Blondie's Blessed Event

This installment of Blondie and Dagwood begins with learning that Blondie is pregnant and about to give birth. However, she looks no larger than usual! Many women would love to look this svelte and still have a healthy baby!! Considering that the pair sleep in separate beds, it's actually a wonder they EVER had any kids...and this one is about as chaste and Production Code-friendly as you'll find.

During the pregnancy, Dagwood is a nervous wreck and is driving EVERYONE around him crazy. It's so bad that Mr. Dithers sends Dagwood to a convention to make a speech just to get rid of him and give Blondie a break! During this time away, Dagwood gets help from an out of work playwright. George Wickley (Hans Conreid) is a real moocher and he helps Dagwood because he's hungry. Later, after the baby arrives, Wickley shows up at the Bumstead house and makes himself right at home...and is a total nuisance. But Dagwood is a wimp and has a hard time tossing out his new friend. Where will all this end?!

This is a pleasant film with a problem that was amazingly easy to solve...yet wasn't until the very end. They milked this idea foe a lot but still managed to have an enjoyable installment. I particularly enjoyed seeing Baby Dumpling growing up. He insists on being called Alexander* and has more backbone that his addle-brained father. Well worth seeing.

*IMDB points out in an earlier movie in the series that Dagwood tells Baby Dumpling his real name was 'Dagwood Jr.'. Well, they apparently forgot about this or perhaps Chick Young came up with the name Alexander in the interim!