Spinach Fer Britain (1943)
A German sub destroys a rowboat, a buoy, and another German sub. Meanwhile, Popeye, with a boat full of "spinach fer Britain", rams into the sub by accident. The sub cuts Popeye's ship in half with machine-gun fire, separating him from the spinach; it then sends a torpedo into the remains, which Popeye collects in a rowboat. Popeye spins the sub upside down, then ends up in a mine field.
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I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.
The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;
The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.
Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.
Spinach Fer Britain (1943) ** 1/2 (out of 4)Here's another WWII era Popeye short that has him on a personal mission to deliver cans of spinach for Britain. While crossing the ocean he runs into a German submarine.SPINACH FER Britain is pretty much what you'd expect out of a WWII short. You've got the great American Popeye having to go up against some nasty Germans and of course there's plenty of action along the way. The film is certainly patriotic and it's easy to see that movie crowds in 1943 would have loved it but to be honest there really aren't many laughs here and that keeps it from being much better. The animation is nice and the action is good though.
Well, this World War II cartoon makes fun of the "Nutzis," as Popeye calls the Nazis and has our Sailor Guy take a real beating before opening his can of spinach and taking charge.Prior to his triumph of delivering a small ship's worth of spinach to 10 Downing Street in Great Britain, Popeye and his ship get blown up five times! Yeah, the Germans in their submarines really give it it him big-time. Part of the problem was that Popeye thought all those holes in his ship were just made by a big woodpecker! Finally, he wakes up and states, "That was so woodpecker; it's a subterini!" Sometimes our hero sounds like Curly of the Three Stooges.The cartoon mocks the Germans and their use of the "Heil Hitler" salute. These are okay to be shown on TV today, but the anti-Japanese movies are banned, I have read.
Popeye is sailing out for Britain to provide the people there with well needed spinach to fight of the Germans. While sailing there, he has an encounter with a German U-boot which destroys his ship. Popeye takes his revenge, wiping out the nazi's and taking the spinach in the U-boot to Downing Street ten.Reasonable propaganda piece from the World War II age, with stereotypical dumb and cruel Germans beaten heavily by our spinach loving sailor. The animation is black and white, but well done, as there isn't much to complain about in this short cartoon. Though there isn't much to enjoy either, I must admit.So and so on the whole, but check it out if you're interested in cartoons from that era. 6/10.
This short, one of a handful done by Paramount Famous Studios in black and white, is fairly effective propaganda and uses the black and white to best advantage with shadows and shadings. While the overall value of even a rowboat full of spinach versus, say, munitions, to Britain at that time and place is an open question, Popeye's patriotic fervor is not. An excellent use of Popeye for the war effort. Well worth tracking down. Recommended.