Blondie (1938)

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Movie
Original title Blondie
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1938
length 70 minutes
Rod
Director Frank R. Strayer
script Richard Flournoy
production Robert Sparks
music Leigh Harline
camera Henry Freulich
cut Gene Havlick
occupation

and without mentioning in the opening credits: Stanley Andrews , Irving Bacon , Willie Best , Edgar Dearing , James Flavin , Bud Jamison , Charles Lane , Emory Parnell , John Rand and Ian Wolfe

chronology

Successor  →
Blondie Meets the Boss

Blondie is an American comedy film in black and white from 1938. Directed by Frank R. Strayer , the screenplay was written by Richard Flournoy based on the comics of the same name by Chic Young . The main roles were played by Penny Singleton and Arthur Lake . Blondie is the first film in the film series of the same name.

action

Shortly after Dagwood Bumstead rushed out of the house on the way to work as usual and ran the postman down again, his wife Blondie can prepare the surprise for the fifth wedding anniversary: ​​She agrees to buy new furniture in the house swap what costs them only $ 22.80 - per month, as she later discovered with surprise. Dagwood has other problems now. He had vouched for his former colleague Elsie Watson. She borrowed $ 563.80 with the guarantee from a credit company and then disappeared. Now Dagwood has to pay for the debt, but he can't. So he asks his boss, Mr. Dithers, for a raise, but the latter refuses. Since Dithers is unsuccessful in seeking a contract with CP Hazlip, he offers Dagwood a $ 10 raise and a $ 600 bonus if he acquires that contract for the company . Hazlip is known to be very dismissive of agents. Dithers sends Dagwood to the Hotel Brinkley, where Hazlip is staying in a suite .

While Dagwood is waiting in the hotel lobby for the unknown Hazlip, he notices a page who is unsuccessfully trying to repair a vacuum cleaner. Like Hazlip, who happens to be sitting next to him, he is of the opinion that he can do better. When the page has to leave for a moment, Dagwood and Hazlip secretly bring the vacuum cleaner to Hazlip's suite to be repaired there. But even after hours they fail to do that. Only in the evening when he is back in the lobby does Dagwood find out who he has spent the day with. But even the next day, when the two, again unsuccessfully, work together on the vacuum cleaner, Dagwood Hazlip does not respond to the contract. However, he witnessed how Hazlip rejects another representative with the words to give up the project, which is not true, as he assures Dagwood. Hazlip triggers a rumor that is also reported in a newspaper. Dithers reads this in the paper and quits Dagwood that evening. A visitor is already waiting for him at home; Blondie's mother, Mrs. Miller, and Dot, Blondie's sister, attend the anniversary celebration. Therefore, Blondie, who has since learned from a debt collector that there is something with Dagwood and an Elsie, does not show her jealousy and proudly presents Dagwood with the new furniture. He is shocked by the additional costs and faints. As soon as he is back on his feet, Blondie's former lover Chester Franey arrives, which causes further dispute. When Hazlip's daughter Elsie calls and asks Dagwood something that Dagwood has to answer with "in the bedroom", Blondie's jealousy breaks through. She doesn't believe a word of Dagwood's explanations and runs to her bed, crying. Dagwood, who wants to prove his innocence, goes to Hazlip and his daughter to get them to help. To do this, without asking beforehand, he takes Mrs. Miller's new car. She quickly notices that her car is gone and calls the police.

Hazlip and Elsie agree to help Dagwood, but want to get rid of the vacuum cleaner so they take it with them. But then Dagwood, who is driving a car for the first time, drives into a police car. Dagwood and Hazlip are arrested because he does this with a car that has been reported as stolen and in which there is also a vacuum cleaner that has also been reported as stolen; they have to spend the night in jail. The next morning they are on trial. There Blondie intervenes and clears up the misunderstanding with the car. She explains the vacuum cleaner with Dagwood's drive to take things apart and put them back together again. So she obtains an acquittal for Dagwood and Hazlip. Mr. Dithers arrives at the courthouse to ask Hazlip about the contract. He just says that he would make the contract with Dagwood, and leaves. So Dithers is hiring Dagwood again. But Blondie negotiates new conditions: $ 20 more wages and a $ 5,000 bonus. But Dithers demands that she send Dagwood to work at a reasonable time in the future.

background

From 1930 the stories about Blondie appeared as comic strips , written by Chic Young . Columbia acquired the film rights in 1938. For the adaptation of the comic strips Aurania Rouverol was initially intended, but eventually the script came from Richard Flournoy , who made adjustments to the zeitgeist. The marriage of the disinherited playboy and flapper turned the comic strips into a high school love that had led to the wedding.

For the role of Dagwood were Eddie Quillan , Jack Albertson and Stuart Erwin talking before Arthur Lake got the role. As Blondie were Gloria Blondell and Una Merkel traded until you look for Shirley Deane decided. When she got sick, Penny Singleton stepped in .

For Production Design in Blondie was Lionel Banks responsible decorator set was Babs Johnstone . The costumes came from Kalloch . According to the credits , Robert Sparks was only an associated producer , but he appears there as the only producer . Film sites such as those of the American Film Institute proceed in a similar way . In some reviews he is simply named as a producer .

Blondie was produced from September 12th to October 7th, 1938 and premiered on November 30th, 1938. The film was produced and distributed by Columbia . Nothing is known about a performance in German-speaking countries.

reception

Reviews

The contemporary reviews rated Blondie positively. It is an amusing comedy that most people will enjoy because it deals in a funny way with problems that many families should know about. A particularly fine first episode of the series that brings a lot of laughs and constant smiles. In general, there are signs that Columbia has come across a gold mine that could be successful for a long time. At least there is a big market for the series because many people follow the comic strips in the daily newspapers. The characters are not as exaggerated as in the comic strips, but you can recognize them. So far, Penny Singleton, Arthur Lake and Larry Simms have not made a lot of money, but the series could change that if it continues like this. In general, Larry Simms' choice was particularly successful, and the dog was also good. The script and the direction are also good.

In retrospect, the film is seen as a gentle and balanced comedy that is more aimed at smiling than laughing, and not as farcical as later episodes. It is simply a good episode that is sure to amuse a lot of people, a typically amusing act. Hal Erickson also points out the ideal cast, especially praising Larry Simms, who was five years old at the time.

Financial

Blondie became a surprise hit. In Arthur Lake's obituary in 1987, Jack Jones stated in the Los Angeles Times that the film was produced for $ 85,000 and grossed $ 9 million. Production costs are roughly confirmed in Carol Lynn Scherling's book Blondie Goes to Hollywood: The Blondie Comic Strip in Films, Radio & Television . She writes that most of the episodes cost between $ 50,000 and $ 75,000, but none over $ 100,000. It is not entirely clear what exactly the $ 9 million grossing result refers to. In the list of the most successful films of all time (limited to the box office hits in the US and Canada), which was published in Variety in 1952 , that number would have been fourth or fifth. In the list of 88 films, however, there is no Blondie film to be found.

consequences

The series of Blondie films ran until 1950 and consists of 28 films. There was also a radio series that ran from 1939 to 1950. There have been four attempts to establish a television series about blondie; the attempts in 1952 and 1954 failed, in 1957 and 1968 short-lived television series emerged. In 1987, the cartoon Blondie & Dagwood was finally released.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Lorraine LoBianco: Blondie (1938) - Articles. In: Turner Classic Movies . Retrieved June 4, 2020 .
  2. ^ A b Gene Blottner: Columbia Pictures Movie Series, 1926-1955: The Harry Cohn Years . McFarland, Jefferson 2012, ISBN 978-0-7864-3353-7 , Blondie, pp. 15–19 (English, limited preview in Google Book Search [accessed June 8, 2020]).
  3. ↑ a b c d e Blondie! (1938). In: AFI Catalog. American Film Institute , accessed June 1, 2020 .
  4. ↑ a b Carol Lynn Scherling: Blonde Goes to Hollywood: The Blondie Comic Strip in Films, Radio & Television . Bear Manor Media, Duncan 2014, ISBN 978-1-59393-401-9 , Blondie's Footlight Glamor (English, limited preview in Google Book Search [accessed June 3, 2020]).
  5. ↑ a b c “Blondie” with Penny Singleton and Arthur Lake . In: Harrison's Reports . November 19, 1938, p.  186 (English, online at Archive.org [accessed June 4, 2020]).
  6. ↑ a b Dennis Schwartz: Blondie. In: Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews. May 1, 2018, accessed June 7, 2020 .
  7. ↑ a b Blondie . In: Variety . November 2, 1938, p.  22 (English, online at Archive.org [accessed June 4, 2020]).
  8. ↑ a b c Hal Erickson : Blondie (1938). In: AllMovie . Retrieved June 1, 2020 .
  9. ↑ Sanderson Beck: Blondie. In: San.Beck.org. Retrieved June 4, 2020 .
  10. ^ Leonard Maltin : Leonard Maltin's Classic Movie Guide . Plume, New York 2015, ISBN 978-0-14-751682-4 , pp.  69 (English).
  11. ↑ Jack Jones: Arthur Lake Dies; 'Blondie' movie star. In: Los Angeles Times . January 10, 1987, accessed June 7, 2020 .
  12. ^ All-Time Top Grossers . In: Variety . January 9, 1952, p.  4 (English, online at Archive.org [accessed June 7, 2020]).