Perry Smith

After 12 years and 28 films, Columbia's Blondie series came to a close with 1950's Beware of Blondie. Mr. Dithers leaving Dagwood (Arthur Lake) in charge of the office for a short period. Poor old Dagwood manages to gum things up when he falls for a confidence scam engineered by the duplicitous Toby Clifton (Adele Jergens). He even finds himself in a compromising position that seriously endangers his future connubial happiness with wife Blondie (Penny Singleton). Once again, it's up to Blondie to straighten out the mess. Mr. Dithers is played by an uncredited Edward Earle, who is seen only from the back; Earle's voice is dubbed over with an old recording of Jonathan Hale, the series' original Dithers.

A young man helps a pretty girl search for her stolen horse. (A society boy tries to help a beautiful woman save her horse-breeding farm.)

Dagwood enters the Army Reserve and Blondie visits only to discover that he has caused all sorts of problems which lead to numerous conflicts.

The "Blondie" series reaches Number 26 with Blondie Hits the Jackpot. Fired for messing up an important contract, Dagwood (Arthur Lake) takes a job as a manual laborer for a construction firm. Of interest is the fact that Dagwood and Blondie's son Alexander (Larry Simms), is now shaving and going out with girls--a far cry from his "Baby Dumpling" days in the series' earliest entries.

Treasury Department officials recruit a florist (Raft) to lead them to a wanted criminal (Macready); but once he gets too close, he finds he's the hunted.

In this, the 25th Blondie film, Dagwood accidentally discovers a non-flammable paint. Bad guys Dillon and Stack steal it before he can give it to his boss Radcliffe. To show off his invention, Dagwood paints Radcliffe's house with it and disgraced when the house burns down!

The Prairie is set at the time of the Louisiana Purchase. Hoping to find their destiny in the new territory, the Bush Family heads southward in a covered wagon. Sharing the family's numerous dangers and hardships are Ellen Wade (Lenore Aubert), sole survivor of an Indian attack, and army mapmaker Paul Hover (Alan Baxter). Cousins Abiram (Russ Vincent) and Asa (Jack Mitchum) duke it out over Ellen's affections

A beautician and her crooked boyfriend attempt to rob the bookie operation located in the back room, but when the plan goes wrong, they frame an innocent man.

Although Dale and Ken Bullock should be a happily married couple, their marriage is on the verge of a break-up, because Dale refuses to give up her well-paying job in order to devote more time to Ken and their two children Jimmy, age 9, and Tommy, age 6. They sue for divorce and the Judge rules that the children be placed in the custody of their father. Dale realizes what she has lost but she is too proud to say anything to Ken, whom she still loves. Ken, shopping for the perfect stay-at-home wife to take care of his children, falls for the charms of his secretary, Millie Lynch. Not quite.

Playboy Larry Blendon introduces his grandmother Stella Blendon to his fiancée, radio singer Virginia Berneaux. Despite Larry's record of broken romances and divorces, Virginia decides she will marry him. Virginia is slain that night and Blandon telephones his friend, Philo Vance, to help find the killer.

Dagwood Bumstead (Arthur Lake) poses 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. Number 18 in the long running Blondie series. Blondie Knows Best was writer/director Edward Bernds' first entry in the long-running "Blondie" series, and arguably his funniest. 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

The daughter of a prominent citizen marries an outlaw's son.

Blondie's Lucky Day is the 17th entry in the long-running Blondie film series based on the comic strip by Chic Young. Blondie's Lucky Day, indeed! Not only must Blondie Bumstead (Penny Singleton) put on a brave face when her husband Dagwood (Arthur Lake) is fired for the umpteenth time by Mr. Dithers (Jonathan Hale), but she must also tolerate the attentions paid to Dagwood by pretty WAC Mary Jane McDermott (Angelyn Orr). A whiz in business matters, Mary Jane sets up Dag in his own business, which replenishes the Bumstead coffers but which drives Blondie into a jealous frenzy. The film's highlight occurs early on, when Dagwood assumes Dithers' responsibilities for a single day--and makes a proper mess of things within five minutes.[

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 try and abduct Daisy!

Blackie helps the police rescue hostage from an escaped maniac on a killing spree.

Older but no wiser, Blondie and Dagwood Bumstead enter a songwriting contest. It's all part of a plan to cover charity checks that they've signed separately but can't cover. Along the way, Blondie's blood boils when Dagwood gets innocently mixed up with beautiful music teacher Rita Rogers.

It's World War 2 and saboteurs are out to destroy the ranchers food crop. Steve Travis and sidekick Cannonball have been called in to investigate. Avoiding the attempts on his life by the gang, Steve uses a pair of eyeglasses to discover their leader, a supposedly deaf mute shoe repairman.

Popular mailcoach driver Uncle Willie is in fact in league with the town's crooked banker. They plan to have the bank robbed after emptying it, and when Willie's choice for this doesn't show in time, he gets some local boys to do it. When his man does turn up he decides to stick around, as he is pals with the sheriff and also takes a shine to Willie's daughter Allison. This gives the bad men several new problems.

U.S. Marshal Wild Bill Hickok arrives in Goldfield to arrest Tex Martin, who has been accused of murdering the sheriff. "Hawk" Hammond, the man behind the sheriff's killing, sends his legions of henchmen to lynch Tex before the trail. Wild Bill and Tex escape to a stagecoach rest station run by Reba Bailey. There is a showdown battle at Hammond's saloon but not before Tex gets to sing two songs followed by a third one after the battle.