Parlez Vous Woo
| Parlez Vous Woo | |
|---|---|
| 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 | Anton Loeb Al Eugster William B. Pattengill |
| Studio | Famous Studios |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
| Release date(s) | October 12, 1956 |
| Running time | 6:00 |
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
| Preceded by | Insect to Injury |
| Followed by | I Don't Scare |
| IMDb profile | |
Plot
Olive Oyl, who is all dressed up in an evening gown, is watching a TV program hosted by a debonair, French-accented personality known as "The International" and is smitten by the host's suave mannerisms and romantic lines. A resentful Popeye, who is sitting with Olive, refuses to watch the program and tries reminding her about the movie date they have scheduled for that night, but Olive shushes him, telling him not to interrupt while the program is on. Moments later, Bluto walks by Olive's living room window and is chagrined to see Popeye there with her. Olive then hears the International announce that one of the women watching his show will be selected for a date with him later that night. When the program ends, Popeye reminds Olive again about their date, but she refuses, saying she could be the lucky one to get a date with the International. Bluto overhears the couple's conversation and comes up with a scheme to get Olive for himself.
Soon after, Olive's doorbell rings and she literally runs over Popeye to get the door. When she answers, she is surprised to see who she thinks is "The International" (actually Bluto in disguise, given away by his sailor's hat falling out from the top hat he has on, which Bluto quickly catches and hides to keep Olive from finding out). Fooled by Bluto's tuxedo disguise, fake French accent and changed appearance, the naïve Olive invites him inside, where he starts charming her with romantic gestures. A jealous Popeye (who is likewise fooled by the disguise) twirls his corncob pipe in his mouth in anger and goes over to Olive to kiss her hand as Bluto did a moment ago, but the fickle Olive turns a cold shoulder on him (shown by her figuratively turning into a block of ice), which stuns the sailor.
Bluto, still in character, then invites Olive to sit with him on a sectional sofa, but Popeye jumps between the two and tries to get Olive to listen to reason when Bluto shoves him out of the way on the middle part of the sofa, then pulls the end sections together with a cane and continues wooing Olive. Popeye gets the upper hand again when he pulls Bluto's end of the sofa away and rushes back to Olive to remind her about their date. While Olive rudely accuses Popeye of butting in on "The International", Bluto gets his revenge by using a knife to slice through the seat on Popeye's section of the sofa, causing the spring underneath to pop out and send Popeye flying upward head-first into the ceiling.
After Popeye frees himself from the ceiling and sees Bluto dancing a waltz with Olive, he runs over and exchanges her for a broom while Popeye dances a jitterbug with his reluctant girlfriend, only for Bluto to switch her with a dressmaker's dummy as he gets her back. Popeye has enough and goes to confront Bluto as the latter offers to take Olive out for a moonlight stroll, reminding him that he (Popeye) had a date with Olive first. When Bluto, still acting as "The International", proposes a duel over Olive, she swoons at the romantic image the idea of a duel over her projects. Bluto offers Popeye one of two swords and they begin fighting it out with the weapons before Popeye's sword is ruined when it is split down the middle by Bluto's sword. Bluto then fiendishly laughs and takes several lunges at Popeye with his sword, which the sailor manages to dodge before he seemingly gets stabbed in the chest, causing Olive to scream in terror.
As Popeye discovers, Bluto actually stabbed the can of spinach he carries inside his sailor outfit and pulls it out with the sword. As a shocked Bluto watches, Popeye runs over and eats the spinach as it falls out of the can while it remains on the point of the sword, then uses his newly-gained super strength to quickly repair his own sword and use it to knock Bluto's sword out of his hand. Popeye then strips Bluto's tuxedo away with his sword, revealing the sailor outfit he has on underneath and making Olive realize that who she thought was "The International" was a fake. Outraged over being exposed, Bluto grabs Olive's TV set and prepares to use it as a weapon, but Popeye stops him with a right hook and causes both Bluto and the TV to fly into a wall, with Bluto going right through the TV screen. As Olive marvels over Popeye's success, he grabs a second can of spinach and eats it, turning himself into a copy of the International (complete with tuxedo and top hat). Popeye then kisses Olive's hand, causing her to figuratively melt like butter as the sailor laughs.
Production notes
- Parlez Vous Woo is one of a number of Famous Studios/Paramount-produced Popeye the Sailor cartoons in the public domain in the United States.
External links
- Parlez Vous Woo public domain cartoon at YouTube
