Blondie (film)
Encyclopedia
Blondie is a 1938 movie directed by Frank Strayer, based on the comic strip of the same name
. The screenplay was written by Chic Young
and Richard Flournoy.
This was the first of 28 films based on the comic strip; Columbia Pictures
produced them from 1938 to 1943, and popular demand brought them back in 1945. When the Blondie film series came to an end with Beware of Blondie in 1950, it was announced that it would be replaced with a series of Gasoline Alley
movies. However, only two such films were made, Gasoline Alley (1951) and Corky of Gasoline Alley (1951). Columbia then reissued the Blondie features, beginning with the very first film in the series.
Columbia used the series to showcase many of its talented contract players. Rita Hayworth
was featured in Blondie on a Budget; Glenn Ford
in Blondie Plays Cupid, Larry Parks
and Janet Blair in Blondie Goes to College, Shemp Howard in Blondie Knows Best and Adele Jergens
in Blondie's Anniversary. Other roles were taken by Columbia contractees Bruce Bennett
, Lloyd Bridges
, Ann Doran
, Stanley Brown, Richard Fiske
, Bud Jamison
, Eddie Laughton
, John Tyrrell
, Alyn Lockwood, Jimmy Lloyd
, Gay Nelson and Ross Ford
.
Blondie (comic strip)
Blondie is an American comic strip created by cartoonist Chic Young. Distributed by King Features Syndicate, the strip has been published in newspapers since September 8, 1930...
. The screenplay was written by Chic Young
Chic Young
Murat Bernard Young , better known as Chic Young, was an American cartoonist who created the popular, long-running comic strip Blondie. His 1919 William McKinley High School Yearbook cites his nickname as Chicken, source of his familiar pen name and signature...
and Richard Flournoy.
This was the first of 28 films based on the comic strip; Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
produced them from 1938 to 1943, and popular demand brought them back in 1945. When the Blondie film series came to an end with Beware of Blondie in 1950, it was announced that it would be replaced with a series of Gasoline Alley
Gasoline Alley
Gasoline Alley is a comic strip created by Frank King and currently distributed by Tribune Media Services. First published November 24, 1918, it is the second longest running comic strip in the US and has received critical accolades for its influential innovations...
movies. However, only two such films were made, Gasoline Alley (1951) and Corky of Gasoline Alley (1951). Columbia then reissued the Blondie features, beginning with the very first film in the series.
Columbia used the series to showcase many of its talented contract players. Rita Hayworth
Rita Hayworth
Rita Hayworth was an American film actress and dancer who attained fame during the 1940s as one of the era's top stars...
was featured in Blondie on a Budget; Glenn Ford
Glenn Ford
Glenn Ford was a Canadian-born American actor from Hollywood's Golden Era with a career that spanned seven decades...
in Blondie Plays Cupid, Larry Parks
Larry Parks
Larry Parks was an American stage and movie actor. He was born Samuel Klausman Lawrence Parks. His career was virtually ended when he admitted to having once been a member of a Communist party cell, which led to his blacklisting by all Hollywood studios.-Background:Parks grew up in Joliet,...
and Janet Blair in Blondie Goes to College, Shemp Howard in Blondie Knows Best and Adele Jergens
Adele Jergens
Adele Jergens was an American actress.Born in Brooklyn, New York, Jergen's birth date is sometimes listed as 1922. Jergens first rose to prominence in the late 1930s, when she was named "Miss World's Fairest" at the 1939 New York World's Fair...
in Blondie's Anniversary. Other roles were taken by Columbia contractees Bruce Bennett
Bruce Bennett
Bruce Bennett was an American actor and Olympic silver medalist shot putter. During the 1930s, he went by his real name, Herman Brix .-Early life and Olympics:...
, Lloyd Bridges
Lloyd Bridges
Lloyd Vernet Bridges, Jr. was an American actor who starred in a number of television series and appeared in more than 150 feature films. Bridges is best known for his role of Mike Nelson in Sea Hunt, the most-popular syndicated American TV series in 1958...
, Ann Doran
Ann Doran
Ann Lee Doran was an American character actress.-Early life and career:Born in Amarillo, Texas, Doran began acting at the age of four. She appeared in hundreds of silent films under assumed names to keep her father's family from finding out about her work...
, Stanley Brown, Richard Fiske
Richard Fiske
Richard Fiske was an American film actor. He appeared in over 80 films between 1938 and 1942.-Career:Born Thomas Richard Potts, Fiske was born to Frank and Bernice Potts...
, Bud Jamison
Bud Jamison
Bud Jamison was an American film actor. He appeared in 450 films between 1915 and 1944.-Career:...
, Eddie Laughton
Eddie Laughton
Eddie Laughton was a British-born American film actor. Born in Sheffield, West Riding of Yorkshire, England, Laughton appeared in over 200 films between 1935 and 1952.-Career:...
, John Tyrrell
John Tyrrell (actor)
John Tyrrell was an American film actor. He appeared in over 250 films between 1935 and 1947.-Career:Tyrrell is best known for his prolific work with Columbia Pictures in the Three Stooges short subjects. Like many actors in the Stooge comedies, Tyrrell was a salaried contract player...
, Alyn Lockwood, Jimmy Lloyd
Jimmy Lloyd
James Lloyd , is a British former boxer. Representing the United Kingdom, Lloyd was the Welterweight bronze medalist at the 1960 Rome Olympic Games, losing in the semfinals to Nino Benvenuti of Italy. Lloyd was also the ABA Light middleweight champion in 1962.- External links :...
, Gay Nelson and Ross Ford
Ross Ford
Ross William Ford is a professional rugby union player who plays as hooker for both Edinburgh and Scotland. He signed for Edinburgh after starting his professional career with the Border Reivers, but after the Reivers disbandment in the summer of 2007, Ford was left without a club...
.
Cast
- Penny SingletonPenny SingletonPenny Singleton was an American film actress. Born Marianna Dorothy Agnes Letitia McNulty in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania she was the daughter of an Irish-American newspaperman Benny McNulty — from whom she received the nickname "Penny" because she was "as bright as a penny".During her sixty...
as Blondie Bumstead - Arthur LakeArthur Lake (actor)Arthur Lake was an American actor known best for bringing Dagwood Bumstead, the bumbling husband of Blondie, to life in film, radio and television.-Early life and career:...
as Dagwood BumsteadDagwood BumsteadDagwood Bumstead is a main character in comic artist Chic Young's long-running comic strip Blondie. He first appeared sometime prior to 17 February 1933.... - Larry Simms as Dagwood "Baby Dumpling" Bumstead Jr.
- Marjorie Kent as Cookie Bumstead
- Gene LockhartGene LockhartEugene "Gene" Lockhart was a Canadian character actor, singer, and playwright. He also wrote the lyrics to a number of popular songs.-Early life:...
as Clarence Percival "C.P." Hazlip - Jonathan HaleJonathan HaleJonathan Hale was a Canadian-born film and television actor.-Career:Born Jonathan Hatley in Ontario, Canada, Hale was well known as Dagwood Bumstead's boss, Julius Caesar Dithers, in the Blondie film series in the 1940s. He is also notable for playing Inspector Farnack in various The Saint films...
as J.C. Dithers - Gordon OliverGordon OliverGordon Oliver was an American actor and film producer. He appeared in over 45 films and television shows between 1933 and 1972.-Selected filmography:* West of Shanghai...
as Chester Franey - Danny Mummert as Alvin Fuddle
- Kathleen LockhartKathleen LockhartKathleen Lockhart was an English-born stage actress.She was born Kathleen Arthur in Southsea, Hampshire in England. An actress and musician, Kathleen got her start on the stage in England and then immigrated to the United States in 1924, upon her marriage to Canadian-born actor Gene Lockhart...
as Mrs. Miller (Blondie's mother) - Ann DoranAnn DoranAnn Lee Doran was an American character actress.-Early life and career:Born in Amarillo, Texas, Doran began acting at the age of four. She appeared in hundreds of silent films under assumed names to keep her father's family from finding out about her work...
as Elsie Hazlip - Dorothy Moore as Dorothy "Dot" Miller (Blondie's sister)