Puttin on the Act

Bob Hope tours China, takes in the culture and meets up with Big Bird, Crystal Gayle, Peaches and Herb, and others.

A group of inhabitants from Ferté-sous-Jouarre decide to spend their jackpot on a three day trip to Paris.

The film concerns a family vaudeville troupe headed by patriarch Pete Monahan. Because of his love affair with the bottle, Pete manages to get himself and his family blacklisted from every major vaude house in the country. Though Pete's kids Jimmy and Patsy love their dad, they're forced to break away from the act and go off on their own to survive. Eventually, the whole gang is reunited in a shamelessly lachrymose musical finale.

The vaudeville comedians Smith and Dale star in a clever satire on Prohibition and all its illegal shenanigans. Charlie Dale is the greedy owner of a sweatshop pants factory, and Joe Smith is his underpaid cutter. A letter arrives for Smith, informing him that he's about to receive an unexpected inheritance. Dale intercepts the letter, and offers Smith a partnership in the pants factory...

Vaudeville comedians Foottit and Chocolat hop and dance around and occasionally fight.

Popeye has a new car; Olive wants a driving lesson. Things don't go well.

Ted Howard, a vaudevillian left, stranded in a tank town. A local girl, Mary (Sally O'Neil), proposes to finance a new act with her savings and the team succeeds in a minor way until Ted is discovered by Broadway femme fatale Valeska (Carmel Myers). Not wishing to stand in her partner's way, Mary nobly resigns from the act and instead accepts a minor role in the show. She proves a sensation on opening night, however, and a jealous Valeska demands her ousted. But Ted, who is in love with Mary, reorganizes their old act and they begin a new life together as man and wife.

Two vaudeville acrobats adopt the son of an actor friend.

A miniature vaudeville show, complete with a title card introducing each act, is presented. First up is The On-Wah Troupe, an East Asian group of contortionists. Next, Blossom Seeley and Benny Fields sing a duet of the song, "Why Don't You Practice What You Preach". Third up, father and son Pat Rooney and Pat Rooney Jr. perform a recitation and dance musing about if they will ever be as clever as their dad. And the last act on the bill is The Runaway Four, a group of comic acrobats.

Mystery Pictures is looking for a stunt man. Swee'pea tags along with Popeye, but he sends the tot home. Popeye shows clips of his stunts to the director, who is impressed; when he goes to put on the last reel, Swee'pea, who snuck back in, hands him Lost and Foundry (1937), which features Swee'pea saving the day. The director signs Swee'pea.

William Tell shoots an arrow, barely missing Popeye, then tells Popeye that he has just lost his son in an unfortunate arrow incident. Tell then defies the High Governor and is ordered to shoot an apple off his son's head; Popeye stands in for his son.

Popeye's 99-year-old father won't admit he's too old to help Popeye build a ship. Popeye tells him to build one side while he builds the other; Pappy's side is a mess. He falls asleep helping hoist the mast. While Pappy sleeps, Popeye rebuilds his side and finishes the above-decks, with a little help from spinach, of course.

A hypnotist, frustrated by not having anyone to practice on, cold-calls Olive and hypnotizes her over the phone into coming to his office. Popeye rushes after her.

Popeye runs a small airport, and Pappy wants to be a pilot.

Olive gets a phone call that she has won first prize in a sweepstake. After a frantic search, she locates her ticket, only to have it blow out the window. Help, Popeye!

Poopdeck Pappy has a hangover. He asks Popeye to help him by keeping the noise down. Among the disturbances he deals with: a crying baby across the way, a horse-drawn milk truck, a factory whistle, a radio, a traffic accident, a construction site, and a blasting site.

Popeye's Pappy takes a flagpole sitting job atop a tall building without telling Popeye. Popeye goes to rescue him, but he doesn't want to go until an electrical storm hits.

Popeye joins the US Navy and routs the enemy in a one-man battle, but not before he causes his commanding officer plenty of aggravation.

Popeye wants to get Olive a fur coat, but after a run-in with dishonest furrier Geezil decides the best way is to go hunting for a bear himself.

Olive's garden is being raided by some very persistent crows; she calls Popeye for help, and it takes him the rest of the cartoon to hit on the solution.