Can You Take It (1934)

Director:

Dave Fleischer

Release Date:

27 April 1934 (USA)

Genre:

Family | Animation | Short | Comedy

Plot:

Popeye sees Olive going into the Bruiser Boys Club, where she works in the hospital ward. Their motto...

Plot Keywords:

Punishment | Spinach | Nurse | Smoke | Cannon

Cast

William Costello	...	Popeye (voice) (uncredited)
William Pennell	...	Bluto (voice) (uncredited)
Mae Questel	...	Olive Oyl (voice) (uncredited)

Directed by
Dave Fleischer

Produced by
Max Fleischer	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Sammy Timberg		(uncredited)

Animation Department
Thomas Johnson	....	animator
Myron Waldman	....	animator

Other crew
Max Fleischer	....	presenter
E.C. Segar	....	by arrangement with (as Segar)

Production Companies

• Fleischer Studios

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1934) (USA) (theatrical) (as Paramount Productions, Inc.) (copyright owners)
• Associated Artists Productions (AAP) (????) (USA) (TV)

Other Companies

• King Features Syndicate  by arrangement with

Runtime:

6 min (TCM print)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Certification:

USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | USA:TV-G (TV rating)

Company:

Fleischer Studios

Soundtrack:

I'm Popeye the Sailor Man

Popeye Can Take It

The only studio to give Disney any serious competition during the early sound era was that of Max Fleischer. That this was mainly due to the popularity of Popeye, The Sailor Man, is obvious. Even if Fleischer's Betty Boop is today possibly even better known than Popeye, it was Popeye that the kids wanted to see. He was a good-natured tough guy for the boys and had a girl fiend with her own machinations, Olive Oyl, which pleased the girls in the audience. Later on Sweet Pea was added to make Popeye even more family oriented, though Sweet Pea did not belong to Popeye and Olive Oyl, or did he? Supposedly, Sweet Pea was a foundling adopted by Popeye.

"Can You Take It" evolves around the Bruiser Boys Club headed by President Bluto. Olive Oyl is a nurse next door in charge of taking care of those who can't take it. Popeye is put through the mechanical gauntlet blindfolded even destroying a revolving contraption that should have cut him in half. Then Bluto's he-men take over to put Popeye in the hospital under Olive Oyl's care. Olive tells him he can't take it. Then enrages Popeye to the point of calling forth his secret weapon of strength and endurance, spinach. Popeye proceeds to show all concerned that he indeed can take it, but that Bluto cannot.

Though in black and white, this early Popeye cartoon is a winner all the way. His many fans will not be disappointed.