Comfort Films 99: Popeye (1980)

Shiver me timbers and blow me down! Comfort Films Podcast is dropping anchor in Sweethaven to start a month of celebrating Robin Williams films! In this first episode of the series, we're joined by guest Jenn Riedell for a surreal trip down memory lane as we discuss this buried treasure of a musical, directed by Robert Altman and scripted by Jules Feiffer. Featuring Robin Williams in his first lead role in film, Popeye is also a vehicle for a magical soundtrack of songs from 70s pop star Harry Nilsson. We discuss the amazing set built in Malta, which still exists as a tourist attraction, Shelley Duvall's totally iconic performance as Olive Oyl, Ray Walston's crotchety and hilariously named character Poopdeck Pappy, the bizarre religious underpinnings of Popeye's famous catchphrase, the film's comic strip origins, the many talented circus performers who bring the film to life, and the birth of home video, which paved the way for young Gen Xers to start watching and rewatching comfort movies (complete with some bad humming of the HBO theme song from the 80s). Pop open a can of spinach and give us a listen!