Fright to the Finish (1954)
Article 5489 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 8-3-2017
Directed by Seymour Kneitel
Featuring the voices of Jackson Beck, Jack Mercer and Mae Questal
Country: USA
What it is: Popeye cartoon

Olive Oyl reads ghost stories while both Popeye and Bluto impatiently wait for the other to leave so he can be alone with her. Bluto hits upon a scheme of posing as an assortment of spooks and framing Popeye for the gags.

Usually, a Popeye cartoon which doesn’t even feature the use of spinach would be sorely lacking in fantastic content indeed, but the spooky nature of this one compensates for that. We have several faked manifestations of headless men, ghosts and skeletons here, and there’s even one touch of real fantastic content, albeit one that’s pretty common in cartoons; when you rub vanishing cream on your body, you really vanish. It’s pretty standard Popeye fare for this period of time; it’s mildly amusing, and my favorite moment has a skeleton downing a pitcher of water.