Hello How Am I
| Hello How Am I | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Dave Fleischer William Henning |
| Produced by | Max Fleischer |
| Starring | Jack Mercer Margie Hines |
| Music by | Sammy Timberg |
| Animation by | William Henning Abner Kneitel George Germanetti |
| Studio | Fleischer Studios |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
| Release date(s) | July 14, 1939 |
| Running time | 6:00 |
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
| Preceded by | Ghosks Is the Bunk |
| Followed by | It's the Natural Thing to Do |
| IMDb profile | |
Contents
Plot
Popeye and Wimpy are asleep in their beds in their run-down tenement when Popeye is awakened by a phone call from his girlfriend Olive Oyl, who invites him to her house for a hamburger dinner. Wimpy, who was also awakened by the call but pretends to still be asleep, overhears the invitation and quickly comes up with a scheme to finagle the hamburgers - his favorite food - for himself. Popeye, not knowing that Wimpy has already left, says goodbye as he dashes out the door to Olive's house, but as he is on his way over, he runs into who he discovers to be a clone of himself, who repeatedly says "I'm Popeye!" when the real Popeye asks who he is. Popeye is thrown for a loop by his doppelganger, but as the sailor paces around on the sidewalk, the impostor's mask disguise slips off momentarily, revealing Wimpy (who quickly puts the mask back on before Popeye notices). Wimpy goes on his way to Olive's after excusing himself, then Popeye follows him there.
Popeye and Wimpy soon arrive at Olive's front door and knock on it, but when Olive answers, she is surprised to find two Popeyes standing in front of her. The real Popeye asks Olive which of the two, between himself and his impostor, is Popeye. Wimpy manages to fool the gullible Olive with his Popeye disguise and cons his way into her house and the hamburger dinner, while Olive wrongly chastizes the real Popeye and accuses him of being the "impostor" as she slams the door on him. While Wimpy seats himself at Olive's table and gluttonously helps himself to his ill-gotten gains, a flustered Popeye says to himself, "If I'm not me, who am I - and if I'm somebody else, why do I look like me?" as he ponders what happened before he hits upon an idea to convince Olive that he is the real Popeye, then he goes into her house while Wimpy continues eating and tells her that no one is stronger than he is, then he tells his impostor to go ahead and hit him. Driven by his selfishness and greed to deny Popeye the hamburger dinner, Wimpy takes up the challenge and takes the table and two chairs, then breaks them all over Popeye's head to knock him loopy. Still fooled by Wimpy's Popeye disguise, Olive again wrongly accuses the real Popeye of being the "impostor" and chastizes him before going off to her kitchen to cook up more burgers for the fake "Popeye".
Popeye finally has enough of his imitator's shenanigans and he pulls a can of spinach out from his shirt, which alarms Wimpy and makes him realize he is done for as the sailor eats the can's contents. Popeye then gets back up and decks his impostor with a left hook powerful enough to knock the faker out of his costume and mask, exposing him as Wimpy (who had also worn a girdle as part of his disguise to cover up his normal rotund appearance). Wimpy is forced to make a run for cover and flees from Olive's house as Popeye sings his theme song while getting the last laugh.
