Never Kick a Woman

When Popeye and Olive go by a storefront, a Mae West lookalike is offering to teach self defense. Popeye thinks it would be good for Olive to learn a bit. As it turns out, the proprietor has her eyes on Popeye. Olive has no boxing or defense skills and begins to do badly, while Mae comes on the our sailor man. But there is an equalizer that allows Olive Oyl to get back in the game. A very good Popeye episode with a feminist theme.

Some subtle, and some not-so-subtle eroticism in this cartoon. The big blonde Mae West-type character is easily the sexiest woman ever in a Popeye cartoon, although Olive Oyl eventually changes that. There is both a black-and-white and a colorized version being shown on TV.

IT is amazing looking back on this cartoon about Olive Oyl taking up boxing. It has taken many DECADES for the rest of society to catch up with this notion of women boxing.

Who would have thought that Olive Oyl was such a trailblazer.

Popeye and Olive Oyl watch a woman doing some good boxing. They are both impressed. Popeye tries to teach Olive self-defense. It does not go well. The lady boxer is quite a sexy gal which has a terrific effect on Popeye. Olive notices and she hates it. Eventually, it turns into a real cat fight. Literally.

Obviously, we all know who is eating the spinach in this one. I do have an issue with Popeye. This story would still work even without him going gaga over the sexy boxer. It is the same issue with Olive's lust for Bluto. It never makes these characters look good. That's why this romance is not one of the greats.

Popeye and Olive Oyl go into a sporting goods store, where he tries to teach her self defense with a pair of boxing gloves. While Olive is losing to the stationary equipment, the well-built lady sales clerk vamps Popeye with a Mae West voice until the women get into a fight.

This is one of my favorite Popeye cartoons, for its real message, Jack Mercer's singing the song that seemed to show up in all the Popeye cartoons in Popeye's voice, and the large number of gags as Olive loses to the equipment and to her romantic competition. Plus it's always good to see one of the cartoons in which a fight between Popeye and Bluto is the point.