Larry Simms Movies

This film, which is one of a series based on the characters from the Blondie comic strip, finds Dagwood entering the Army Reserve. Blondie visits, only to discover that he has caused all sorts of problems which lead to numerous conflicts. The ORC Training Center, Fort MacArthur, California was used for the setting of this film. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Blondie's Big Deal was the 24th entry in Columbia's popular "Blondie" series. Since the actors were getting a bit too long-in-tooth to be thoroughly convincing in their characterizations, Big Deal is for the most part played on a farcical level. This time around, Dagwood (Arthur Lake) invents a nonflammable paint, much to the delight of his boss Radcliffe (Jerome Cowan), who hopes to snag a lucrative contract. Dishonest competitors plan to sabotage Dag's invention, but Blondie (Penny Singleton) and neighborhood boy-genius Rollo (Alan Dinehart III) do a little detective work and save the day. Director Edward Bernds handles the material in the manner of his "Three Stooges" 2-reelers: At one point, Blondie is decorously tied to a chair by the villains, while at another juncture Dagwood causes an outsized slapstick explosion. Bernds' breezy approach may not have pleased diehard "Blondie" fans, but it turned out to be a much-needed booster shot for this flagging film series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The long-running "Blondie" series was slowly heading into the homestretch when Blondie's Reward came out in 1948. After bungling a real-estate transaction, Dagwood Bumstead (Arthur Lake) is demoted to office boy by his flustered boss Radcliffe (Jerome Cowan). Nor does Dagwood improve the situation by getting into a fight with the son-in-law of a prospective client. Right on cue, Dag's wife Blondie (Penny Singleton) steps in to solve everything for everyone. Based on the comic strip by Chic Young, Blondie's Reward was scripted by Edward Bernds, who was soon to take over as the series' principal director. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This 20th entry in Columbia's long-running "Blondie" series finds poor Dagwood Bumstead (Arthur Lake) in financial trouble once again. Unable to obtain a raise from boss Radcliffe (Jerome Cowan), Dagwood begins "playing the ponies" at the race track, which gets him in trouble with the Law-not to mention his long-suffering wife Blondie (Penny Singleton). But salvation is at hand in the form of bank president Samuel Breckinridge (Grant Mitchell), who expresses a lot of gratitude when Dagwood saves Mrs. Breckinridge (Mary Young), likewise a horse player, from being arrested in a bookie-joint raid. The "regular" cast of the "Blondie" series remains the same as before, with the exception of Bobby Larson, who for this entry only replaces Danny Mummert as Alvin Fuddle. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Blondie decides she wants to be a star and nearly turns her household upside down in this entry in the long-running domestic comedy series. Dagwood has mixed emotions about his wife's theatrical aspirations and eventually he decides to get her to quit. Disaster ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Daisy, the Bumstead's mischievous mutt, makes the family a little extra cash when she wins a contest to become a model for the Navy. From there she becomes the favorite calendar gal. All the attention to the dog, makes Dagwood feel that his position as master of the house is jeopardized. Meanwhile all the attention catches the greedy eyes of gangsters who abduct Daisy. Fortunately, everything works out for the best. This was one of many entries in the comic-strip based series of domestic comedies. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Blondie Knows Best was writer/director Edward Bernds' first entry in the long-running "Blondie" series, and arguably his funniest. The story contrives to have Dagwood Bumstead (Arthur Lake) pose as his boss Mr. Dithers (Jonathan Hale) so that a big business deal can be consummated while Dithers avoids nearsighted process server Jim Gray (Shemp Howard). The upshot of all this is that Dagwood ends up in a lunatic asylum, forcing Blondie (Penny Singleton) to come to the rescue. Ed Bernds was a big fan of comedian Shemp Howard (whom he'd directed in several Columbia 2-reelers) and accordingly he gives Shemp free reign in his scenes, resulting in some hystericially funny moments. Blondie Knows Best represented Jonathan Hale's farewell to the series; in the next entry, Blondie's Big Moment, he would be replaced by Jerome Cowan as Mr. Radcliffe. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Footlight Glamour is one of two "Blondie" series entries in which Blondie's name isn't included in the credits. Otherwise, the film adheres strictly to formula, with Dagwood Bumstead (Arthur Lake) getting into a mess and Dagwood's wife Blondie (Penny Singleton) getting him out of it. This time around, Dagwood's boss Dithers (Jonathan Hale) is hoping that wealthy tool manufacturer Randolph Wheeler (Thurston Hall) will be a war plant on some of Dithers' real estate. Wheeler's daughter Vicki (Ann Savage) wants to be an actress, but her father strongly opposes her pursuing a theatrical career. Trouble begins to brew when Vicki is cast in a community-theatre production written by Blondie, who is unaware of Wheeler's anti-showbiz stance. Poor Dagwood is forced to prevent Wheeler from seeing the play, leading to a slapsticky denouement on opening night. Many of the amateur-theatrical gags (props that don't work, actors who can't remember their lines) are straight out of George Kelly's The Torch Bearers, but they're just as funny the second time around. Particularly amusing is "Blondie" regular Irving Bacon (Mr. Crum the Postman) ineptly portraying a British butler. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Anxious to do her bit for the war effort, Blondie (Penny Singleton) joins the Housewives of America, a home defense league. Husband Dagwood (Arthur Lake) soon finds that Blondie is neglecting her responsibilities at home in favor of her war work; also disgruntled are Dagwood's chauvinistic boss Mr. Dithers (Jonathan Hale) and a newlywed husband (Stu Erwin) whose wife is never home thanks to the defense league. Following a slapstick denouement at a power plant, in which the husbands are shown the error of their macho attitude, Blondie promises to devote more time to Dagwood--but at the same time delivers a patriotic speech to the women in the audience, exhorting them to align with the "Home Front". Blondie for Victory was twelfth in Columbia's series of comedy films based on Chic Young's popular comic strip Blondie. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this grim melodrama, Barbara Stanwyck plays the eldest of three wealthy sisters who become orphans when their father dies in France. Threatened with the danger of losing the opulent family home, Big Sister makes a grand sacrifice and secretly marries a real estate developer so she can inherit her aunt's fortune. A few years later, she learns that he is after the family estate and wants to tear it down so she leaves him and tries to stop him. More time passes and the husband ends up taking her to court when he learns that she has borne him a son without telling him. The part of "Gig Young" was played by actor Byron Barr who later assumed the name before he became famous. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Blondie in Society is another delightful excursion into comic insanity for Blondie (Penny Singleton), Dagwood (Arthur Lake) and Baby Dumpling (Larry Simms). The trouble begins when Dagwood brings home a huge Great Dane as a favor to an old friend. It turns out that the gigantic hound is a pedigree, and that Waldo Pincus (William Frawley), an important client of Dag's boss Mr. Bumstead (Jonathan Hale) would like to buy the dog. Alas, Blondie has already entered her new pet in a dog show, ultimately winning a $500 prize and beating out the previous champion-which, of course, belongs to Mr. Pincus. On the verge of losing his job, Dagwood is rescued one more by the resourceful Blondie, with the help of irascible veterinarian Edgar Kennedy. Like the previous Blondie Goes Latin, Blondie In Society affords Penny Singleton the opportunity to display her musical skills, as she sings two songs with the Mitchell Boys' Choir. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Few of Columbia's "Blondie" films went as far off the beaten path as the bizarre Blondie Has Servant Trouble. Things get under way when Blondie Bumstead (Penny Singleton) demands that her husband Dagwood (Arthur Lake) request a raise from his boss Mr. Dithers (Jonathan Hale), so that Blondie can afford to hire a maid. But Dithers has no time for any salary disputes: his construction firm is currently stuck with an unsaleable old mansion, which is rumored to be haunted. To disprove this theory, Dithers asks the Bumstead family to spend a night in the crumbling old house, throwing a retinue of servants into the bargain. Unfortunately, the mansion's butler is waylaid and replaced by homicidal maniac Vaughn (Arthur Hohl), who spends the rest of the picture stalking Dagwood, Blondie and Baby Dumpling (Larry Simms) with a huge, gleaming knife at the ready! Placing the lovable Bumsteads in dire jeopardy worked rather well in Blondie Has Servant Trouble, but it's just as well that this formula was not repeated too often, as it was in Columbia's Three Stooges and Hugh Herbert 2-reel comedies. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide