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While, being a fan of all the "Blondie" movies, this one is my all-time favorite. I have two reasons for picking this one above all the others. One, I am an animal lover. The whole story revolves around a lovable Great Dane. His expressions and antics, alone, are hilarious, but mixed in with the Bumsteads, and the laughs are constant. Two, the finale at the dog show is top rate. You have cute dogs, a beautiful song, and a hilarious melee. What more could you ask for??

So what happened with the title. I must have missed the 'society' that Blondie is supposedly in. Instead the title should be something like Daisy Gets a Big Brother. But whatever the brand, it's still typical Bumstead fun. This time B&D get caught up in a fancy dog show where they all argue over who owns Chin-Up the Great Dane. Is the lucky one Mr. Dithers, Blondie, Dagwood, or about twenty other guys. Everyone's got his cash interest since the dog's a shoo-in for the big purse. Plus B has run-up big debts back when 50-bucks was real money. Nostalgia-wise, I love the 1941 bouncy washing machine that half drowns the Bumstead kitchen. Good thing my mom's worked better.

It's the usual great family antics, including Daisy and the boys. But I miss Dagwood in the latter part when the dog show takes over. His comic interactions with a stern Blondie are, I think, the heart of series success. Anyway, I expect that's Singleton doing her own singing since she started out as a singer. At the same time, I now know why I didn't become a mailman, especially when not even being a tree climber helps. And here's hoping Daisy got extra kibbles and Chin-Up got an extra cattle herd for their expert acting. So, all in all, don't let title expectations deter you. The entry may not be the best, but it's still a Blondie fun-fest.

BLONDIE IN SOCIETY (Columbia, 1941), directed by Frank R. Strayer, the ninth feature in the popular comedy series based on the Chic Young comic strip characters, ranks the very best of the entire 28 episodes. This series reached its peak here, and the leading players are at their funniest. At 78 minutes (the longest in the series), it plays fast and furious.

Dagwood Bumstead (Arthur Lake) gets himself a great dane named Chin-up to cover a $50 debt, and his wife, Blondie (Penny Singleton) helps out by entering Chin Up in a dog show. Everything goes wrong, of course. While the dog wins the contest, everyone who had disowned him, wants to reclaim him, a fight ensues, causing everyone, including the Bumstead child, Baby Dumpling (Larry Simms) and his neighbor friend, Alvin (Danny Mummert) to acquire black eyes.

Besides Dagwood running into the neighborhood postman (Irving Bacon) to catch his bus for work, other comedy highlights include Dagwood trying to take his Sunday bath, but never does due to constant interruptions, a gimmick used occasionally in the comic strips, but seen only once in this series. Penny Singleton shows off her singing ability by vocalizing "In the Shade of the Old Apple Tree" and "Trees." Veteran character actors Edgar Kennedy and William Frawley also add to the comic hi-jinx. For animal lovers, the Bumstead dog, Daisy, and Chin-up help provide some memorable highlights as well. And then there's Mr. Dithers (Jonathan Hale) as Dagwood's irritable boss, etc.

Available on video with the 1960s tag-on TV opening and closing credits with vocalists singing the "Blondie" theme song. Thankfully when it was shown on the American Movie Classics cable channel from 1996 to 2000, it was presented with its original opening and closing credits shown in theaters. Later shown on Turner Classic Movies (TCM premiere: November 6, 2021) with sing-along theme song opening. While much of the 28 "Blondie" comedies are quite enjoyable, this one is definitely a first prize winning entry. (***/2)

The Bumsteads mix with the rich and famous in Blondie In Society courtesy of a large Great Dane that Dagwood that astute businessman takes in lieu of $50.00 from Chick Chandler. Surprisingly enough the Bumstead dog Daisy takes to the large newcomer, but Blondie sure doesn't and that is just one element in this rather crazy Bumstead adventure.

The Blondie series always had some great character players in it and in this one three are present and at their best. Edgar Kennedy does his patented slow burn as the veterinarian the dog is in hock to. William Frawley plays a potential J.C. Dithers client who is a fancier of show dogs and wants this one. And Charles Lane plays a most eager washing machine salesman who tries to sell Penny Singleton a new one when the Bumsteads think they are in the chips.

The problem is that this dog won't strut his stuff until it's discovered by Penny Singleton that music perks him up. Her own singing voice and those of the Mitchell Boys Choir makes the Great Dane start acting like a champion.

Blondie In Society is one of the funnier episodes I've seen in the Blondie series and it also exhibits Penny Singleton's singing quite nicely.

Columbia pictures made 28 Blondie and Dagwood films from 1939-1950 and they were all rather low-budget but enjoyable family comedies. One of the best things about these films is unlike most B-series, this one had a very stable cast--with Arthur Lake (Dagwood), Penny Singleton (Blondie) and Larry Simms (Baby Dumpling) playing in all the films.

While I have not seen a ton of these films, of the ones I have seen, "Blondie in Society" is so far my favorite. It gets very high marks for its writing and the story made me and my wife laugh repeatedly.

"Blondie in Society" begins with Blondie panicking because she thinks someone has written a forged check on their home account. However, it turns out Dagwood actually loaned a childhood friend the money and never mentioned this to his wife. She is furious and demands he get the money back NOW. However, the old friend is broke and offers to give Dagwood his pedigreed Great Dane instead. Dumb old Dagwood takes the pooch--and it turns out to be nothing but trouble. The animal eats like a herd of elephants, is very destructive and has the neighbors up in arms. What's worse, it also starts problems with his boss as well as a potential client (William Frawley). By the end of the film, everything is a complete mess. Can the Bumsteads, just like in their other films, manage to make this all work out for the best? One of the reasons this film was so much fun was Daisy--the family's adorable mutt. As usual, this trained dog does a HUGE repertoire of wonderful tricks and seemed to show so much great emotion. Additionally, the script really hummed--and the staff seemed to be on top of their game on this one. Fun throughout.