Word: sailor
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...World War II sailor on board the oil tanker Nantahala, McDaniel washed his own dungarees in the boiler room and patted a crease into the legs. But his initial try at running his own dry-cleaning operation failed in 1972 because of the increasing popularity of wash-and-wear garments and the loss of two high-volume customers. After his business declined by $30,000 over three years, McDaniel was forced to sell out for $32,000. He had unsuccessful flings in real estate leasing and carpet cleaning, but then in 1975 he bought a second dry-cleaning shop from...
...nitz was at best a lukewarm Nazi, but he was a tough sailor in the service of the Third Reich. As commander of Hitler's lethal submarine force, he masterminded the sinking of 14 million tons of Allied shipping during World War II. It may have been Dönitz's U-boat successes that led a desperate Hitler to designate him as his successor near the end of the war. The admiral subsequently ran the doomed country for 23 days, staving off the inevitable surrender while he operated a hasty sealift through the Baltic, enabling 2 million...
...JANUARY 17th, 1929, Elzie Segar introduced into his comic strip "Thimble Theater" a character named Popeye, a one-eyed, banananosed sailor who smoked a corncob pipe. III-favored, inarticulate, but possessed of a keen sense of "humiligration," Popeye quickly rose to star billing in the strip. His broad and timeless appeal lay in his simplicity and in his embodiment of a universal revenge fantasy. As his creator Segar put it: "I'd like to cut loose and knock the heck out of a lot of people, but my good judgement and size hold me back. Instead I use my imagination...
ALMOST FIFTY YEARS after the first Popeye cartoon, director Robert Altman and cartoonist-author-screenwriter Jules Feiffer have adapted the sailor to another medium--that of the musical-comedy feature film--using real people instead of animated figures. When such heavies team up with a talent like manic Robin Williams to interpret a piece of American folklore, the result ought to transcend the original material. Instead, they produce a faithful if restrained reproduction of the cartoon version--and somewhat of a disappointment...
...casting seems intended for faithful representation rather than enhancement of character. Williams plays Popeye straight and he plays him well. He looks the part in his sailor's garb, with a crew cut, "squinky" eye, corncob pipe, ruddy complexion, and latex-enlarged forearms and calves. He also has the gravelly muttering voice and the "pronunskiation" down, and his singing and dancing pass muster. What seems curiously lacking is evidence of Williams' brilliant gift for improvisation. Glimmers shine through occasionally, as when Popeye throws a tantrum because he doesn't want to eat his spinach. Williams, television's "Mork," also contributes...