Blondie | |
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Directed by | Frank R. Strayer |
Written by | Richard Flournoy |
Based on | Blondie by Chic Young |
Produced by | Robert Sparks |
Starring | Penny Singleton Arthur Lake |
Cinematography | Henry Freulich |
Edited by | Gene Havlick |
Music by | Leigh Harline Ben Oakland |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Columbia Pictures (theatrical release) King Features Entertainment |
Release date |
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Running time | 70 min. |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Blondie is a 1938 American comedy film directed by Frank Strayer, based on the comic strip of the same name, created by Chic Young. The screenplay was written by Richard Flournoy. The plot involves the Bumsteads' fifth anniversary, Dagwood trying to get a raise, and Blondie trying to buy new furniture.
This was the first of 28 films based on the comic strip; Columbia Pictures produced them from 1938 to 1943, and popular demand brought them back in 1945. [1] When the Blondie film series came to an end with Beware of Blondie in 1950, it was announced as being replaced with a series of Gasoline Alley movies. However, only two such films were made, Gasoline Alley (1951) and Corky of Gasoline Alley (1951). Columbia then reissued the Blondie features, beginning with the first film in the series.
Columbia used the series to showcase many of its contract players. Rita Hayworth was featured in Blondie on a Budget; Glenn Ford in Blondie Plays Cupid, Larry Parks and Janet Blair in Blondie Goes to College, Shemp Howard in Blondie Knows Best, and Adele Jergens in Blondie's Anniversary. Other roles were taken by Columbia contractees Doris Houck, Bruce Bennett, Lloyd Bridges, Ann Doran, Stanley Brown, Richard Fiske, Bud Jamison, Eddie Laughton, John Tyrrell, Alyn Lockwood, Jimmy Lloyd, Gay Nelson, and Ross Ford.
Dagwood Bumstead is a good-natured but scatterbrained young salesman at the Dithers Construction company office, with a wife, young son, and dog. He often arrives at work barely on time, after clumsily colliding on foot with the mail carrier.
In this pilot episode, Blondie secretly orders new furniture on credit for their anniversary, not realizing Dagwood is broke because he had helped out a needy friend. Mr. Dithers sends Dagwood to a hotel with orders to have a guest there, Mr. Hazlip, sign a valuable construction contract, but the reluctant Hazlip has the hotel clerk tell Dagwood he is not in.
While lounging on a lobby couch, Dagwood and another gentleman notice that the hotel's vacuum cleaner is broken, and they sneak it into the other man's room where the two of them bond while wasting hours, for fun, trying to repair it, although it's none of their business.
Blondie phones and mistakenly thinks the man's daughter, whom she's never met, is Dagwood's paramour, and asks for a divorce. Meanwhile, Blondie's parents and amorous ex-boyfriend visit her, and the new furniture is repossessed by movers in front of their eyes.
Dagwood, though unlicensed, borrows the parents' car without permission, and collides with a policeman, who notices the stolen vacuum cleaner in it bearing the hotel's name. In court, Blondie pleads with the judge not to jail her husband. To everyone's surprise, the vacuum cleaner gentleman is revealed as the valuable client Mr. Hazlip whom Dagwood had been trying to contact. He willingly signs the Dithers contract, and Blondie negotiates a raise and promotion for Dagwood.
Twenty-eight films were produced by Columbia Pictures between 1938 and 1950:
Blondie was preserved and restored by the UCLA Film and Television Archive. The restoration's funding was provided by the Packard Humanities Institute. The restoration premiered at the UCLA Festival of Preservation in 2022. [2]
Blondie is an American comic strip created by cartoonist Chic Young. The comic strip is distributed by King Features Syndicate, and has been published in newspapers since September 8, 1930. The success of the strip, which features the eponymous blonde and her sandwich-loving husband, led to the long-running Blondie film series (1938–1950) and the popular Blondie radio program (1939–1950).
Dagwood Bumstead is a main character in cartoonist Chic Young's long-running comic strip Blondie. He debuted in the first strip on September 8, 1930.
Blondie is a radio situation comedy adapted from the long-running Blondie comic strip by Chic Young. It stars Arthur Lake as Dagwood Bumstead and, for the majority of its run, Penny Singleton as Blondie Bumstead. The radio program ran on several networks from 1939 to 1950.
Blondie Goes to College is a 1942 American comedy film directed by Frank R. Strayer. The film is a part of the Blondie series, starring Penny Singleton in the title role. It is the tenth of twenty-eight Blondie movies starring Penny Singleton and Arthur Lake.
Blondie Meets the Boss is a 1939 American comedy film directed by Frank R. Strayer and starring Penny Singleton and Arthur Lake.
Blondie Has Servant Trouble is a 1940 American comedy film directed by Frank R. Strayer and starring Penny Singleton and Arthur Lake. It is sixth of the series of 28 Blondie movies.
Blondie for Victory is a 1942 American comedy film directed by Frank R. Strayer and starring Penny Singleton and Arthur Lake. It is the 12th entry in the Blondie series.
Blondie Takes a Vacation is a 1939 American black-and-white comedy film directed by Frank R. Strayer and starring Penny Singleton, Arthur Lake, and Larry Simms. The film is based on Chic Young's comic strip of the same name.
Blondie Brings Up Baby is a 1939 American comedy film directed by Frank R. Strayer and starring Penny Singleton, Arthur Lake, Larry Simms. It is the fourth of 28 films based on the comic strip.
Blondie on a Budget is a 1940 American comedy film directed by Frank R. Strayer and starring Penny Singleton, Arthur Lake and Rita Hayworth. It is the fifth entry into the long-running Blondie series of films, which ran between 1938 and 1950.
Blondie Goes Latin, also known as Conga Swing, is a 1941 American comedy film directed by Frank R. Strayer and Robert Sparks and starring Penny Singleton, Arthur Lake, and Larry Simms. It is the eighth of the Blondie films. The film showcases musical numbers of Kirby Grant, Ruth Terry, Tito Guizar, with Arthur Lake displaying his drum skills, Penny Singleton her singing and dancing prowess.
Blondie in Society is a 1941 American comedy film directed by Frank R. Strayer and starring Penny Singleton, Arthur Lake, and Larry Simms. It is the ninth of the 28 features in the Blondie film series released by Columbia Pictures.
It's a Great Life is a 1943 black-and-white film and is the 13th of the 28 Blondie films. It is one of only two movies in the series that did not feature "Blondie" in the title.
Footlight Glamour is a 1943 black-and-white film and the 14th of the 28 Blondie films. It is one of only two movies in the series that did not feature "Blondie" in the title. It was the last film in the "Blondie" series for:
Leave It to Blondie is a 1945 American comedy film directed by Abby Berlin and starring Penny Singleton, Arthur Lake and Larry Simms. It was fifteenth of the twenty eight series of Blondie films released by Columbia Pictures.
Life with Blondie is a 1945 American black-and-white domestic comedy film and the 16th of the 28 Blondie films. It was the return of Dagwood and Blondie after Columbia Picture's 1943 decision to cancel the series met with protest.
Blondie's Lucky Day is a 1946 American comedy film directed by Abby Berlin and starring Penny Singleton, Arthur Lake, Larry Simms, Marjorie Ann Mutchie. It is the 17th of the 28 Blondie films.
Blondie's Reward is a 1948 American comedy film directed by Abby Berlin and starring Penny Singleton, Arthur Lake, Larry Simms, and Marjorie Ann Mutchie. It is the twenty-third of the 28 Blondie films.
Beware of Blondie is a 1950 American black and white comedy film and is the last of Columbia's 28 Blondie films in 12 years.
The Blondie film series is an American comedy film series based on the comic strip of the same name, created by Chic Young. The series featured Penny Singleton as Blondie Bumstead and Arthur Lake as Dagwood Bumstead. Concurrently the film adventures were continued, with the same cast reprising their roles, in the Blondie radio series.
Blondie Goes to Hollywood, by Carol Lynn Scherling. Albany, 2010. BearManor Media. ISBN 978-1-59393-401-9.