Pre-Order Blondie: The Complete Series (1957) (Blu-ray) Available for Preorder (1 Viewer)

[Ronald Epstein]

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[brynmill]

The big question is - why not the films which are far more important than the TV series.

 

[RBailey]

The big question is - why not the films which are far more important than the TV series.

Check out the ClassicFlix thread. David mentions they've tried to make a deal with the owners of the films. (King Features?)

 

[RBailey]

The big question is - why not the films which are far more important than the TV series.

This is from the press release for the TV series.

SIDE NOTE: The most frequent request we get (by far) is for us to acquire the 28 Blondie films released by Columbia. While we have tried for several years to license the film series, the rights holder has no interest in pursuing a deal to release the films on home video.

 

[moviepas]

This is from the press release for the TV series.

SIDE NOTE: The most frequent request we get (by far) is for us to acquire the 28 Blondie films released by Columbia. While we have tried for several years to license the film series, the rights holder has no interest in pursuing a deal to release the films on home video.

Keep in mind that the films were meant to be destroyed after a certain date by Columbia(10 years?) in the deal with King Features Syndicate(Hearst). The King Features package foolishly altered the head/tail graphics and music for TV presentation. Never understand these things. Columbia had a cartoon series which had the same destroy attached to the negatives in the 1930s. Some are still MIA as a result. I will get the Blu Ray set and this time I should have what was Disc 4 in the DVD set with audio I can listen to. Over the years I have met collectors who could not stomach Arthur Lake. No idea why, but then I hear the same about El Brendel who came to Depression-era films at the same time as Lake. Brendel does have a Facebook tribute blog.

 

[RobertMG]

Keep in mind that the films were meant to be destroyed after a certain date by Columbia(10 years?) in the deal with King Features Syndicate(Hearst). The King Features package foolishly altered the head/tail graphics and music for TV presentation. Never understand these things. Columbia had a cartoon series which had the same destroy attached to the negatives in the 1930s. Some are still MIA as a result. I will get the Blu Ray set and this time I should have what was Disc 4 in the DVD set with audio I can listen to. Over the years I have met collectors who could not stomach Arthur Lake. No idea why, but then I hear the same about El Brendel who came to Depression-era films at the same time as Lake. Brendel does have a Facebook tribute blog.

Bob Furmanek I think restored the opening credits to the films when they were shown on AMC - let me tell u David is GREAT and loves film he tried to get the films as did others too recently VCI tried KFS sadly let Lionsgate do their deals and Lionsgate has no interest in these "OLD" films - I do still think VCI will get the Flash Gordons I do not think the films were meant to be destroyed just the rights were meant to expire Republic lost rights to many serials as did Universal and Columbia because of deals like that

 

[mark-edk]

The opening credits for the tv series have been altered in the upgraded prints I've seen on streaming services, probably to remove sponsor plugs. But reducing the open to a sequence of still frames is a lot worse than allowing a sponsor image to be shown. I wonder if this set will restore the original openings/end credits.

 

[rmw650]

For those that get the DECADES TV Network, good news as the Super Bowl weekend edition of their Binge marathon will contain most, if not all, the Blondie movies and the TV series the following day...here is their schedule...from their website..

2/11/2023:

12:00PM ET
BLONDIE (FILM SERIES) - BLONDIE "The boss sends Dagwood chasing after an important contract, but Blondie suspects he's chasing another woman."
1:30PM ET
BLONDIE (FILM SERIES) - BLONDIE TAKES A VACATION "Blondie schemes to save a friendly resort hotel from bankruptcy."
3:00PM ET
BLONDIE (FILM SERIES) - BLONDIE BRINGS UP BABY "When Baby Dumpling plays hooky from school to search for his lost dog Daisy, Dagwood goes looking for him… and gets arrested for kidnapping."
4:30PM ET
BLONDIE (FILM SERIES) - BLONDIE MEETS THE BOSS "Dagwood and Blondie play a "role reversal". Blondie minds Mr. Dither’s office while Dagwood minds the house. However when Dagwood sneaks off to go fishing and gets involved with a woman whose boat overturns, Blondie suspects something fishy."
6:00PM ET
BLONDIE (FILM SERIES) - BLONDIE IN SOCIETY "Dagwood acquires a blue-blooded Great Dane that leads the Bumstead family into misadventures at a dog show."
7:30PM ET
BLONDIE (FILM SERIES) - LIFE WITH BLONDIE "Daisy, the Bumstead dog, is named "pin-up pooch of the year". Dagwood, jealous of the dog's life, gets himself into the doghouse with Blondie."
9:00PM ET
BLONDIE (FILM SERIES) - BLONDIE'S BLESSED EVENT "Dagwood creates a riot at a builders' convention with a controversial speech, which loses him his job at the very same time that Blondie is giving birth to their daughter, Cookie."
10:30PM ET
BLONDIE (FILM SERIES) - BLONDIE IN THE DOUGH "Blondie helps out the family finances by baking and selling cookies, but the cookie business crumbles."
12:00AM ET
BLONDIE (FILM SERIES) - BLONDIE GOES LATIN "On a business trip to Latin America with Mr. Dithers and Blondie, Dagwood almost misses the boat. He sneaks in with the ship's orchestra, disguised as a lady drummer."
1:30AM ET
BLONDIE (FILM SERIES) - FOOTLIGHT GLAMOUR "The stage-struck daughter of one of Dagwood's biggest clients convinces Blondie to put on a play. Dagwood of course, turns out to be the real-life villain in the eyes of Mr. Dithers."
3:00AM ET
BLONDIE (FILM SERIES) - BLONDIE'S LUCKY DAY "Dagwood is fired. So he goes into competition with his boss. His partner, a beautiful lady architect, falls in love with the son of Mr. Dithers’ biggest client."
4:30AM ET
BLONDIE (FILM SERIES) - IT'S A GREAT LIFE "When Dagwood gets invited to a fox hunt, the only thing that's safe is the fox."

2/12/2023:

6:00AM ET
BLONDIE (FILM SERIES) - BLONDIE ON A BUDGET "Blondie is anxious to balance her household budget and at the same time dig up $200 for a fur coat."
7:30AM ET
BLONDIE (FILM SERIES) - BLONDIE PLAYS CUPID "Dagwood helps a young couple to elope, but then climbs into the bride's father's room by mistake."
9:00AM ET
BLONDIE (FILM SERIES) - BLONDIE'S SECRET "Dagwood can't take Blondie on a promised vacation, so he arranges to have the luggage stolen. But he neglects to tell the dog, Daisy, that it's a put-up job."
10:30AM ET
BLONDIE (FILM SERIES) - BLONDIE'S HOLIDAY "Dagwood tries to make up a big budget deficit by playing the horses. He picks a winner but gets caught in a raid before collecting."
12:00PM ET
BLONDIE - SUDDEN WEALTH "To boost his confidence so he can ask for a raise, Blondie sends a fake telegram to Dagwood making him believe he’s inherited a large sum of money."
12:30PM ET
BLONDIE - IT'S FOR THE BIRDS "Mr. Dithers is hospitalized and leaves Dagwood in charge of a supermarket project. But when nesting birds cause a delay, Mr. Dithers is less than pleased."
1:00PM ET
BLONDIE - THE FOLKS WHO CAME TO DINNER "To save money while having their house redecorated, the Dithers’ move in with the Bumstead’s."
1:30PM ET
BLONDIE - THE OTHER WOMAN "Dagwood is on the outs with his whole family when he is suspected of seeing another woman."
2:00PM ET
BLONDIE - HOME SWEET HOME "Tired of doing repairs on their house, Dagwood is determined to sell… that is until Blondie puts her foot down."
2:30PM ET
BLONDIE - GET THAT GUN "After Mr. Dithers promises his wife that he won’t add any more antique guns to his collection, he enlists Dagwood to buy it for him and pretend to give it to him as a present."
3:00PM ET
BLONDIE - THE FEUD "After Blondie and Harriet go to a woman’s meeting and learn about international relations, they attempt to apply what they learned to resolve a fight between Dagwood and Herb."
3:30PM ET
BLONDIE - THE QUIZ SHOW "Feeling like a failure because he hasn’t done anything famous to make Alexander proud, Dagwood applies to compete in a nationwide quiz show."
4:00PM ET
BLONDIE - HUSBANDS ONCE REMOVED "Without a marriage certificate to prove they’re married, Blondie takes advantage of the situation to make Dagwood court her a second time."
4:30PM ET
BLONDIE - THE PAYOFF MONEY "After shopping, Blondie and Harriet get one of their packages mixed up with a bundle of stolen money, and the thieves soon show up at the Bumstead’s intent on recovering their loot."
5:00PM ET
BLONDIE - HARD LUCK IDOL "Dagwood’s uncle sends him a statue of an Indian idol that is bad luck to all in its path."
5:30PM ET
BLONDIE - OIL FOR THE LAMPS OF BLONDIE "The Bumstead’s receive an ugly lamp from the Dithers’ for their anniversary and promptly return it to the store. But when J.C. and Cora are expected for dinner, Dagwood and family scramble to buy it back."
6:00PM ET
BLONDIE - BLONDIE, THE BREADWINNER "After refusing Dagwood a raise and letting him go, Mr. Dithers asks Blondie to fill the vacancy left by her husband."
6:30PM ET
BLONDIE - THE GLAMOUR GIRL "A publicity stunt by the agent of a famous actress pegs Dagwood as her long-lost love, and an irresistible ladies man."
7:00PM ET
BLONDIE - THE RUMMAGE SALE "When Cora hides her collection of rummage sale items from her husband, Mr. Dithers suspects her to be a helpless kleptomaniac and enlists Dagwood to help."
7:30PM ET
BLONDIE - THE DECEPTION "After a mix-up at the office, and in order to impress a prospective client, Mr. Dithers trades places with Dagwood, making Bumstead president and himself, a subordinate."
8:00PM ET
BLONDIE - PUPPY LOVE "Alexander has a crush on a classmate and Blondie and Dagwood scheme to help their love-sick son win the girl’s affection."
8:30PM ET
BLONDIE - MADE TO FIRE "Blondie hires a maid, but the Bumstead’s soon suspect she might be part of a gang of jewel thieves."
9:00PM ET
BLONDIE - BLONDIE REDECORATES "Dagwood hates the way the living room looks and wants it redecorated, but deciding who should design it, and in what style, complicate matters."
9:30PM ET
BLONDIE - BLONDIE'S DOUBLE "After Dagwood is informed by Mr. Dithers that Blondie is moonlighting as a nightclub singer, he takes the necessary steps to save his home."
10:00PM ET
BLONDIE - THE SPY "Trying to avoid being caught with secret government microfilm, a spy places the stolen article in Dagwood’s hat."
10:30PM ET
BLONDIE - CUPID'S QUESTION COLUMN "Blondie takes over an advice column for a friend and unknowingly answers Dagwood’s letters."
11:00PM ET
BLONDIE - THE TRAMP "J.C. reneges on his promise to give Dagwood fifteen shares of stock, but a kind and worldly tramp comes to the rescue with a plan to outfox the unscrupulous Mr. Dithers."
11:30PM ET
BLONDIE - FOLLOW THAT MAN "After a few mysterious phone calls, Mr. Dithers suspects Dagwood is embezzling money from his company and he hires a detective to get to the bottom of things."
12:00AM ET
BLONDIE - THE PARTY "Alexander’s plans for a more “grown-up” 16th birthday party doesn’t go well and Dagwood and Blondie have to quickly come up with some entertainment to keep his party from being a dud."
12:30AM ET
BLONDIE - HOWDY NEIGHBOR "A Texas family moves in next door to Dagwood and Blondie and convince the Bumstead’s to dig for oil on their property."
1:00AM ET
BLONDIE - SUDDEN WEALTH "To boost his confidence so he can ask for a raise, Blondie sends a fake telegram to Dagwood making him believe he’s inherited a large sum of money."
1:30AM ET
BLONDIE (FILM SERIES) - BLONDIE'S REWARD "Dagwood is demoted to office boy because the Northside property he went out to buy turns out to be on the Southside."
3:00AM ET
BLONDIE (FILM SERIES) - BLONDIE KNOWS BEST "After impersonating his boss, Dagwood is caught in the big lie and loses his job. To make amends he offers himself as a guinea pig to test a new truth serum."
4:30AM ET
BLONDIE (FILM SERIES) - BLONDIE HITS THE JACKPOT "Dagwood is fired again. So he goes to work as a laborer for a crooked rival contractor."

 

[Lecagr]

On the subject of the Blondie movie series, back in 1999 a company named Bridgestone Multimedia issued all 28 films on VHS cassettes, the tapes are in the SP mode and the video quality is very good considering it's VHS. These cassettes are long out of print and fairly scarce but some can currently be found on Amazon and Ebay. I have the full collection, the movies have the King Features openings and closings but are otherwise complete and unedited. The tapes are not copy guarded so I transferred all the movies on to DVD's in order to have them on both formats, tape and disc.

 

[RobertMG]

On the subject of the Blondie movie series, back in 1999 a company named Bridgestone Multimedia issued all 28 films on VHS cassettes, the tapes are in the SP mode and the video quality is very good considering it's VHS. These cassettes are long out of print and fairly scarce but some can currently be found on Amazon and Ebay. I have the full collection, the movies have the King Features openings and closings but are otherwise complete and unedited. The tapes are not copy guarded so I transferred all the movies on to DVD's in order to have them on both formats, tape and disc.

The Original titles exist and were shown on AMC I think - Both Classicflix and even VCI tried to get them Lionsgate has no interest in releasing them

 

[Lecagr]

The Original titles exist and were shown on AMC I think - Both Classicflix and even VCI tried to get them Lionsgate has no interest in releasing them

Yes I remember years back when AMC ran the series and the movies had the original Columbia titles.

 

[Nelson Au]

I’ve been sampling the Blondie film series on the Decades Binge yesterday. I had seen some of those years ago when they were aired on weekends in my youth! It is amazing the film series was never officially released on DVD. They look like good fun!

This morning I’ve seen the first two episodes of the 1957 TV series. I have never seen this before or knew it existed. After seeing so many of the Blondie films, it’s just not the same without Penny Singleton. And the series seems to focus on Dagwood and not Blondie. It seems harmless enough though.

 

[BobO'Link]

In all fairness, while the daily comic strip is called "Blondie" it features Dagwood far more than her. She's kind of the straight man, or woman, to Dagwood. I really like the TV series and am looking forward to this release. I also wish the film series would see an official release.

 

[RobertMG]

In all fairness, while the daily comic strip is called "Blondie" it features Dagwood far more than her. She's kind of the straight man, or woman, to Dagwood. I really like the TV series and am looking forward to this release. I also wish the film series would see an official release.

The film series was really great I did not know Singleton and Lake did the radio show too They should have used both in the tv series On the films Lake was close friends with Marion Davies and William Randolph Hearst and claimed they were fans of his and Blondie appearing in Hearst papers played a part in him getting the role Lake married into the Hearst family and is actually buried in their mausoleum
https://www.oldtimeradiodownloads.com/comedy/blondie/camping-in-back-yard-19xx-xx-xx
Classicflix does great work!

 

[Nelson Au]

Howie, as I’m not that familiar with the Blondie comic, I stand corrected. . I can see that Blondie is Dagwood‘s straight woman.

I’ve sampled several more episodes today and the vibe of the show is more sitcom. And thats not a bad thing, it is what it is. I still prefer Singleton as Blondie.

 

[BobO'Link]

Howie, as I’m not that familiar with the Blondie comic, I stand corrected. . I can see that Blondie is Dagwood‘s straight woman.

I’ve sampled several more episodes today and the vibe of the show is more sitcom. And thats not a bad thing, it is what it is. I still prefer Singleton as Blondie.

I've read the Blondie daily comic strip in the paper for as long as I can remember. When I was in college I had my dad save the papers so I could read the comics when I was home on the weekends. When I graduated I got my own subscription and have had one ever since, starting my day with the comics section. I have a curated selection of mostly no-longer-in-print comics (including Peanuts, Calvin & Hobbes, Liberty Meadows, Foxtrot, and a couple of others) my granddaughter and I read together every day when we get to my office (aka her school - she's in the 6th grade on the campus I primarily support).

Me too with Singleton, though I don't know if that's just because I saw the movies before the series (Twenty-eight films were produced by Columbia Pictures between 1938 and 1950). Either way, I think Pamela Britton does a find job in the role. At least Arthur Lake is Dagwood in both. It *really* wouldn't be the same without him.

 

[Capt D McMars]

The Original titles exist and were shown on AMC I think - Both Classicflix and even VCI tried to get them Lionsgate has no interest in releasing them

and now for the updates...right Bob?

 

[RobertMG]

Keep in mind that the films were meant to be destroyed after a certain date by Columbia(10 years?) in the deal with King Features Syndicate(Hearst). The King Features package foolishly altered the head/tail graphics and music for TV presentation. Never understand these things. Columbia had a cartoon series which had the same destroy attached to the negatives in the 1930s. Some are still MIA as a result. I will get the Blu Ray set and this time I should have what was Disc 4 in the DVD set with audio I can listen to. Over the years I have met collectors who could not stomach Arthur Lake. No idea why, but then I hear the same about El Brendel who came to Depression-era films at the same time as Lake. Brendel does have a Facebook tribute blog.

and now for the updates...right Bob?

fingers crossed sadly so much stuff will never be seen because of deals where a studios rights expired on a character

 

[Capt D McMars]

fingers crossed

Not the movies but the 1957 TV series can hold us off until the movies are restored and dropped on BD!!

Blondie - The Complete 1957 Television Series (Blu-ray) - ClassicFlix

Blondie - The Complete 1957 Television Series (Blu-ray)

www.classicflix.com

 

[RobertMG]

Not the movies but the 1957 TV series can hold us off until the movies are restored and dropped on BD!!

Blondie - The Complete 1957 Television Series (Blu-ray) - ClassicFlix

Blondie - The Complete 1957 Television Series (Blu-ray)

www.classicflix.com

The Blondie films are so much fun - great casts great location shooting on Columbia Ranch which is being demolished