Penny Singleton (Blondie), Arthur Lake (Dagwood), Larry Simms (Alexander), Marjorie Kent (Cookie), Jerome Cowan (George Radcliffe), Hugh Herbert (Llewellyn Simmons), Clarence Kolb (J. T. Thorpe), Danny Mummert (Alvin), Eddie Acuff (mailman), Norman Phillips (Ollie), Kernan Cripps (Baxter), Boyd Davis (1st board member), Mary Emery (Mrs Thorpe), John F. Hamilton (2nd board member), Hal K. Dawson (Taylor, the grocer), Fred F. Sears (Detective Quinn), and "Daisy".
Director: ABBY BERLIN. Screenplay: Arthur Marx, Jack Henley. Story: Arthur Marx. Based on characters created by Chic Young. Photography: Vincent Farrar. Film editor: Henry Batista. Music director: Mischa Bakaleinikoff. Producer: Burt Kelly.
Copyright 29 September 1947 by Columbia Pictures Corp. No recorded New York opening. U.S. release: 16 October 1947. U.K. release: 28 October 1947. Australian release: 27 November 1947. 6,347 feet. 70 minutes.
SYNOPSIS: When Dagwood is fired again, Blondie decides to help the family finances by baking and selling cookies. She meets a friendly adviser at the corner grocer, who is none other than the president of a big biscuit company. The future looks bright until Dagwood interferes.
NOTES: Number 21 of the 28-picture series.
COMMENT: One of the few of the later Blondie films in which the title has any relevance to the plot. In fact this title (a pun) is particularly apt.
Hal K. Dawson who played insurance agent Little in "Blondie's Big Moment" (no. 19 in the series) here plays Taylor (a grocer) — lucky picture-goer's memories are short; while Fred F. Sears who played the man Blondie unknowingly talks to on the park bench in "Blondie Knows Best", here plays a detective (well I suppose he could have been a detective in the previous film, presumably relaxing in the park in his lunch hour).
But one person who is very sadly missed from this one is Jack Rice who played the office sycophant Oliver Merton so delightfully in previous films, particularly the last two, Blondie's Big Moment and Blondie's Holiday, in which he partnered Cowan so delightfully as Radcliffe. This is Cowan's third appearance but he doesn't handle it so well as he did the previous two.
One other big change in this film (aside from the fact of Jack Rice's Ollie being dropped completely without so much as a single word in the script to explain his absence — in fact there is a part in the script that seems to have been made for him and the staff of Radcliffe's office looks completely different) is Penny Singleton's new hair style which, while not all that attractive, takes years off her age — no explanation for this either, unless I missed it (I was a few minutes late). Lake is his usual dim-witted self.
At first the encounters with Clarence Kolb look rather promising, particularly an hilarious series of comic incidents on a golf course. But after this the script seems to lose steam, the material with Hugh Herbert being so-so stuff (the detectives following him from room to room) of tired old situations tiredly directed — a pity because Berlin's direction at first is quite bright, the business on the golf course and Dagwood falling off the roof being quite sharply played and edited, with amusing results.
Simms is okay, Miss Kent has disappointingly little to do. But Eddie Acuff is once more the reliable stooge for Dagwood's momentum as some further neat variations are worked on this appealing running gag.
Alas, after the first half-hour, Berlin's direction sags like the tired script, becoming just as mediocre and routine. There's no climax to speak of, the movie ending much like Blondie's Lucky Day with the characters all gathered together, their problems all straightened out by Blondie with Dagwood's re-enstatement.
Still, the sets are bigger and more varied than is usual in the series. Production values are further helped along by glossy photography that often would do credit to an "A"-feature.
Director: ABBY BERLIN. Screenplay: Arthur Marx, Jack Henley. Story: Arthur Marx. Based on characters created by Chic Young. Photography: Vincent Farrar. Film editor: Henry Batista. Music director: Mischa Bakaleinikoff. Producer: Burt Kelly.
Copyright 29 September 1947 by Columbia Pictures Corp. No recorded New York opening. U.S. release: 16 October 1947. U.K. release: 28 October 1947. Australian release: 27 November 1947. 6,347 feet. 70 minutes.
SYNOPSIS: When Dagwood is fired again, Blondie decides to help the family finances by baking and selling cookies. She meets a friendly adviser at the corner grocer, who is none other than the president of a big biscuit company. The future looks bright until Dagwood interferes.
NOTES: Number 21 of the 28-picture series.
COMMENT: One of the few of the later Blondie films in which the title has any relevance to the plot. In fact this title (a pun) is particularly apt.
Hal K. Dawson who played insurance agent Little in "Blondie's Big Moment" (no. 19 in the series) here plays Taylor (a grocer) — lucky picture-goer's memories are short; while Fred F. Sears who played the man Blondie unknowingly talks to on the park bench in "Blondie Knows Best", here plays a detective (well I suppose he could have been a detective in the previous film, presumably relaxing in the park in his lunch hour).
But one person who is very sadly missed from this one is Jack Rice who played the office sycophant Oliver Merton so delightfully in previous films, particularly the last two, Blondie's Big Moment and Blondie's Holiday, in which he partnered Cowan so delightfully as Radcliffe. This is Cowan's third appearance but he doesn't handle it so well as he did the previous two.
One other big change in this film (aside from the fact of Jack Rice's Ollie being dropped completely without so much as a single word in the script to explain his absence — in fact there is a part in the script that seems to have been made for him and the staff of Radcliffe's office looks completely different) is Penny Singleton's new hair style which, while not all that attractive, takes years off her age — no explanation for this either, unless I missed it (I was a few minutes late). Lake is his usual dim-witted self.
At first the encounters with Clarence Kolb look rather promising, particularly an hilarious series of comic incidents on a golf course. But after this the script seems to lose steam, the material with Hugh Herbert being so-so stuff (the detectives following him from room to room) of tired old situations tiredly directed — a pity because Berlin's direction at first is quite bright, the business on the golf course and Dagwood falling off the roof being quite sharply played and edited, with amusing results.
Simms is okay, Miss Kent has disappointingly little to do. But Eddie Acuff is once more the reliable stooge for Dagwood's momentum as some further neat variations are worked on this appealing running gag.
Alas, after the first half-hour, Berlin's direction sags like the tired script, becoming just as mediocre and routine. There's no climax to speak of, the movie ending much like Blondie's Lucky Day with the characters all gathered together, their problems all straightened out by Blondie with Dagwood's re-enstatement.
Still, the sets are bigger and more varied than is usual in the series. Production values are further helped along by glossy photography that often would do credit to an "A"-feature.