Blondie's Big Moment

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.

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 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.

BLONDIE'S BIG MOMENT (Columbia, 1947), directed by Abby Berlin, Number 19 and counting, into the life and misadventures of the Bumstead family, marks a new development in the series with some overly familiar themes. Jerome Cowan joins the cast as Dagwood's new boss, Mr. Radcliffe (better known by his employees as RATcliffe), taking over where Mr. Dithers left off. Cowan had earlier appeared in BLONDIE KNOWS BEST (1946), but under another character portrayal.

Plot summary: The Bumsteads, Blondie (Penny Singleton), Dagwood (Arthur Lake), Alexander (Larry Simms), Cookie (Marjorie Kent) and Daisy, return home from summer vacation, compliments of Mr. Dithers, who had his reasons for granting them time away from home. Upon their arrival, with Dagwood all sunburned around his face, they are greeted by neighbor Alvin Fuddow (Danny Mummert) with a supply of jelly donuts. While on his way to work in a crowded bus, it doesn't take Dagwood long to become accident prone, bumping into a fellow passenger (Jerome Cowan) and accidentally spilling jelly from his donut all over his good suit. The passenger becomes even more annoyed when Dagwood starts heading towards his direction after getting off the bus. (Why is he following me?). What they don't know is that each have unwittingly switched briefcases, with Dagwood's supplied with fish for one of his employee friends. By the time Dagwood comes to the office, he notices the surroundings quiet and tense for that Mr. Dithers has sold the construction firm now controlled by George M. Radcliffe, who happens to be twice as strict as Dithers. Much to Dagwood's dismay, they's already met on the bus, and he is soon demoted after his new boss opens the briefcase filled with fish. Enter Blondie, who, instead of being the typical pleading housewife speaking for her husband, wins this hot-headed bachelor over with kindness, flattery, and an invitation to dinner. All goes well, especially after Radcliffe is introduced to another guest, Harriet Gary (Anita Louise), Alexander's attractive blonde schoolteacher whose there to ask Mr. Bumstead permission to take her class over to his place of work to learn more about the business world. Radcliffe, however, is willing to overlook Dagwood's past mistakes and reinstate his position if he is able to locate suitable property for Mr. Greenleaf (Jack Davis), an important client. They do find one by a baseball field where Radcliffe is struck on the head by a passing ball, thanks to a near-sited little boy named Slugger (Johnny Granath) at the bat. Complications ensue as Dagwood discovers Slugger, who never utters a word, to be Alexander's guest for the weekend. Dagwood's next dilemma is to keep Slugger out of Radcliffe's reach both at his home and at the office during Miss Gary's visitation with the class.

Predictable chain of events that rank BLONDIE'S BIG MOMENT another amusing 71 minutes. The title appears to be a misnomer, since it sounds like a blessed event story or Blondie obtaining the lead in a big stage production, for that this is really the one where Blondie meets the boss instead of its second entry, released in 1939, which states that through its title.

Supporting players consist of Jack Rice as Ollie Merton, Dagwood's rival acting as Radcliffe's "Yes" man in order to get Bumstead's job; Eddie Acuff as Mr. Beasley, the postman (no need to go into detail to what happens to him); Hal K. Dawson as Mr. Little; and Dick Wessel as a bus driver named Charlie, who would later replace Acuff as the neighborhood postman in future installments. Guest star Anita Louise, better known for her screen roles at Warner Brothers in the 1930s, makes a charming presence to this entry, who finds Mr. Radcliffe irritable and self-centered, especially after finding out how he feels towards children, particularly Slugger, whose always around when Radcliffe meets with an accident, with Dagwood being no help to him either.

BLONDIE'S BIG MOMENT, formerly displayed on video cassette through King Features, had its successful run, along with 28 other "Blondie" comedies in the series, on American Movie Classics cable channel (1996-2001) where most of the films contained restored theatrical opening and closing credits. Next installment: BLONDIE'S HOLIDAY (1947). (**1/2)

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.