IMDb > Shakespearian Spinach (1940)

Shakespearian Spinach (1940) More at IMDbPro »


Overview

User Rating:
6.1/10   31 votes
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Director:
Dave Fleischer
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Writer:
George Manuell (story)
Contact:
View company contact information for Shakespearian Spinach on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
19 January 1940 (USA) more
Genre:
Animation | Comedy | Short more
Plot:
Popeye has replaced Bluto in the Spinach Theatre's production of Romeo and Juliet (Olive, of course)... more | add synopsis
User Comments:
Not The 'Romeo & Juliet' You Know! more (3 total)

Cast

  (Cast)
Pinto Colvig ... Bluto (voice) (uncredited)
Margie Hines ... Olive Oyl (voice) (uncredited)
Jack Mercer ... Popeye (voice) (uncredited)
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Additional Details

Runtime:
6 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

FAQ

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3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful.
Not The 'Romeo & Juliet' You Know!, 13 July 2008
6/10
Author: ccthemovieman-1 from Lockport, NY, United States

Almost all of this cartoon is a reenactment of "Romeo and Juliet," but certainly not any version you've seen! Much of the cartoon is sung and hearing Olive Oyl (Margie Hines) and Popeye (Jack Mercer) and then Bluto (Pinto Colvig) is like hearing chalk on a blackboard. Yikes, this is a tough cartoon on one's ears! It's amazing the people in the audience clapped at the end. In real life, they would have reacted quite negatively.

Speaking of voice, I guess this is as good a spot as any to say I miss Mae Questel as the voice of Olive Oyl. She was fantastic in that voice and Hines, try as she might, is no match for her. Fortunately, after Hines did about 30 of these Popeye cartoons, Questel came back and did many from the mid '40s to 1961.

The same can be said for Colvig, who doesn't sound like the Bluto we all know and love.....er, hate. He doesn't have (the former Bluto) Gus Wickie's gruffness and deep voice. In Popeye's latter days, 1950s and 1960s, Jackson Beck did a super job as Bluto, who also had his name changed to "Brutus." Colvig is definitely the weakest of the three.

Anyway, the cartoon is basically singing and the two boys beating each other up, both trying to be Romeo and win the heart of Juliet. At least Popeye gets in as many punches as Bluto, which usually isn't the case - only the big ones at the end. Here, these guys just pulverize each other and it gets boring after awhile. It's not one of the better Popeye cartoons, believe me.

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