Blondie The Complete Series (1957) {DVD Review}

Reviewed by: Jason Lockard

When Chic Young's cartoon strip adventures of Blondie and Dagwood first graced the newspapers, it was so loved by the world that Columbia Pictures decided to bring the beloved characters to life on the big screen. They produced 28 features between 1938 and 1950 starring Penny Singleton as Blondie and Arthur Lake as Dagwood.

Less than a decade later  in 1957, legendary Hal Roach Studios brought the comic strip couple to the small screen, with Pamela Britton as Blondie and Arthur Lake reprising his role as Dagwood in this short lived television series. 

This gem seemed all but lost forever. That is until the great folks at ClassicFlix.com rescued this series and decided to give us the complete series on DVD. Let's take a look at what is included in this DVD release.

Our Rating System:
**** = Don’t Miss it!
*** = Worth a look.
** = An OK way to spend 25 minutes.
* = You haven’t missed anything.


DISC 1

Sudden Wealth (1/4/1957) To boost his confidence so he can ask for a raise, Blondie sends a fake telegram to Dagwood making him believe he’s inherited a large sum of money. ****


It’s for the Birds (1/11/1957) Mr. Dithers is hospitalized and leaves Dagwood in charge of a supermarket project. But when nesting birds cause a delay, Mr. Dithers is less than pleased. ***

The Folks Who Came to Dinner (1/18/1957) To save money while having their house redecorated, the Dithers’ move in with the Bumstead’s. ***

The Other Woman (1/25/1957) Dagwood is on the outs with his whole family when he is suspected of seeing another woman.***

Home Sweet Home (2/1/1957) Tired of doing repairs on their house, Dagwood is determined to sell… that is until Blondie puts her foot down. ***

Get That Gun (2/8/1957) After Mr. Dithers promises his wife that he won’t add any more antique guns to his collection, he enlists Dagwood to buy it for him and pretend to give it to him as a present. ***

The Feud (2/15/1957) After Blondie and Harriet go to a woman’s meeting and learn about international relations, they attempt to apply what they learned to resolve a fight between Dagwood and Herb. ***


DISC 2

The Quiz Show  (2/22/1957) Feeling like a failure because he hasn’t done anything famous to make Alexander proud, Dagwood applies to compete in a nationwide quiz show. ***

Husbands Once Removed (3/1/1957) Without a marriage certificate to prove they’re married, Blondie takes advantage of the situation to make Dagwood court her a second time. **

The Payoff Money (3/8/1957) After shopping, Blondie and Harriet get one of their packages mixed up with a bundle of stolen money, and the thieves soon show up at the Bumstead’s intent on recovering their loot. ***

Hard Luck Idol - (3/15/1957) Dagwood’s uncle sends him a statue of an Indian idol that is bad luck to all in its path. ***

Oil for the Lamps of Blondie (3/22/1957) The Bumstead’s receive an ugly lamp from the Dithers’ for their anniversary and promptly return it to the store. But when J.C. and Cora are expected for dinner, Dagwood and family scramble to buy it back. ***

Blondie the Breadwinner (3/29/1957) After refusing Dagwood a raise and letting him go, Mr. Dithers asks Blondie to fill the vacancy left by her husband. ***
 
The Glamour Girl (4/5/1957) A publicity stunt by the agent of a famous actress pegs Dagwood as her long-lost love, and an irresistible ladies man. ***



DISC 3

The Rummage Sale (4/12/1957) When Cora hides her collection of rummage sale items from her husband, Mr. Dithers suspects her to be a helpless kleptomaniac and enlists Dagwood to help. ***

Deception (4/19/1957) After a mix-up at the office, and in order to impress a prospective client, Mr. Dithers trades places with Dagwood, making Bumstead president and himself, a subordinate. ****

Puppy Love (4/26/1957) Alexander has a crush on a classmate and Blondie and Dagwood scheme to help their love-sick son win the girl’s affection. **

Made to Fire (5/3/1957) Blondie hires a maid, but the Bumstead’s soon suspect she might be part of a gang of jewel thieves. ***

Blondie Redecorates (5/10/1957) Dagwood hates the way the living room looks and wants it redecorated, but deciding who should design it, and in what style, complicate matters. ***

Blondie's Double (5/17/1957) After Dagwood is informed by Mr. Dithers that Blondie is moonlighting as a nightclub singer, he takes the necessary steps to save his home. ***


DISC 4

The Spy (5/24/1957) Trying to avoid being caught with secret government microfilm, a spy places the stolen article in Dagwood’s hat. ***

Cupid's Question Column (5/31/1957) Blondie takes over an advice column for a friend and unknowingly answers Dagwood’s letters. **

The Tramp (6/7/1957) J.C. reneges on his promise to give Dagwood fifteen shares of stock, but a kind and worldly tramp comes to the rescue with a plan to outfox the unscrupulous Mr. Dithers. ***

Follow That Man (6/14/1957) After a few mysterious phone calls, Mr. Dithers suspects Dagwood is embezzling money from his company and he hires a detective to get to the bottom of things. ***

The Party (6/21/1957) Alexander’s plans for a more “grown-up” 16th birthday party doesn’t go well and Dagwood and Blondie have to quickly come up with some entertainment to keep his party from being a dud. ***

Howdy Neighbor (6/28/1957) A Texas family moves in next door to Dagwood and Blondie and convince the Bumstead’s to dig for oil on their property. ***

Arthur Lake is perfect as Dagwood. I can't imagine anyone else as Dagwood. Pamela Britton is good as Blondie, not as good as Pamela Singleton, but good. All the actors are well cast. The stories seem just like a typical Blondie and Dagwood adventures. When you watch this series it feels like Blondie and Dagwood leaped off the comic page and onto your TV screen. 

Now for the quality of these episodes. They look and sound stunning. With only 6 or 7 episodes on a disc there is no loss of quality. Each episode is presented in the original full screen format. I appreciate that as you don't get a zoomed in picture. 

I have wanted to see this series for most of my life and now to own the Blondie and Dagwood goodness, is a dream come true. It will have a place of prominence on the shelf beside my Blondie and Dagwood movie series set.

So if you are a classic TV fanatic like me, or if you love Blondie and Dagwood this is an absolute must add to your collection. I can not recommend this one enough. Head over to www.ClassicFlix.com and get your copy today.
 
    Moral Rating: nothing offensive
Audience: families
Genre: comedy, sitcom
Length: Almost 11 hours
DVD Release: 2018
DVD Rating: A