Assault and Flattery
| Assault and Flattery | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Isadore Sparber |
| Produced by | Seymour Kneitel Isadore Sparber Dave Tendlar |
| Written by | Isadore Klein |
| Starring | Jack Mercer Mae Questel Jackson Beck |
| Music by | Winston Sharples |
| Animation by | Al Eugster William B. Pattengill Frank Endres William Henning Thomas Johnson George Rufle |
| Studio | Famous Studios |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
| Release date(s) | July 6, 1956 |
| Running time | 6:00 |
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
| Preceded by | Out to Punch |
| Followed by | Insect to Injury |
| IMDb profile | |
Plot
In a courtroom presided over by Judge Wimpy, a bandaged-up and wheelchair-bound Bluto accuses Popeye of assaulting him without provocation, claiming (via archive footage from The Farmer and the Belle and How Green is My Spinach) that he was trying to "help" Olive Oyl when she was in trouble, as well as falsely accusing Popeye of trying to "kill" him on another occasion - but in both instances, Bluto conveniently leaves out that he, not Popeye, was the actual aggressor and that Popeye was simply acting either in self-defence or to defend Olive against unwelcome advances by Bluto. Popeye tells Wimpy that Bluto is lying, but Wimpy bangs his gavel and demands order in the courtroom.
Bluto, hoping to fool Wimpy, claims that he is "unsafe" with Popeye around. Wimpy, who appears to take Bluto's bait with the sob story (as he sobs while cutting up onions for a hamburger), asks Popeye if he has anything to say before pronouncing sentence, allowing Popeye to clear the air and tell the full version of what really happened during his clashes with Bluto (using archive footage from A Balmy Swami) which expose the burly ruffian as the actual instigator of their fights. Wimpy, convinced by Popeye's story, declares him not guilty and dismisses the case, causing a frustrated Bluto (who had been faking his "injuries" the whole time) to jump out of the wheelchair and pick it up to use as a weapon against Popeye, knocking the sailor through its large wheels and kicking him into a courtroom doorway.
With Popeye getting twisted out of shape by getting caught in the doorway while trapped within the wheels, the can of spinach he carries with him pops open and its contents fly into his mouth. Popeye devours the spinach and frees himself from his trap, then his left forearm grows into super size and he runs over to Bluto and delivers a thunderous punch with the super-sized forearm to send his foe flying, then he speeds over to some window blinds and paints them black. Moments later, Bluto hits the blinds and is soon after surprised to discover that his sailor's uniform has now been painted up to resemble a prisoner's outfit, at which the jubilant Popeye laughs.
Production notes
- Assault and Flattery is one of a number of Famous Studios/Paramount-produced Popeye the Sailor cartoons in the public domain in the United States.
External links
- Assault and Flattery public domain cartoon at YouTube
