A Wolf in Sheik's Clothing is Popeye's 156th theatrical cartoon, produced by Famous Studios and released in 1948. It stars Jack Mercer as Popeye, Mae Questel as Olive Oyl and Jackson Beck (the usual voice of Bluto) as the Sheik, portraying a character visually different from Bluto but fulfilling a similar role: that of a rival trying to steal Olive from Popeye.
Plot
The short begins with Popeye and Olive traveling through the Middle East, in what appears to be a car, but is shown to be mounted on the back of a camel. At a Desert Filling Station, they pour water into the camel's hump and Popeye enters the washroom (actually a luxurious bathing parlor) to take a bath. Meanwhile, Olive is noticed by the Sheik, who becomes smitten with her and promptly sets up his "Sheik's Daily Special - 1 Kiss 1 Buck" booth. The music that the Sheik's assistant plays entrances Olive, and she slithers like a snake before the booth. She is only happy to offer up a stack of dollar bills and be kissed on the forehead by the tall dark stranger. She is then carried away by the seducer on a mule as Popeye returns to their camel-vehicle, and so the chase begins.
' I wish I could meet a big strong sheik who'd kiss me to pieces and leave me sooo weak!'
Olive is taken into the Sheik's small tent (with a large interior) while Popeye's camel suffers a flat foot. He treads on, meanwhile, Olive is dressed in Arabian-like garb. Popeye soon barges into the tent and a power play erupts between the two gents. Olive tries to break it off, with little success, after which the Sheik releases a huge Roc bird to stop the sailor from leading the maiden away. The monster snatches Popeye and flies off in the distance. In a bit repeated from Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor, a whirlwind then comes back which is revealed to be Popeye holding the roasted bird on a platter. The Sheik uses his lash to mummify Popeye then fires him up from a cannon and through the Sphinx's mouth, at Olive's protest. She is then chased around by the lecherous Sheik, until he is content to throw her to his crocodile pit.
Inside the Sphinx, a mummified Popeye notices a nearby can and, sure enough, the hyeroglyphs on it spell out "spinach". Popeye's pipe burns the can open and he swallows its contents up. With the power of a volcano in his muscles, he unwraps himself, blows the Sphinx's head off and leaps out, dashing to stop the Sheik's cruel dangling of Olive over the crocodile's mouth. The villain tries to escape with his prey, only to be caught and punched into a wall in the shape of an Egyptian mural. Popeye and Olive then fly - and kiss - away on a magic carpet driven by the Sheik's former assistant.
Gallery
External links
- A Wolf in Sheik's Clothing at the Internet Movie Database