Excellent but underrated film

Don't listen to the negative reviews

It's complicated... I really like the directing, acting and writing but, there are issues with the way it's shot that I just can't deny. As much as I love the storytelling and the fantastic performance but, there are also certain scenes that didn't need to exist.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Assault and Flattery (1956) ** 1/2 (out of 4)Judge Wimpy is hearing a case brought on by Bluto who claims that he was beaten by Popeye for no reason. We then see flashbacks to three previous films in the series.The Popeye series has several films during the 1950s where very little new footage was made and instead stories were just built around previous films. This here is another case of that because this borrows footage from three different movie and builds them around the court story. For the most part this here is mildly entertaining but I always think it's better to watch the original shorts in their full glory. There are some minor laughs here but nothing too funny.

It's "the case of Bluto versus Popeye, with Judge Wimpy (eating a hamburger) presiding." It seems Bluto has enough "beatings," charging Popeye The Sailor Man with assault and battery.Bluto comes to court bandaged from head to toe and gives his testimony. "He always beats me up for no reason," says poor Bluto. He then tells of two episodes in which Popeye crushed him. When Popeye protests each time, the only thing the judge can say is "Order in the court!" and then stuff another whole hamburger in his mouth.The spinach-eating sailor man then gets on the stand to tell his story, the one where Bluto is a magician-hypnotist.I get the feeling this was another of those 'toons that was mainly footage from past ones. If not, this is the normal entertaining short, but if it is - and you've seen the scenes shown here - then it's a waste of time. I hadn't seen anything shown here in this one, so it was fine....but nothing really laugh-out-loud funny in the final seconds.