Customer Reviews

Blondie, Vols. 1 and 2

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

after reading some of the reviews of this item i was hesitant in purchasing it, but i decided to buy it anyway and i am happy with my purchase, while the set does lack dvd quality, it is equal to vhs quality and therefore watchable enough to enjoy, picture is clear and audio is good, for the cost of the item i cannot complain and am able to sit back, watch and enjoy these films, there are five movies on the first disc, and five on the second, apparently the first ten movies in the series, it is also very convenient to have all ten movies on two disc, so far i have watched six movies and saw the platinum logo once on the screen for a couple minutes, if you want blondie and dagwood, with a cost as low as this you might want to consider buying the set as we may never see a high quality dvd produced, possibly there is not a huge enough market out there for this item, i hope this review has been helpful

I purchased both DVD's, even though some of the reviews were bad. But I was so delighted when I played them. They are of good quality both the picture and sound. I watched the Blondie movies years ago on TV and can now enjoy them anytime I want. I recommend these 2 DVD's to anyone who is a Blondie fan. It is well worth the money.
Sally Anne CT

One of the downfalls of cable TV is that the sort of black and white shows that stations used to broadcast on Sunday afternoons aren't on anymore. One reason for that, of course, is that film stock is very volatile, and it's only Ted Turner's efforts to preserve them that has resulted in so many great films on Turner Classic Movies, and now luckily making their way to DVD.

This is not one of those carefully restored films, and the complaints about Platinum Disc Corporation's DVDs are valid. Having said that, if you're not a purist, you'll probably greatly enjoy these films, originally run by King Features as the Blondie show. Here are ten episodes on two discs in a box set at a fantastically low price. I remember having seen a Blondie show and was very excited to get this set from Amazon, but I thought it couldn't be as good as I remembered it. I was wrong. It's better. This is one of the best black and white era shows. Penny Singleton brings Chic Young's comic to life, but Arthur Lake is also amazing as Dagwood.

These shows start with a preview which often gives away the show. Good time to make a sandwich (a Dagwood) before the opening titles come on. Platinum's versions are clearly not like the upscale Criterion Collection, but look at the price difference. I've found many enjoyable films in their inexpensive comedy collections I would otherwise never have discovered, the sort of thing they used to show on Sunday afternoons. Until Ted or someone restores these films, thanks to Platinum for Blondie.

I paid $4.88 for each volume of this set because I really wanted to see the Blondie films. When I was younger they only ever played in the middle of the night if at all. I wasn't expecting much from the set given the label that put them out and the fact that a DVD under $5 is usually not worth the money. Also, the packaging said it was a TV Series and the total running time of the set was 72 minutes.

Having said that, I still give it 4 stars because it really is the Blondie movies and the quality of sound and picture are great. Unfortunately they chop off the end credits but the movie is over by then so that's okay. The stars of these films are really Baby Dumpling and Daisy but Dagwood and Blondie have their moments. The only drawback is that there's only 10 of the 28 issued films!

I took off one star for the chopped ending and the fact that at the beginning of each movie you get a preview for a scene in the movie and that makes you think you've missed something. Just fast forward through that and you're good to go. My kids got a hoot out of Blondie Takes A Vacation and they want to see more.

You won't be disappointed. Hopefully a restored box set will come out or at least a volume 3, 4, and 5 so we can get the remaining features.

Anyone who is a fan of the comic strip Blondie would love to watch this movie; starring Penny Singleton in the title role, and Arthur Lake as Dagwood Bumstead. This is directed by Frank Strayer, and the screenplay was written by the creator of comic strip Chic Young in collaboration with Richard Flournoy. A total of 28 films were produced from 1938 to 1950, with the two leading characters and their young son named Alexander "Baby Dumpling" Bumstead (Larry Sims). This DVD set has 10 movies on two discs; Blondie (1938); Blondie Meets the Boss (1939); Blondie Takes a Vacation (1939); Blondie Brings Up Baby (1939); Blondie on a Budget (1940); Blondie Has Servant Trouble (1940); Blondie Plays Cupid (1940); Blondie Goes Latin (1941); Blondie in Society (1941); and Blondie Goes to College (1942). The series regulars also include; Daisy, the dog, Jonathan Hale as Mr. Dithers, Danny Mummert as next door boy genius, Alvin Fuddle; and Irving Bacon as the postman.

"Blondie" is the series opener in which Blondie plans a surprise anniversary party with new living room furniture as a gift to Dagwood, while Dagwood goes to meet the firm's client at his hotel. In the motel he meets a janitor named Clarence "CP" Percival (Gene Lockhart) and his daughter Elsie (Ann Doran), and ends up fixing his vacuum cleaner, and forgetting the reason of his visit. Soon Blondie finds out about this and suspects he is having an affair. Blondie, in the company of her mother Mrs. Miller (Kathleen Lockhart) and sister Dot (Dorothy Moore) gets Dagwood do some real convincing about their suspicion. As seen on the comic strip, Dithers fires Dagwood in this episode and many more times in later episodes of the series.

In "Blondie Meets the Boss" when Bumsteads are looking for their much anticipated vacation, Dithers informs Dagwood that he is needed at the office until Dithers settles a construction deal in Washington D,C. Dagwood upset over the plan resigns, and Blondie finds herself hired to take Dagwood's place. Meanwhile Blondie's visiting sister, Dot (Dorothy Moore) and her boyfriend Freddie (Joel Dean) are in town participate in upcoming dance contest. The spoofs include; Blondie suspecting Dagwood of his infidelity after seeing a picture of him with a female singer of a club, and he ends up dancing with Dot in the contest. Both Blondie and Dagwood, unknowingly screw up Dithers business deal, which eventually turns out be beneficial to the company.

In "Blondie takes a vacation," the Bumsteads get into trouble on the train with a passenger named Harvey Morton (Donald MacBride) who gets irritated by barking Daisy. Upon their arrival at their vacation motel, Blondie and Dagwood are refused accommodations by the manager, who is none other than Mr. Morton. They find another motel run by an elderly couple who are in the middle of a fiscal crisis. When Bumsteads comes to know that Morton is behind this problem, they offer to help with Dagwood as the manager, Blondie as the hostess, and Baby Dumpling with the dirty dishes.

In "Blondie brings up baby," Dagwood gets fired after bungling a business deal. Baby Dumpling is enrolled in school, which makes Blondie restless with her son away from home. In the meanwhile Daisy is caught by dog catchers and sent to the pound where she is adopted by a wealthy family living at an Estate. Then Baby Dumpling skips school and goes looking for Daisy, and worried Bumsteads call police thinking that their son is lost. Meanwhile the estate reports to the police that their wheel chair bound daughter has been kidnapped. While Dagwood is around the estate looking for Baby Dumpling, the family estate calls police thinking he is the kidnapper, and he ends up in jail. Blondie confused with situation thinks that Dagwood is missing too.

"Blondie on Budget" is an episode in which Rita Hayworth stars as Joan Forrester who has some business with Dagwood. While on their way, her car breakdown and Dagwood spend the afternoon at the movies until the car is repaired. While at the theater, Dagwood enters a raffle, which he wins, and he decides to surprise Blondie with a fur coat she wanted to buy. Blondie sees Joan with Dagwood at the department store and misunderstands situation. She packs up her belongings, leaves a "Dear John" letter for Dagwood, and takes Baby Dumpling with her to file for a divorce. The spoofs of the show include a hilarious phone conversation between Marvin Williams (Don Beddoe), the next door neighbor impersonating as Dagwood, with Blondie, when she is under the impression that Dagwood is fishing at a lake with Marvin.

In "Blondie has Servant trouble," Bumsteads offer to spend a weekend in a haunted house to prove to one of Dither's clients that the haunting is false. This show is appropriate for Halloween time as there are spooky instances. On the rainy night Dagwood greet a couple, Eric and Hannah Vaughn (Arthur Hohl and Esther Dale), a middle-aged couple whom the Bumsteads believe are servants. Strange things start to happen after the servants start working at the house. Clothing in the closet disappears, and Dagwood getting a flashlight stuck in his mouth when it is dark, Daisy gets shivers in due to fright. In addition to this, Bumsteads have to deal with a black man named Horatio (Ray Turner) who is staying at the house to get initiated into a club, also disappears in the night mysteriously, and reappears again. This is not only spooky but a lot of fun to watch.

"Blondie Plays Cupid" is a hilarious episode, when the Bumsteads take a family break for the July 4 weekend to spend time with Blondie's aunt Hannah (Leona Roberts) and uncle Abner (Spencer Charters) at their farm. Dagwood nearly misses the train while the Bumsteads end up on the express train to Kingsley which is 72 miles from their destination. As the Bumsteads walk in the middle of nowhere; they are soon picked up by an eloping couple, Charlie Collins and Millie Tucker (Glenn Ford and Luana Walters), who are on their way to get married. Later when marriage ceremony is interrupted by the bride's father (Will Wright) with a shotgun, Blondie hatches a plan to get the two lovers back together again. When Dagwood climbs a ladder to get Millie from her room, he enters the wrong window and comes face to face with the old man and his shotgun!

In "Blondie Goes Latin," Mr. Dithers takes Bumsteads on a cruise trip to South America. Before their departure a business call keeps Dagwood behind to attend an important meeting. As luck would have it, Dagwood could not leave the ship in time, and instead he ends up as a member of the ship's music band. He masquerades in a drag dress as a lady drummer and entertains the passengers of the ship, and misadventures follow wherever Dagwood goes. Penny Singleton sings three songs in this movie.

In "Blondie in society," Dagwood buys himself a Great Dane to cover a $50 debt, and Blondie enters him in a dog show. To everyone's surprise the dog wins the contest and previous owner wants the dog back which results in a big fight between Bumsteads and prior owner. Penny Singleton sings two songs in this episode. Daisy and Chin-up (Great Dane) provide entertainment doing some doggie tricks.

In "Blondie Goes to College," both Dagwood and Blondie enroll as students in a local college leaving Baby Dumpling at a military school. While at the college, they pose as unmarried friends; thus Blondie becomes a love interest of the college football hero, Rusty Bryant (Larry Parks), and Dagwood is romanced by pretty co-ed Laura Wadsworth (Janet Blair). The situation is perfect for another great screwball slapstick, which also casts two other well known actors; Lloyd Bridges as one of the students, named Ben Dixon; and Adele Mara as Babs.

This DVD set with 10 movies is a steal for what it is priced at, and the amount of fun and entertainment you get to enjoy; highly recommended to all fans.

Somebody gave me this for Christmas, and there's so much there, I'm still watching it, about one movie a night, as I get time. The baby, Baby Dumpling, and the dog, Daisy, are amazing to watch - I don't know how they got them to do what they do, but it was way ahead of it's time. I was also pleasantly surprised they have Glenn Ford and Rita Hayworth.

Say what you will about the dupe quality, superimposed ID logo, etc. but these are NOT the original Blondie films as seen in theatres.

In reality, these are butchered versions from a mid-Sixties syndication package, apparently edited down to fit into one-hour TV time slots. The original Columbia Pictures titles have been deleted and replaced with an idiotic jingle and credits, plots seem to pick up in mid-scene several minutes after the original film actually began, and in several cases, key sequences appear to have been excised, resulting in baffling continuity gaps.

That said, Platinum packaging identifies these condensations as "episodes," not movies--and the company is merely re-releasing an abomination, not committing one. And, c'mon, what do you expect for $6?

Even in this chopped-up form, this rarely-seen series is still a lot of fun. The antics of Baby Dumpling, the dog and the neighbor kid are worth the price alone.

I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of this DVD set, in more ways than one.
First, if I've ever seen these before it was when I was too young to remember. I found the comedy fresh, and about as good as an Abbott and Costello movie. Supporting stars in the various movies include Rita Hayworth, Glenn Ford, Gene Lockhart, Lloyd Bridges, Edgar Kennedy, William Frawley, John Qualen, Donald MacBride, and others. But the performance by young Larry Simms as the precocious Baby Dumpling is outstanding, adorable, and hilarious, and so is Daisy the dog. Between these two they put the Blondie movies in that league of films you ought to own - because you'll want to watch them over and over.
Second, two discs include TEN 70 minute movies (not short TV episodes - the total time is not correctly listed on the box). That's $1/movie, about the best DVD bargain you'll find.
Finally, the sound is clear and the video quality surprisingly good for a cheap DVD. I've got many older movies on DVD and they're often scratchy and noisy; not these Blondie movies which almost look like they've been re-mastered like the high-end DVDs.
I'm buying a second set for my brother's family for Christmas.

Don't take a chance on these discs as I did...wait for a studio release of the movies instead.

Platinum has done the type of job which could be expected of them...poor.

First, the transfer was made, not with the original films, but with the syndicated television versions of later years. Thus, each movie starts with excerpts from the movie to follow, and then with the King Features Syndicate opening credit sequence.

The picture on these transfers are muted grays. Never do any of the blacks look black, or whites look white.

WORST OF ALL, concerning the video portion....Platinum has elected to place a company logo "bug" in the lower right hand corner...just the type of nonsense that one buys DVD's to avoid!!!!

The sound is equally poor...a steady stream of background noise appears throughout the movie, and the volume must be turned up to hear the dialogue.

All in all, this is a set to avoid, regardless of your feeling toward these movies.

I don't understand all the negative reviews about this Blondie DVD set. Yes, the picture is not exactly DVD quality, yes, that little Platinum logo appears at the lower corner of the screen, and yes, the scripts are a little cheesy (but come on, they were made in the late 30's and early 40's what do you expect?, but who cares? For me, it was a breath of fresh air to see the Blondie movies on DVD, bringing back a lot of memories of sitting in front of the telly every Sunday morning at noon. Despite the flaws in quality, which I consider to be very minimal, it's refreshing to to see a delightful, wholesome alternative to all of the crap on TV's these days. I strongly recommend this set, especially for those with families, these are movies kids of the new generation can enjoy...