Private Eye Popeye (1954)
Article 6035 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 12-18-2021
Directed by Seymour Kneitel and Thomas Johnson
Featuring the voices of Jackson Beck, Jack Mercer and Mae Questel
Country: USA
What it is: Popeye cartoon

Popeye is hired by Olive Oyl to protect a huge emerald from theft.

The fantastic content is a bit light here; it has a couple of moments that fit into the “spooky old house” category, and the butler seems to be driving a kind of rocket sled at one point. As for the cartoon itself, it does vary the formula that the Popeye cartoons were settling into; instead of Popeye having to contend with a competing Bluto, he has to deal with a larcenous butler. In fact, the cartoon may actually be a parody of Droopy cartoons; no matter what the butler does, he always finds Popeye one step ahead of him like Droopy is with his antagonists. Still, the butler’s reactions to Popeye’s appearance are a far cry from those of the similar characters in Droopy cartoons, making this a far weaker cartoon. All in all, this is another mediocre Popeye cartoon.