Popeye and Shorty help Olive move. Unfortunately, they start by running into a police car, and keep running afoul of the officer.
Popeye takes Olive to the zoo, where she's spotted by zookeeper Bluto, who tries various stunts to impress her and/or get rid of Popeye.
Bluto builds a Popeye puppet and manipulates it to treat Olive rudely. Then he comes in and takes Olive away. When Popeye discovers the ruse, knocks Bluto out and ties puppet strings to him.
Popeye donates blood, then dashes off to a boxing match with Bluto. He loses. Olive, who heard this on the radio, rejects him as no longer strong enough for her, and is preparing to join the army (where Bluto apparently is). Popeye stops her at the door, and insists on showing her sequences from two earlier two-reelers to prove his strength, but she's unimpressed. Fortunately, this was all a dream; he awakens in the blood bank, and dashes over to see Olive, who reaffirms her love.
Popeye and Bluto pass by Olive's blacksmith shop and are smitten. Olive needs help, and of course both of the boys offer, and demonstrate their prowess at blacksmithing.
Actually, Popeye and Bluto are already there. They visit a nightclub, where the featured singer/dancer is, of course, Olive Oyl.
Popeye wants to propose to Olive, but can't work up the nerve. His fellow sailor, Shorty, helps him.
Popeye's nephews happen by just as the glue factory is rejecting a sorry looking horse and decide to take it home. They want to treat it as a house pet, despite the obvious problems; Popeye says no. They try to hide it, including painting a Hitler face on its rear and calling it a painter, but keep making mistakes like feeding it horseradish (great reaction shots). Finally, they hide the horse in the closet; Popeye comes out and says that they'll have to keep it now. We see why when she's sitting at the table with her four new foals.
Popeye sits down to make a cartoon. He shows the results to Olive and his nephews: it's a damsel-in-distress scenario, starring him and Olive, with live music and sound effects by Popeye.
Popeye needs a new mast, so he starts to cut down a tall tree - but a woodpecker living in that tree has other ideas.
It's Popeye's birthday, and Olive Oyl invites him over and bakes him a cake. Popeye invites depressed shipmate Shorty to join them.
A goat is starving because scrap metal drives have snapped up all the cans. He finds his way onto a battleship - a giant tin can! The first sailor he sees is Popeye, who he is more than happy to turn into a goat himself.
