Can You Take It

Popeye walks Olive Oyl to her work at the hospital ward of the Bruiser Club. He goes next door to Bruiser Boys Club front entrance where a sign asks "Can you take it? We DARE you to join". At the club, President Bluto tries to intimidate Popeye with a series of deadly traps. Popeye is able to beat most of them, but he ends up in the hospital ward with Olive Oyl. He eats his spinach and goes back to confront Bluto.

This has the Popeye triumvirate in their traditional roles. In this early Popeye, Olive Oyl sounds like Olive Oyl. I do have questions about the deadly traps. I wonder how many people have already been killed. It's a little extreme. That's fine for a cartoon.

Popeye is following Olive Oyl down the street. When she turns into the entrance of the hospital annex of the Bruiser Boys Club, saying it's where she works, Popeye decides he wants to join. But the initiation is rougher than he anticipates.

There were a lot of short comedies during the silent and early sound eras in which someone wished to join a fraternity, sorority, or fraternal order, only to find an utterly bizarre initiation; it was often combined with a fright comedy theme. This one is simply brutal, as filled with cartoon violence as any.

It was the sort of cartoon that clueless moralists later decried as encouraging violence. Show Bluto attacking Popeye with a fire axe would convince small children they could do the same without any harm being done. That was a lie, of course. When my brother and I fought, it was specifically to harm each other.

Definitely NOT Mae's voice for Olive. Probably Bonnie Poe as she did others at this period. Other episodes and Betty Boop was Bonnie's voice. Is this 150 characters yet?

Can You Take It (1934)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Popeye is taking Olive Oyl to work when he notices that she's working at a club for tough guys. The club is being ran by Bluto but when Popeye tries to join they work him over but not for long. This is one of the better films in the series as it contains non-stop violence and some very funny scenes as well. The highlight of the film is during the opening interview when Popeye and Bluto try to out do one another with strong hand shakes. Another classic moment is when the two battle with cigars. There's an obstacle course that Popeye has to go through, which also adds some great laughs. The animation is once again very strong with nice direction throughout.

"Can you Take It" is one of the wildest Popeye cartoons I've ever seen and easily the most frenetic of the early ones. In fact, I think it's safe to say this is one most entertaining and different "adventures" Popeye ever had. The cartoon following this also was insane, so it looks like Popeye's outrageous humor began with this effort.

After dropping off Olive at her place of work, a hospital, Popeye notices on a sign on the place next door: "Bruiser Boy's Club - Can You Take It? - We DARE You To Join"

Well, macho Popeye isn't going to turn down that challenge. Great sight gags when Popeye meets Bluto, president of the club as they exchange brutal hand shakes and blowing smoke in each other's face. (better seen than explained).

Bluto then says, "OK, boys, put him tru da woiks!"

Wow, it's unbelievable after that. Popeye goes through his medieval-like torture place that has to be seen to be believed. This is pretty sadistic and brutal, but the bad guys wind up taking their deserved lumps. I won't say more than that, except this is extremely entertaining with an edge to it.