Popeye (1980) is a film that is widely, and wrongly, considered to be one of the biggest “flops” of all time at the box office. In reality, Popeye actually turned a profit. In this retrospective article, we’ll discuss the behind-the-scenes story of this 1980s cult classic, directed by Robert Altman and starring Robin Williams and Shelley Duvall.
Annie and Popeye
In 1977, a new musical centered around the beloved comic strip character Little Orphan Annie. Opening on Broadway, it quickly took the world by storm. Annie would go on to win seven Tony Awards and ran for nearly six years on the Great White Way.
It didn’t take long for Hollywood to take notice of this hit show. Both Columbia and Paramount were very interested in gaining the rights to the musical. A bidding war ensued with Columbia winning with the staggering bid of $9.5 million dollars. Over $45 million dollars when adjusted for inflation, this was the highest ever paid for the rights to a stage play or musical.
Robin Williams mimics Popeye’s mannerisms while holding an illustration of the character (1980).
After losing the rights to Annie, Paramount studio executive Robert Evans held a meeting at the studio with his peers. This included Barry Diller, Michael Eisner, and Jeffrey Katzenberg. Charles Bluhdorn, head of Paramount’s parent company Gulf+Western was also in attendance. Evans told them they were going to push forward with their own comic strip musical movie. Now all they needed to do was figure out which classic strip to bring to the screen. Paramount already owned the movie rights to E.C. Segar’s Popeye characters from its acquisition of the Fleischer Studios. As a result, it was decided that this would be the property they would adapt for the screen.
Development
Evans’s original choice for director was John Schlesinger (Midnight Cowboy). Mike Nichols (The Graduate), Arthur Penn (Little Big Man), and Hal Ashby (Harold and Maude) were also considered. The first three of these directors all had something in common, directing actor Dustin Hoffman. It was Hoffman who was the choice to play the titular role in Popeye.
For scripting duties, Evans turned to Jules Feiffer. In addition to being an accomplished screenwriter, Feiffer had worked in the medium of comics under the wing of the legendary Will Eisner (The Spirit). Feiffer leaned heavily on the cartoon serials produced by the Fleischer studio. He also was influenced by the original comic strips, incorporating elements and characters such as Popeye’s magical pet Eugene the Jeep.
Shelley Duvall and Robin Williams on the set of “Popeye” (1980).
After reading the script, which he deemed terrible, Hoffman went to Evans, demanding Feiffer be fired. When Evans refused, Hoffman left the project. By this time Academy-Award-nominated director Robert Altman (M*A*S*H) had been hired to helm the production. With much handwringing about the script from all sides, Altman told Evans that he loved the script and didn’t want to change a word.
“I laughed when Evans reported this to me. I was a friend of Altman’s and a fan. As a fan I knew what was coming. Altman didn’t believe in scripts except as a necessary evil to get films financed. He didn’t much believe in words; he didn’t care if you heard the dialogue or not. And he didn’t believe in story. But I could imagine no one better to give credibility to Segar’s outlandish creations on-screen.”
– Jules Feiffer
Evans’s original choice for the role of Olive was Lilly Tomlin. However, her interest in the role disintegrated when Hoffman backed out. The next choice for the role was Saturday Night Live star, Gilda Radner.
Robin Williams, Shelley Duvall, and Robert Altman on the set of “Popeye” (1980)
Radner’s agent, Bernie Brillstein, discouraged her from taking the part. This was due to the script as well as Altman’s reputation for his difficult and unorthodox methods. Altman was fine with this as he didn’t want to hire Radner anyway. The director eventually opted for an actress he had frequently collaborated with, Shelley Duvall (Nashville). Not long after, Robin Williams of Mork and Mindy fame was brought on board to fill Hoffman’s shoes.
Music
For the film’s music Altman decided he wanted to hire singer-songwriter, Harry Nilsson. Nilsson, who had an early boost via the vocal support of The Beatles in 1968, had an up-and-down career for the next dozen years. A legendary party animal who was a founding member of The Hollywood Vampires, there was no denying that Nilsson had one of the best voices of his generation. He was also a masterful lyricist with a quick wit. Perfect for Altman’s tastes.
Robert Evans and the rest of the brass at Paramount were against the hiring, fearing that Nilsson would be difficult to work with. Throughout his Grammy-winning career, Harry was known for being difficult and demanding, as well as constantly drunk. The only person that vocally supported the decision was Williams, who had no clout with anybody involved in the production since this was his first movie. Regardless, Altman loved working with Nilsson on the movie and found him to be a total professional.
Harry Nilsson and Shelley Duvall in the recording studio during the production of “Popeye” (1980).
“Nobody wanted him at first except Robin Williams. Everyone said ‘You’ll get in trouble with him — he’ll get drunk; he won’t do it; he’s all washed up.’ As a matter of fact I said all of those things about Harry to Robin myself one day. Then I went home and thought about it and said to myself, ‘Jesus, that’s what some people are saying about me!’ So I called Harry Nilsson, because I had never met him in my life, and we got along terrifically.”
– Robert Altman
Nilsson took a break during the recording of his final album “Flash Harry” to write the music for Popeye. He wrote all of the original songs and co-produced the music with producer Bruce Robb at Cherokee Studios in Hollywood. Feiffer hated Nilsson’s songs, feeling they weren’t right for the film, and vocally expressed this to Altman, but it changed nothing, and they were used for the movie. Nilsson’s lyrics, and orchestrations with Van Dyke Parks, add a level of additional playfulness that is a fairly common theme throughout Harry’s career.
Harry Nilsson took the musicians to Malta where a studio was constructed for their use. The musicians dubbed themselves, “The Falcons.” Ray Cooper, Doug Dillard, Harry Nilsson, Van Dyke Parks, Klaus Voormann, and “The Mysterious Karsten” recorded the basic tracks on the island as the set was finished and filming began. Van Dyke Parks arranged and conducted the music. Ray Cooper, Doug Dillard, Van Dyke Parks, and Klaus Voormann make brief appearances in the film.
When the production of the movie got underway Nilsson headed to Malta, where the movie was being filmed, to work with the musicians in a studio built for him on set. The typical movie-musical practice of actors recording the songs in a studio first and then lip-synching was eschewed by Altman. Instead, he had the cast sing some of their musical numbers during filming, which resulted in the sound quality of the recordings being diminished.
Another shot of Harry Nilsson and Shelley Duvall inside the Malta-built recording studio on the set of “Popeye” (1980).
“Robert Altman thought it was a good idea to take all the musicians to Malta, which is a crazy idea, because they just took all the drugs in the Middle East with them. It just became this huge party – people were lucky to have gotten out alive!”
– Eric Idle
Popeye Village
The construction of the Popeye set began in June of 1979 in Mellieha, Malta. The look and feel of the village were intended to emulate the E.C. Segar comic strip Thimble Theatre in which Popeye and his supporting cast appeared and not the Fleischer cartoons which audiences were infinitely more familiar with.
Dubbed Popeye Village (or Sweethaven Village as it is known in the film) the nineteen wooden buildings crafted for the movie took the construction crew of 165 men nearly eight months to complete. All of the wood used to create the buildings was imported from Holland, with the exception of the wood shingles which came from Canada. Eight tons of nails and 2,000 gallons of paint were also used.
In addition to sets, living quarters, and editing rooms, a recording studio was also built as part of the massive Popeye compound. The village still exists today and is a popular tourist attraction. In addition to props from the movie, there are also several shows centered around the movie village in its current incarnation.
Popeye Village in Malta
Stalag Altman
In December 1979 Disney joined the film as part of a two-picture production deal (including Dragonslayer) with Paramount. Disney acquired the foreign rights through its Buena Vista unit. This was the first-ever collaboration between the studios. It was also the first Disney movie to contain profanity.
Filming on Popeye began on January 23, 1980, with a budget of $20 million dollars. The production was filmed until they spent the full budget on June 19, 1980. At that point, Altman was ordered by Paramount to return to Hollywood and to use the footage he had already shot to complete the movie.
There were numerous problems throughout the six-month-long Malta shoot. First and foremost were Popeye’s prosthetic forearm muscles. Not completed in time for shooting to begin Altman decided to have Williams wear a raincoat so to cover his normal arms. When the silicon arms did arrive, an unexpected problem occurred: the sweat from William’s actual arms basically acted as glue, making the prosthetics almost impossible to remove. A new set without this problem was created causing production delays.
Robin Williams, Shelley Duvall, and Paul L. Smith on the set of Popeye.
“I had to dub that movie (Popeye) over twice… because people couldn’t understand what I was saying. I sounded like a killer whale farting in a wind tunnel.”
– Robin Williams
Aside from the forearm difficulties, Williams did not enjoy working with Altman at all primarily to his rigid unwillingness to allow the comedian to improvise which is the cornerstone of his comedic prowess. This caused Williams to refer to the production as “Stalag Altman”.
“It’s almost like being a veteran, surviving Popeye.”
– Robin Williams
Shelly Duvall however loved the production and the movie. She had just finished the tortuous experience of working with Stanley Kubrick on The Shining and was comfortable with Altman having worked with them for many years. Nevertheless, this would be her final collaboration with Altman.
Robert Altman and Robin Williams discussing a scene on the set of “Popeye” (1980)
“I’ve never before been allowed to play a woman of any strength, of depth. And although Olive Oyl is a cartoon character, I think she does have depth. All of the other characters I’ve played in the movies, to me, they never really broke the surface. But Olive Oyl is 101 percent woman! She’s not Popeye’s ‘girlfriend’ I see her as a real femme fatale.”
– Shelley Duvall
Reception and Legacy
Popeye was released on December 6, 1980, and earned $50 million dollars at the domestic box office making well twice the production costs. A modest financial success the majority of critics and audience reactions were negative. People expected a movie based on the Fleischer cartoons, not Thimble Theatre.
Because of the backlash, Altman was essentially banished from Hollywood. He spent the next decade directing low-budget movies out of Paris. Over the years Popeye’s reputation has improved and it is well regarded as a cult classic over four decades later.
