Come" was an 4 [[illustration text]]EMC[[end illustration text]]
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