User Reviews

..........................For Segar's Sea Going Sailor Man.

WITH ALL OF the various series that the Sailor Man starred in over the years, it is the Max Fleischer Black & White shorts that are by far the best. Retaining the look and style of the Popeye creator, Elzie Crisler Segar for Hearst's King Features Syndicate.

AS CONTRASTED WITH the Popeye made for television product, there is no real comparison. This brings to mind a family gathering circa 1974. Our first born, Jennifer, was watching a made for TV Popeye with the rest of us (including Gramma Ryan-3 generations), when the usual "Olive Oyl's in trouble" scenario played out. Well, little jumped the gun, beating Miss Oyl to the punch with cries of "Help ! Help. Popeye !" Nuff said about that.

IN SUNSCREEN THIS short recently (courtesy of Turner Classic Movies), it became ever so obvious to us just what made the 1930's B & W format stand out . Most every short was musically centered and most often had some original songs featured very prominently. The animation and artwork was impeccable, with the look of the characters followingnthat which was displayed in the THIMBLE THEATER Comic Strip, which was the title even about ten years before Popeye's arrival and eventual rise to the top as its star.

ALSO INCLUDED WERE other of Segar's creations; such as Bluto and, for real comic relief, Wimpy. For it was one J. Wellington Wimpy's constant and seemingly insatiable cravings for grilled beef patties that gave us the immortal, classic and oft repeated plea of; "I will gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today !"

THE GREATEST AND most coarse and revolting cartoon screen villainy came from that huge, musclebound vulgarian, Bluto. The character had bowed to the public in the newspaper strip and was soon adapted to the animated shorts, becoming Popeye's chief adversary and rival for the affections of Olive Oyl.

IN TODAY'S HONOREE, this production of the Fleischer Brothers (Max & Dave), simply titled WE AIM TO PLEASE, Popeye and Olive have opened up a diner and are anxious to bring in the business. Following the opening song (sung as a duet) Olive complains that their location is all too far from the foot traffic. Popeye quickly remedies the situation, via his already pre-spinach consumption prodigious strength. From there, it's strictly interaction with customers, Wimpy and Bluto and of course, that ever present use of a can of spinach. (Today's ingestion of the iron-rich leafy green comes from a huge, special restaurant sized can.)

ONE THING THAT we've noticed now, in our golden years, is the true beauty of Black & White photography. The various shades of grays, silvers and even black seem to stand out on the screen. Black and white also holds up much better than most colour filming.

. . . polls show most Americans name A BOY AND HIS DOG; FRIED GREEN TOMATOES; THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS; THE COOK, THE THIEF, HIS WIFE AND HER LOVER; as well as EATING RAOUL. Inexplicably, WE AIM TO PLEASE is generally given short shrift on such surveys. However, from its opening title song (a "Popeye" and "Olive" duet), a dark subtext of dog-eat-dog immorality pervades WE AIM TO PLEASE. Whether it's Popeye sliding his mobile diner clear through a nearby business, "Wimpy" shoplifting a dime burger and a 10-cent pickle, or "Bluto" transforming half a dozen sandwiches into nine and then welching on his bill, WE AIM TO PLEASE shapes up as the biggest food riot since BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN. The clincher comes at the climax, of course, when spinach turns Popeye's fist into a shoed horse's hoof, which he then uses to render Bluto into a rather large link of baloney. Priced at "60 cents," the would-be bill skipper represents quite a bargain, sure to be gobbled up quickly. Since this most closely parallels the plot of FRIED GREEN TOMATOES, it's likely that WE AIM TO PLEASE will appeal most to the geriatric lady crowd.