The 26th in a series of 28 Blondie films, based upon the ever-popular Chic Young comic strip and produced by Columbia, any freshness is long spent as this piece displays that familiar puerile scripting, and low level performing by Arthur Lake as Dagwood Bumstead, that characterizes all of the episodes. For this chapter, Alexander Bumstead (Larry Simms) prepares for his first date, arranged by Dagwood's boss, Mr. Radcliffe (Jerome Cowan) in order to gain a lucrative construction contract for his company because a prospective client, new in town, is seeking an escort for his daughter at her birthday party. Dagwood is persuaded by Blondie to walk his son home from the party so that he may explain the "facts of life" to Alexander, but instead he knocks the girl's father into a swim pool, is fired by Radcliffe and, following a tiresome montage of failed employment efforts, is hired as a construction worker. Ineptly toiling at a construction site, Dagwood finds that faulty girders are intentionally being utilized, and a witless scene occurs when he is chased as a result of his discovery, during which he nonetheless manages to send a plea for aid, as usual, to Blondie. The building location is property of the man whose pool dunking led to his termination, and perplexities ensue, the title's reference to Blondie's attempt at winning a radio contest having but a weak connection to the other plotted activity. As it is directed by Edward Bernds, who wrote and helmed an abundance of Three Stooges inanities, it can be no surprise that this movie falls shy of the comic strip's comedic tone, additionally resultant from Lake's consistently banal interpretation of Dagwood as an utter nincompoop who functions only through Blondie's accordance. Such weak material limits the players to slapstick or hamminess, although reliable Lloyd Corrigan is effective as the wealthy customer wooed by Radcliffe, and the camerawork is top-flight for this effort shot on location in the eastern San Fernando Valley sector of Los Angeles.
Review of Blondie Hits the Jackpot
