Blondie's Big Moment

This Blondie feature offers a new challenge to one of the Bumsteads. J.C. Dithers has sold his business after Dagwood has just enjoyed a nice vacation. Dithers arranged it so that the new owner George Radcliffe won't meet Arthur Lake before the deal is consummated.

Anyway poor Lake finds out that his new boss is Jerome Cowan and things just happen in the usual Bumstead fashion to annoy Cowan enough to put his job in jeopardy. As it is he loses his private office.

But Blondie takes a hand and invites the new boss to dinner along with the new school teacher the Bumstead kids have played by Anita Louise. She's a woman with progressive ideas including a take your kids to the office day. She gets on Cowan's nerves as does Johnny Granatti who is a new friend to Alexander and who beans Cowan with a baseball.

Once again the Bumstead's lives and livelihood are threatened. But there certainly is an unseen power that protects Dagwood and Blondie, never more apparent than in Blondie's big moment.

Cowan who usually is in dramatic parts, best known as Myles Archer in The Maltese Falcon does well in this unusual comic turn for him. Arthur Lake and Penny Singleton are their usual funny selves in this feature.

The only question is how long will Cowan hold on to the business having to deal with Dagwood every day.

This is the nineteenth in the Blondie movie series. The Bumsteads are back from a two-week vacation, granted to them by Dagwood's boss, Mr. Dithers. We later find out why he was so generous: He sold his construction firm to a Mr. George M. Radcliffe (Jerome Cowan) who, unlike Dithers, is unmarried. He also seems to have even more of a temper than his predecessor as Dag initially finds out after meeting him earlier on the bus! I'll stop there and just say this was another funny one in the series especially when all those things happen to Mr. Radcliffe. Oh, and Eddie Acuff returns as the postman here as he gets a larger showcase when he gets pestered by an insurance man throughout the course of the movie. There's also some amusing scenes involving a kid named "Slugger" (Johnny Granath). So on that note, I recommend Blondie's Big Moment.

While I really enjoy the Blondie and Dagwood films, I sure have noticed that the titles of the movies are completely random and have nothing to do with what you see. "Blondie's Big Moment"?? What big moment? The film instead is about Dagwood's nasty new boss and his attempts to keep his job and keep his family happy.

The story finds the Bumsteads returning home from a vacation and Dagwood is in a great mood. However, he doesn't know that Mr. Dithers sold the company and the new owner is a complete jerk. But, as you'd expect from Dagwood, he manages to insult the boss and take a bad situation and make it so much worse. It's so bad that Dagwood is demoted and could easily find himself unemployed. At the same time, Alexander and his classmates are looking forward to visiting Dagwood's office...and Dagwood is both afraid to disappoint them and afraid to tell his ultra-nasty boss. What's to come of all this?

The fact that everything magically works out by the end of the film is a given if you've seen other films in the series. But the new boss truly is a jerk. Dithers was blustery but decent down deep...Mr. Radcliffe is pretty much a jerk-face. Perhaps he'll mellow in future films. Regardless, as usual the story is engaging and enjoyable and it's worth seeing.

Can Dagwood hold on to his job? After all, he's spilled floppy fruit jelly all over his new boss Radcliffe; plus, he can't seem to distinguish dead fish from legal papers, even when his employer hangs in the balance.

But then, he is Dagwood and we do want goofy laughs. Good thing there's plenty in this solid B&D nutty farce. Most of the flick centers in D's office area, while the poor postman gets flattened, as usual. So, sidewalks, better watch out, this time for hard charging B, which I guess shows women can be bulldozers as well as men, even in 1945.

Anyway, the entry again shows why the series continued as long as it did. Chuckles galore. And, oh yeah, catch movie vet Cowan showing that he's got a goofy side as well as his usual Mr. Sober Sides. What a surprise for old movie fans (But why does IMDB list him so far down in the credits; really, the flick's his comic mugging showcase). Whatever the case, I sure hope Daisy and family got extra kibbles for performing on cue, and that B got to keep that sexy sparkly dress she wears to my delight. Then too, what about goggle-eyed little Slugger! Why doesn't he ever speak. Stay tuned to find out.

Meanwhile, I'm getting the next series DVD ready for loading after the next tough work day. In fact, my collection amounts to a reliable treasure for ready viewing, thanks mainly to the incomparable Lake and Singleton. So, chuckle-fest, play on.

This episode was a bit different from the rest of the series, and kind of takes you by surprise.

Dagwood and Blondie come home from a two week vacation, only to discover Mr. Dithers has sold the business! He is gone.

Dagwood has a new boss, called Mr. Radcliffe, nick-named "Ratcliffe" by the office staff. Jerome Cowan, who played Mr. Dither's client in the previous episode, now takes over as the boss. Cowan, without too much surprise, has a lot of fun with this role, and is even more short tempered than Dithers.

There's some funny, awkward scenes between he and Dagwood. Also Anita Louise guest stars, playing Alexander's teacher, Harriet. Here's the catch; Radcliffe is single, a confirmed bachelor, and Blondie naturally tries to hook him up with Harriet. Not EZ, but they do make an interesting couple, and Anita Louise is a super actress.

There's also a clever gag with a new kid on the block called Slugger, played by Johnny Granath. He's into baseball and DOES NOT talk, proving a problem for Radcliffe.

Wait for the surprise ending. You would have never guessed it. Good direction by Abby Berlin.

For all us long time fans of Mr. Dithers, he is missed, and the series from this point took a turn in a new direction. Mr. Radcliffe would prove to be a goofy character in his own right, but Dagwood getting Dithers angry is what made the series.

Jonathan Hale left the series to pursue other roles, later appearing in the classic Hitchcock film, STRANGERS ON A TRAIN, also moving to tv. When Jonathan Hale passed in 1966, Mr Dithers name was added to his gravestone. A nice touch.

19th episode of the series. Remastered dvd, sold separately or in a box set. Thanks much to METV for rerunning this series Saturday mornings.