Blondie Weekend

I have discussed the Blondie films based on the comic strip because one retro station shows a film every Saturday morning. This weekend, Catchy TV, the retro comedy channel, has a "weekend binge" of Blondie.

Last week, we had Petticoat Junction, opening with a documentary from around 2000. It had many cast members (the third blonde sister had died shortly before). This time, the binge had the run of the first Blondie TV show (which had the actor who played Dagwood in the films, looking mostly the same*) and then many of the films. 

There is a second series from the late 1960s, which you can find on YouTube. From what I can see, it wasn't very good, and the leads do not remind you much of Dagwood and Blondie. The first series Blondie also looks more 1950s housewife than Blondie. The movie version, I guess, at times looks the part. But, the comic version is more sexy looking. 

The first television series is okay. Herb -- the neighbors are barely in the films and they are not friends of the Bumsteads -- is portrayed as always trying to con Dagwood in some moneymaking scheme. His wife is friends with Blondie like in the comic strip. 

The original comic strip plot was that Dagwood was the son of an industrialist and Blondie was seen as a golddigger type. His family disinherited him for marrying her. In the film series, they met in high school, and that was not mentioned. 

Blondie Goes Latin is one of the films being run today on Catchy TV. The film involves Mr. Dithers taking the Bumsteads with him for a vacation cruise -- if he is trying to relax, that is a curious decision.  It's available on YouTube.

The film is music and dancing heavy. A subplot includes Dagwood filling in as a drummer and a Latin singer also is mixed into the plot. Except for a prologue of sorts, it takes place at or on a ship. 

Dagwood plays the drum and dances some. Baby Dumpling sings a duet with a girl who plays the piano. Blondie sings and dances (the actress did musical theater; Blondie sings in another film as well.... they should have used her talents more). Heck, even the dog did a dance move! 

All of this is fun. The beginning has an amusing bit about Dagwood running into the mailman and his shaving cream is knocked on the mailman's face. Then, the mailman runs into the cab driver, and that repeats! The film has the usual jokes. 

It also has the usual (and so very tired) confusion where Blondie thinks Dagwood is cheating on her. This is so asinine -- her doofus loyal husband would never do that. In each case, there is some good explanation, except once when he models in a bathing suit with some bathing beauty types. Still, the jealousy does lead to a good music number.

(A rather risque bit has her telling the Latin singer to "make love" to her -- he rightly is like "what" -- and what she means is that he wants to act like he is in love with her. They earlier had a pretty sexy duet, singing a love song, which is justified in that Blondie is thinking of Dagwood.) 

Overall, it is one of the best films in the series. 

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* The first series was a one-season run in the late 1950s, almost twenty years after the beginning of the film series. 

A little documentary I found on YouTube -- does not talk about the animated specials in the 1980s (when the original Blondie was still alive / she voiced the Jetsons film, but they went with Loni Anderson) -- referenced there was a failed attempt to have a series in the early 1950s.

Then, the original Blondie was interested, but only if the original Dagwood would join in. But, he wasn't interested. A pilot was later aired with a different actor and the same actress who did the ultimate series. Didn't work. Then, they tried it with Arthur Lake, and they didn't need Penny Singleton (the original Blondie).  

The second series, which ran a half-season, did have Mr. Howell / Mr. Magoo in the Mr. Dithers role.  His real-life wife played his wife in the series. Too bad they couldn't add an episode here.