In this one, Popeye comes to Olive's party using his father's party methods. But Olive and Bluto are into the new dance crazes. Of course, Bluto is only interested in one thing and Popeye comes off as a dope. Eventually, we all know that spinach will save the day. Pretty well done dance bits.
7 Reviews
zoot-suited Popeye
SnoopyStyle12 February 2022
Olive Oyl is having a party. Both Popeye and Bluto are invited. Popeye tries to do the waltz with Olive but she wants to do the new dances. The zoot-suited Bluto is much more her style rather than the old fashion Popeye.
This is interesting in that it's actually about something. Popeye does seem to be a fuddy duddy. He fits and this works. It is a specific time and era. It looks silly now but it's a nice little time capsule.
This is interesting in that it's actually about something. Popeye does seem to be a fuddy duddy. He fits and this works. It is a specific time and era. It looks silly now but it's a nice little time capsule.
Hip to Be Square
lugonian2 May 2006
JITTERBUG JIVE (Paramount, 1950), is another one in a long series of the ever popular Popeye cartoons that brings forth a slight change from tradition. It presents the age-old characters that originated in the early 1930s up to the popular 1940s phase of jive talk, hip suits and jitterbug dancing, an excuse for Olive Oyl's swinging dance party with her battling beaus, Popeye (the square) and Bluto (the hipster), as her only guests. Imagine that? Of course there's going to be trouble in store, especially between these two sailors vying for Olive's love and affection. By not doing this, however, there would be no story nor any reason for Popeye to do what he does best, gulping down his spinach and beating up his advisory after taking more than what he could handle.
Conflicts arise when the modernized, clean-shaven Bluto in swinging outfit slipping Olive "some skin" and being her dancing partner to the jitterbug jive music that causes the jealous Popeye to make every attempt to interest Olive to his ways of quieter past-times. The fun begins as Bluto and Popeye play tricks on one another, each trying to get the other out of the way, with both being of equal standing when it comes to being sinister. During a game of Popeye's "pin the tail on the donkey," Bluto tricks his blindfolded pal into going outside, pinning the tail on a real donkey and getting kicked in his you know where. With one thing leading to another, Popeye's annoyance finally gets the best of Olive, who now favors the company of Bluto. Continuing to annoy Olive with some kid games, indicating that he's still Popeye the Sailor and not Popeye the Swinger, next on the agenda is a wooden tub of water with apples. Popeye demonstrates by kneeling down and placing his head in the water to retrieve the apples with his mouth. Some fun! While doing this, Bluto conveniently comes up with a full bag of quick drying cement. He pours the powder into the tub, the cement immediately hardens, the tub collapses and Popeye's head is entrapped from the neck up into the circular block. His body suddenly shoots upward to the sound of bedsprings, leaving him to stand in an upside-down position stiff as a board with Olive looking helplessly at his lifeless body. Now with Popeye out of circulation, Bluto grabs hold of Olive, places her in his car and drives away. As he attempts to do some smooching, Olive resists and starts crying for help (for the umpteenth time in cartoon history). And what about the human blockhead? Well, Popeye hasn't suffocated to death after all. He has managed to maneuver himself to his feet, but with the cement block being top heavy, he wobbles, loses control and starts rolling down the street through heavy traffic as cars nearly miss hitting him before crashing into Joe's Vegetable Store that puts an end to his travels, leaving Popeye laying flat on his back, head still encased, and no chip off the old block (Bluto really got his money's worth with this cement inducting product.) The duration of this seven minute cartoon continues with Popeye's further attempts to set himself free in hope to rescue Olive from the clutches of Bluto. (Oh, Olive, why don't you just give in? You know Bluto sways you).
The creators of this cartoon once again succeed in placing Popeye in another impossible predicament. Sometimes he would be set free with the help from an outside source, or a can of spinach ready at his disposal. With his head plastered into a cement oval, the question is "how is he ever going to eat his spinach and gather up his strength?" Well, there's always the other end, but that wouldn't get past the censors. The cartoonists could have had him crash into a brick wall, for example, causing the cement oval to break into little pieces, or leaving Popeye's mouth visible or corn cob pipe to be sticking out as other means of breathing or getting to gobble down his energizer. Situations like this can only be found in cartoons anyway, and with animation, nothing comes easy. Of course by the time Popeye's situation becomes too complex do the creators come up with something at the last minute that prevents our hero from becoming a permanent fixture in the cement industry. Watch for it.
Although the underscoring of swing music and jive talk unheard of in decades might date JITTERBUG JIVE, it's episodes such as these produced from the 1930s to 1950s that prove to be more favorable to viewers than the newer and updated versions made in later years simply because violence is the essence, and so are the three central characters of Popeye, Olive and Bluto, whose escapades have become a delight to those who grew up watching these threesome on daytime/Saturday morning television many moons ago. POPEYE can be currently seen on either a local independent TV station of cable channels such as Boomerang.
Conflicts arise when the modernized, clean-shaven Bluto in swinging outfit slipping Olive "some skin" and being her dancing partner to the jitterbug jive music that causes the jealous Popeye to make every attempt to interest Olive to his ways of quieter past-times. The fun begins as Bluto and Popeye play tricks on one another, each trying to get the other out of the way, with both being of equal standing when it comes to being sinister. During a game of Popeye's "pin the tail on the donkey," Bluto tricks his blindfolded pal into going outside, pinning the tail on a real donkey and getting kicked in his you know where. With one thing leading to another, Popeye's annoyance finally gets the best of Olive, who now favors the company of Bluto. Continuing to annoy Olive with some kid games, indicating that he's still Popeye the Sailor and not Popeye the Swinger, next on the agenda is a wooden tub of water with apples. Popeye demonstrates by kneeling down and placing his head in the water to retrieve the apples with his mouth. Some fun! While doing this, Bluto conveniently comes up with a full bag of quick drying cement. He pours the powder into the tub, the cement immediately hardens, the tub collapses and Popeye's head is entrapped from the neck up into the circular block. His body suddenly shoots upward to the sound of bedsprings, leaving him to stand in an upside-down position stiff as a board with Olive looking helplessly at his lifeless body. Now with Popeye out of circulation, Bluto grabs hold of Olive, places her in his car and drives away. As he attempts to do some smooching, Olive resists and starts crying for help (for the umpteenth time in cartoon history). And what about the human blockhead? Well, Popeye hasn't suffocated to death after all. He has managed to maneuver himself to his feet, but with the cement block being top heavy, he wobbles, loses control and starts rolling down the street through heavy traffic as cars nearly miss hitting him before crashing into Joe's Vegetable Store that puts an end to his travels, leaving Popeye laying flat on his back, head still encased, and no chip off the old block (Bluto really got his money's worth with this cement inducting product.) The duration of this seven minute cartoon continues with Popeye's further attempts to set himself free in hope to rescue Olive from the clutches of Bluto. (Oh, Olive, why don't you just give in? You know Bluto sways you).
The creators of this cartoon once again succeed in placing Popeye in another impossible predicament. Sometimes he would be set free with the help from an outside source, or a can of spinach ready at his disposal. With his head plastered into a cement oval, the question is "how is he ever going to eat his spinach and gather up his strength?" Well, there's always the other end, but that wouldn't get past the censors. The cartoonists could have had him crash into a brick wall, for example, causing the cement oval to break into little pieces, or leaving Popeye's mouth visible or corn cob pipe to be sticking out as other means of breathing or getting to gobble down his energizer. Situations like this can only be found in cartoons anyway, and with animation, nothing comes easy. Of course by the time Popeye's situation becomes too complex do the creators come up with something at the last minute that prevents our hero from becoming a permanent fixture in the cement industry. Watch for it.
Although the underscoring of swing music and jive talk unheard of in decades might date JITTERBUG JIVE, it's episodes such as these produced from the 1930s to 1950s that prove to be more favorable to viewers than the newer and updated versions made in later years simply because violence is the essence, and so are the three central characters of Popeye, Olive and Bluto, whose escapades have become a delight to those who grew up watching these threesome on daytime/Saturday morning television many moons ago. POPEYE can be currently seen on either a local independent TV station of cable channels such as Boomerang.
My Father Had A Zoot Suit...But That Was Before The Second World War
boblipton20 February 2022
Olive Oyl is throwing a party, and only Popeye and Bluto show up. She's hep and up to date, and so is Bluto.... for 1940.
The Popeye series remained Famous Studios' best franchise, but it had become pretty hidebound by this point. Popeye and Bluto fight over Olive. Popeye takes a licking, but eats some spinach, and now he he returns the favor. Oh, the gags show some variety, but the ones here make little sense for 1950. Ten years earlier, they would have gone over well enough.
The Popeye series remained Famous Studios' best franchise, but it had become pretty hidebound by this point. Popeye and Bluto fight over Olive. Popeye takes a licking, but eats some spinach, and now he he returns the favor. Oh, the gags show some variety, but the ones here make little sense for 1950. Ten years earlier, they would have gone over well enough.
With the current swing music revival going on, people should give this cartoon a look.
budman-425 February 1999
With the current swing music revival going on, people should give this cartoon a look. Cool hep cat Bluto in a zoot suit comes to Olive's party. A square Popeye annoys Olive, who wants her party to be full of jivey music and Bluto, who wants to make out with his cute hostess. A fast moving, music-filled cartoon with an exciting climax.
One of my favourite Popeye's
reptilicus25 March 2007
To me this is one of the best of the Post-WW2 Popeye cartoons. Olive Oyl and Bluto have joined the zoot suit generation which bugs the sailor somewhat because he has brought stuff to Olive's house for, as he says it, "A real old fashinged party" while she expects to "Boing and bop and blow our top." When Bluto shows up in his saddle shoes and pencil mustache Popeye refers to him as a "male booby-soxer" but Olive is attracted to the swing dancer piano playing muscle man; well she is for the first half of the cartoon anyway.
This is a great musical cartoon with much of the dialog in rhyme (similar to the 1934 Three Stooges short WOMAN HATERS). In other cartoons Popeye admits to being 40 but this time there seems to be a generation gap between him and his comrades. Olive ridicules his "antique antics" but when Bluto goes overboard she is quick to yell for Popeye to rescue her. And oh the magic of spinach! This time out the sailor man not only gets super strong but super cool as well.
There was a semi remake of this cartoon in 1960 called "Coffee House". In that one Olive and Bluto had joined the Beat Generation and spend most of the show show sipping espresso. Bluto even composes a poem to an onion! It is fair to give both of them a chance not only for the fun but to compare the similarities.
This is a great musical cartoon with much of the dialog in rhyme (similar to the 1934 Three Stooges short WOMAN HATERS). In other cartoons Popeye admits to being 40 but this time there seems to be a generation gap between him and his comrades. Olive ridicules his "antique antics" but when Bluto goes overboard she is quick to yell for Popeye to rescue her. And oh the magic of spinach! This time out the sailor man not only gets super strong but super cool as well.
There was a semi remake of this cartoon in 1960 called "Coffee House". In that one Olive and Bluto had joined the Beat Generation and spend most of the show show sipping espresso. Bluto even composes a poem to an onion! It is fair to give both of them a chance not only for the fun but to compare the similarities.
Jitterbugging fun
TheLittleSongbird3 August 2020
Despite preferring Fleischer Studios' output when it comes to the Popeye series, that doesn't mean that Famous Studios' output should be dismissed. Little of Famous Studios' Popeye output is quite on the same level as the best of Fleischer Studios' and the late-50s was particularly hit and miss (true of the studio's overall output too), but there were still some great outings of theirs and, with some disappointments aside, most of it was above average and more.
'Jitterbug Jive' is certainly above average. Actually think it is pretty great and among the best of the early-50s Popeye cartoons, and of the 50s cartoons for the series overall. Also faring quite favourably amongst the overall work of Famous Studios. Of the 50s Popeye cartoons, 'Jitterbug Jive' is one of the cartoons closest to evoking fond memories of when Fleischer Studios' Popeye output was on good, great even, form. Which is very high praise.
Although the story may lack originality, or at least in terms of structure, and is quite formulaic, the constant infectious energy, that increases as the cartoon goes on, more than makes up for that. Likewise with the wildly exciting final third and the gags, lots of them and all wholly successful in entertainment value so a big smile was on my face by the cartoon's end.
The animation is filled with vibrant colour, meticulous background detail and drawing and character designs that look as though a lot of care and effort went into it. 'Jitterbug Jive' is one of the cartoons in the series where the music is like a character of its own and quite a lot of the cartoon's energy derived from it, fitting perfectly within the cartoon and a superb score in its own right.
Popeye is made memorable by Jack Mercer's ever priceless delivery of his asides and mumblings and the way he emoted and moved. Bluto is a funny and formidable adversary, the two sparkle together and the chemistry between the three characters is integrated beautifully, and this is a cartoon where Olive is not underused and her material is not drastically inferior to the other two. The voice acting is reliably good, Mercer's delivery of Popeye's dialogue was always one of the series' biggest pleasures. It must have been hard following on from Gus Wickie but Jackson Beck does a more than worthy job.
In conclusion, great. 9/10
'Jitterbug Jive' is certainly above average. Actually think it is pretty great and among the best of the early-50s Popeye cartoons, and of the 50s cartoons for the series overall. Also faring quite favourably amongst the overall work of Famous Studios. Of the 50s Popeye cartoons, 'Jitterbug Jive' is one of the cartoons closest to evoking fond memories of when Fleischer Studios' Popeye output was on good, great even, form. Which is very high praise.
Although the story may lack originality, or at least in terms of structure, and is quite formulaic, the constant infectious energy, that increases as the cartoon goes on, more than makes up for that. Likewise with the wildly exciting final third and the gags, lots of them and all wholly successful in entertainment value so a big smile was on my face by the cartoon's end.
The animation is filled with vibrant colour, meticulous background detail and drawing and character designs that look as though a lot of care and effort went into it. 'Jitterbug Jive' is one of the cartoons in the series where the music is like a character of its own and quite a lot of the cartoon's energy derived from it, fitting perfectly within the cartoon and a superb score in its own right.
Popeye is made memorable by Jack Mercer's ever priceless delivery of his asides and mumblings and the way he emoted and moved. Bluto is a funny and formidable adversary, the two sparkle together and the chemistry between the three characters is integrated beautifully, and this is a cartoon where Olive is not underused and her material is not drastically inferior to the other two. The voice acting is reliably good, Mercer's delivery of Popeye's dialogue was always one of the series' biggest pleasures. It must have been hard following on from Gus Wickie but Jackson Beck does a more than worthy job.
In conclusion, great. 9/10
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