Hospitaliky

One of my favorite Popeye shorts is from 1937. Despite my 9 out of 10 rating, I really enjoy this cartoon and consider it another favorite of mine.

In this short, oh boy! How can men be so foolish in their attempts to impress women? I mean, Popeye and Bluto go to colossal lengths to impress Olive Oyl, trying wild stunts like skydiving and crashing a scooter into a wall. Olive Oyl is working as a nurse at the hospital. Please keep in mind that professional "toons" perform these stunts, and you should not attempt them at home. Stay safe, and enjoy this cartoon!

I love how Popeye pretends to be sick with hilarious fits. I enjoy the humor and creativity in the story, especially the unexpected twist at the end with the spinach-eating scene. So overall, it is another marvelous Popeye short from 1937.

When both Bluto and Popeye want to get in the hospital to be near Olive Oyl, they proceed to try to cause damage to themselves. They try to explode themselves, let trains run over them, allow the other to beat them up. Whoever thought of this plot was very, very clever.

Yeah-Yeah. I know full-well that "Hospitaliky" is "just-a-cartoon". But, with that said - I think that Popeye & Bluto's rivalry and their mutual attraction towards Olive Oyl is downright demented and, yes, just plain stupid (for the most part).

And, here in "Hospitaliky" (instead of just asking Olive for a date) Popeye & Bluto, literally, go to the most ridiculous extremes (risking their very lives) in order to be admitted into the hospital (as a seriously injured patient) where their sweetheart, Olive just happens to work as a nurse.

Anyway - (IMO) - "Hospitaliky" really overplayed this whole business of Popeye & Bluto seeking out Olive's affections. And because of that I could only give this vintage cartoon nothing more than just a 4-star rating.

Popeye and Bluto spot Olive Oyl in a nurse's uniform going into a hospital. They pretend to be sick, but apparently you need to be at death's door to get into this joint, so they try to just-shy-of-kill themselves.

Movie comedies about suicidal people were long popular, at least as far back as 1906's LE PENDU. There's a lot of ways for the boys to self-massacre, and they choose some interesting ones. However the final method, the one of that works, is unique to this cartoon series, and I should have seen it coming but did not. Kudos on that.

There are also plenty of other gags on view. Director Dave Fleischer like to pack them in.

Olive Oyl is a nurse walking down the street. Popeye and Bluto spot the beauty and both chase after her. She walks into the hospital. The boys decide to fake illnesses to get admitted. Olive Oyl is not buying it and sends them away. The boys decide to get real hurt through different ways.

After getting rejected by Olive Oyl, I thought the boys would start fighting right away. With this idea, the episode is more interesting and has more variety. The only problem is that it takes too long for the boys to reunite. Maybe they should stay together for the whole run. It does have a great twist to the conclusion.