The Man on the Flying Trapeze (1934)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Dave Fleischer
(more)

Release Date:

16 March 1934 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Short | Comedy | Family | Musical

Plot:

Popeye comes to ask Olive out, but finds she's gone off with the title character. Popeye goes to the circus (ringmaster Wimpy) looking for her, to find she's part of the act; an aerial battle ensues.

Plot Keywords:

Popeye | Sailor | Circus | Ringmaster | Mother

Cast

William Costello	...	Popeye (voice) (uncredited)
William Pennell	...	Jules Leotard (voice) (uncredited)
Mae Questel	...	Olive Oyl / Nana Oyl (voice) (uncredited)

Directed by
Dave Fleischer
Willard Bowsky		(animation director) (uncredited)

Produced by
Max Fleischer	....	producer

Animation Department
Willard Bowsky	....	animator
Dave Tendlar	....	animator (as David Tendlar)

Music Department
Lou Fleischer	....	music supervisor (uncredited)
Sammy Timberg	....	composer: incidental music (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Fleischer Studios

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures

Also Known As:

El trapecista volador (Argentina) [es]

Runtime:

7 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Certification:

Argentina:Atp

Company:

Fleischer Studios

Trivia:

"The Daring Young Man On The Flying Trapeze" did have a name, contrary to popular belief: Jules Leotard. He was a former law student who ran away from home and joined a circus as an adolescent. Young Jules was the first performer to wear the skin-tight suit of clothes that would later be named after him; he died of tuberculosis aged only twenty-eight, and the man in the cartoon is obviously modeled on him. In the song, a young man is bemoaning the fact that Jules has just run off with his fiancée.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Popeye: [singing] I yam what I yam, / And that's all what I yam. / I'm Popeye the sailor man. / I'm Popeye the sailor man. / I'm strong to the finitch / 'Cause I eats me spinach. / I'm Popeye the sailor man.

Soundtrack:

The Man on the Flying Trapeze

A Singing Popeye Cartoon

This is an unusual Popeye cartoon in that 98 percent of the dialog is sung - and all of it one song: "The Daring Young Man On The Flying Trepeze." It gets to be a little much after awhile and I'm glad this sort of thing wasn't the normal fare. In fact, I don't if it ever was done again in a Popeye animated short. You can't use any verbal jokes or add to the story when all you are doing is repeating verses of the same song over and over.

However, the sight gags are very good in the beginning before the "trapeze song" took over, as Popeye sails an ocean liner through the dock and down the main street of a big city, right to Olive's house. We also see something else unique (at least, I've never seen her): what looks to be Olive Oyl's mom. It's a shorter, fatter and older version of Olive. She sings to Popeye that Olive has run off with the "man in the flying...."

Fortunately, the circus is right across the street so Popeye takes a bunch of nearby street kids to the tent, watches the big musclebound guy on the trapeze swing a terrified Oliver around like a wet towel, and then goes to get his girl. The ending is funny and unexpected. Olive really took her lumps in this episode!