Never Kick a Woman

Never Kick A Woman (1936)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Popeye and Olive Oyl walk past a female gym and decide to go in there so that the sailor can give his woman a few tips. Once inside the female worker, a Mae West homage, begins to flirt with Popeye, which is a no no to Olive.

NEVER KICK A WOMAN has a rather catchy title and even starts off with a joke about the "weaker sex" that probably won't go over too well today. With that said, this here is certainly a very fast short that manages to have some great laughs as well as the non-stop action that you've come to expect from the series. Of course, the genders are reversed here because it's Olive who gets to have all the fun with the flirting woman. There are certainly a great number of laughs that work here and the ending is priceless as even Popeye gets a few lessons.

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.

A really fun role reversal love triangle when Olive Oyl finds her 'Bluto' in the form of a flirty female boxer/Mae West-type. Lots of great gags in this Popeye short.

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.

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.