Spinach Fer Britain
| Spinach Fer Britain | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Isadore Sparber |
| Produced by | Seymour Kneitel Isadore Sparber Dan Gordon Sam Buchwald |
| Written by | Carl Meyer |
| Starring | Jack Mercer |
| Music by | Winston Sharples Sammy Timberg |
| Animation by | Abner Kneitel Jim Tyer Ben Solomon |
| Studio | Famous Studios |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
| Release date(s) | January 22, 1943 |
| Running time | 6:00 |
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
| Preceded by | Me Musical Nephews |
| Followed by | Seein' Red, White 'n' Blue |
| IMDb profile | |
Plot
Popeye contributes to the Allied effort during World War II by delivering a shipment of spinach to the United Kingdom as a war ration, but the Nazi crew of a German U-boat has other ideas as they intend on preventing Popeye from getting the spinach to British shores. The Nazis succeed with an early attempt as they destroy Popeye's boat and separate him from his cargo, but the sailor successfully rescues the spinach cans and loads them into a rowboat, then foils a second attempt by the Nazis to blast the cargo by turning the U-boat's own gun on it. Popeye inadvertently rows into a minefield and two of the mines destroy his rowboat, but he again saves the spinach and ends up landing on the bow of the U-boat.
The U-boat gun comes out again and takes aim, but the smoke from Popeye's corncob pipe causes the gun to sneeze and lose control as it fires, knocking Popeye out. Thinking Popeye dead, two of the Nazis jump out of the U-boat, deliver their signature salute and yell "Heil Hitler!" before all the spinach cans fall through the U-boat's bulkhead door. An unconscious Popeye, with the U-boat's propeller on top of his head, sinks to the ocean floor, where he quickly comes to and eats his own can of spinach, causing his left forearm to turn into a depth charge. Using the propeller to move forward, Popeye catches up to the U-boat and blasts his way through its bulkhead, then uses uppercuts to send four of the Nazi soldiers up to their deaths in the minefield.
Popeye then rows the half-ruined U-boat with the spinach cargo inside into a thick fog and ends up in the middle of traffic outside of 10 Downing Street in London, where the spinach cans spill out to the delight of the Londoners. Popeye gets the last laugh on the Nazi U-boat captain as he stuffs him back inside the craft.
Production notes
- Spinach Fer Britain was produced as an anti-Nazi propaganda cartoon to boost Allied morale during World War II. Due to its dated content and because of issues of political correctness over the depictions of Nazis, this cartoon is rarely shown on American television, but is available on the DVD collection Popeye the Sailor: 1941–1943, Volume 3.
