User Reviews

BLONDIE IN THE DOUGH (Columbia, 1947), directed by Abby Berlin, the 21st installment to the popular series based on the comic strip characters created by Chic Young, is as predictable as it comes with some neat twists and turns. It also marked a welcome return of veteran character actor Hugh Herbert, who earlier appeared in a the 14th "Blondie" comedy titled IT'S A GREAT LIFE (1943). This time, he assumes a different character role with mannerisms basically the same as before, but with some added wrinkles to them.

In what is labeled to be one of the weaker entries, the story has George M. Radcliffe (Jerome Cowan), once again, firing Dagwood (Arthur Lake), for lousing up a big business deal while acting as caddy for J. T. Thorpe (Clarence Kolb) at the golf course, leaving his wife Blondie (Penny Singleton) no choice but to go into business for herself. Because she is met with compliments regarding her home baked cookies, she decides to go into the cookie business. While doing her grocery shopping, she makes the acquaintance with a kindly old gentleman named Llewellyn Simmons (Hugh Herbert), whose first love is cooking and baking. Unknown to her and everyone else, he happens to be the president of a biscuit company. Very much interested in her proposed cookie business, Simmons returns home with her, assisting Blondie with her baking. As for Dagwood, he acquires a new skill by studying to become a radio repairman. After he sets up the short-wave radio in the attic, Blondie decides on going over her advertisement slogan promoting "Blondie's cookies." As she recites aloud to her family, Llewellyn rests his arm on the switch with Blondie's reading actually being broadcast the very moment a paid ad is scheduled to go on, an ad promotion for the product from none-other than Mr. Thorpe. Thorpe hires special investigators to locate this Blondie person, and eventually they do, taking her, along with her children, Alexander (Larry Simms) and Cookie (Marjorie Kent), to appear for questioning. Things get a little hectic when Dagwood finds his house empty, Llewellyn coming to Blondie's aide taking Daisy and the pups with him, and Radcliffe keeping Thorpe from learning Blondie to be the wife of his ex-employee or else risk losing his account.

In spite the fact that the series was heading through a slow process of decline, loyal viewers will find this to be another enjoyable, laugh-filled theatrical episode, thanks to some funny slapstick involved. One scene in particular finds Dagwood meeting with disaster (again!) while attempting to install a short-wave radio antenna on the roof with his son, Alexander, assisting his "Pop," by holding the rope from the bedroom to prevent him from losing balance and slipping off. At that moment, his Mom calls upstairs for Alexander to do an errand for her. He tells her, "If I go now, something will happen." After she replies to him that "something will happen" if he doesn't come right now. Alexander lets go of the rope, followed by loud sounds and screams of Dagwood slipping and crashing to the front lawn. As he gets up, he finds something had broken his fall. It's Mr. Beasley (Eddie Acuff), the postman, laying flat underneath him. This is one of the few highlights of the evening, in fact, the one used as the clip prior to the opening credits to the edited TV sing-along version substituting for the original theatrical opening with the Columbia logo. Other gags found in BLONDIE IN THE DOUGH come off a bit forced and silly at times, especially Hugh Herbert's bewildered character sporting chefs hat stirring the dough and doing his double talk about making "better bitter butter;" as well as the manner in which Radcliffe fires Dagwood by nodding "yes, yes, yes "while Dagwood nods continuously and sadly "no, no no."

Series regulars include Danny Mummert as next door neighbor, Alvin Fuddow; Alyn Lockwood as Mary, the operator; along with William Forrest as Robert Dixon; Kernan Cripps (Mr. Baxter); Fred Sears (Mr. Quinn); Hal K. Dawson (Mr. Taylor); and John Hamilton (best known as Perry White in the "Superman" TV series of the 1950s) seen briefly as one of the board members. Norman Phillips substitutes for Jack Rice as Ollie Merton in this sole entry.

BLONDIE IN THE DOUGH along with 27 others in the series, formerly distributed on video cassette through King Features, had a successful run every Sunday morning on American Movie Classics (1996 to 2001). Next installment: BLONDIE'S ANNIVERSARY with everything predictable except for Blondie's cookies. (**)

Most of the Blondie and Dagwood films are poorly named...as if a random title was slapped onto the movies. However, this one is perfectly named as Blondie goes into the cookie business and does quite well. As for Dagwood, he does everything wrong and yet, somehow, by the end everything is fine....just like Curious George.

When the film begins, Mr. Radcliffe is trying to sign a very grouchy radio station owner to build a larger station. Not surprisingly, during this golf game/business meeting Dagwood is a menace...and the station owner is clearly a short-tempered jerk. After a while, not surprisingly, Dagwood manages to get himself fired (what else is new???) but instead of trying to get his job back, he takes a correspondence course to become a radio engineer. Not surprisingly, this ends up causing all sorts of trouble with the station and Blondie's new business. So how is all this sorted out by the end?

A very enjoyable outing. A starring guest is Hugh Herbert, a supporting actor who can either be quite annoying or delightful. Fortunately, he is the latter this time. Also enjoyable is Clarence Kolb, as the perennially angry station owner. Overall, a nice film...and one of the better ones in the series.

Plot- The Bumsteads need extra money after Dagwood loses his job, so now each branches out into new, laugh-strewn territory.

So, Dagwood leaves his former office and fumbles into radio technology, of all things - so please hide your antenna and turn off the sound! And do not, I repeat, do not meet him on the golf course, especially if he's carrying a golf bag. Meanwhile, Blondie looks around the kitchen for more dough-making possibilities.

Anyway, it's a typical B&D ditz fest. Maybe the plot's a little more complicated than usual, the ace supporting players hustling in and out almost at random. Then too, frumpy baker Hugh Herbert gets extra spotlight for doing his goofy dough-mix. Still, he gets a suprise identity climax, that may not be very credible, but who cares since it's the laughs that count.

Good thing Blondie's around to throw an occasional sanity net on hubby and Herbert. After all, her character is half ditzy Dagwood, the fortunate other half being sane and caring housewife. It's this split personality that roots the comedy in a semblance of every-day reality.

Meanwhile, catch up with furry Daisy and her stampeding litter as they hit their marks on cutesy cue - I hope they got extra kibbles and their trainer a big bonus. Anyway, it's a chuckle-filled hour from one of America's all-time fun couples. So catch up with it, if you can.

Blondie In The Dough finds Dagwood Bumstead up to his usual bumbling ways. Arthur Lake and Jerome Cowan are going out on a golf outing with a new client Clarence Kolb. Of course Kolb is his usual irascible self, but watching this I think that Dagwood was really put upon. After all whatever you think of him he is a professional. So when Dagwood finds out it's a twosome and not a foursome for golf he should have stood up for himself. Worse than that Cowan should have stood up for him. What right did Kolb have to use him for a caddy? And of course Dagwood makes his usual botch at being a caddy.

Which gets him fired. But the Bumsteads are ready this time. Dagwood has been taking a correspondence course in radio engineering so he can have a new profession. In the meantime to pay for a new stove they've bought, Penny Singleton starts baking cookies to sell with the help of a kindly old eccentric gentleman she met at the grocery store played by Hugh Herbert. Hugh Herbert and eccentric is one of filmdom's biggest redundancies.

This is one of the best of the Blondie series. Of course it all works out in the end for the Bumsteads. But it should have put the Bumsteads on easy street for the rest of their lives. Then again if it did there would be no more Blondie films.

Eddie Acuff plays their long suffering mailman. This film shows that a Bumstead can come at you from any direction. You'll have to watch the movie to see what I mean.

This is the twenty-first in the Blondie series. In this one, Dag is a caddy for a radio station owner. Blondie goes into business when she gets compliments on her cookies. (This is decades before her comic strip self and neighbor Tootsie Woodley start a catering business!) And Hugh Herbert-previously in series entry It's a Great Life-returns as another funny befuddled character. This was perhaps the funniest of the series so far. Maybe the fact Arthur Marx-yes, Groucho's son-is one of the writers is a reason. Or maybe director Abby Berlin had a bit more comic rhythm this time. Whatever it was, I found myself laughing mostly all the way through. So on that note, I highly recommend Blondie in the Dough. P.S. As with the previous two entries, a line mentions Mr. Dithers as the previous owner of the construction business. This may have been put in to remind audiences that the movie series isn't completely following the canon of the comic strip or the radio series that was running at the same time where Mr. Dithers was still present on that show and Arthur Lake was playing Dagwood there as well. Blondie, however, would be played by Arthur's wife Patricia Van Cleve as well as Ann Rutherford for a season instead of Penny Singleton by the time the series ended on those airwaves in 1950.