Blondie (1957 TV series)

{{Infobox television

| image = Blondie (1957 TV series).jpg| caption =

| genre = Sitcom

| creator =

| based_on = {{based on|Blondie comic strip|Chic Young}}

| writer =

| director = Abby Berlin
Paul Landres

| presenter =

| starring = Pamela Britton
Arthur Lake

| judges =

| voices =

| narrated =

| theme_music_composer =

| opentheme =

| composer =

| country = United States

| language = English

| num_seasons = 1

| num_episodes = 26

| list_episodes =

| executive_producer =

| producer =

| editor =

| cinematography =

| camera = Multi-camera

| runtime = 25 mins.

| company = Hal Roach Studios
King Features Productions

| channel = NBC

| first_aired = {{start date|1957|01|04}}

| last_aired = {{end date|1957|07|05}}

| related = {{Plainlist|

}}

Blondie is the first of two television series based on the comic strip by Chic Young. The show first aired on January 4, 1957 on NBC and ran for one season. Pamela Britton starred in the title role and Arthur Lake played Blondie's husband Dagwood Bumstead, reprising his role from the Blondie film series.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w8KztFy6QYwC&dq=%22Blondie+Situation+Comedy%22+%22Arthur+Lake%22+%22Pamela+Britton%22+%22Arthur+Lake+the+Dagwood+of+this+version+had+played+the+role+in+the+movie+series%22&pg=PA154 |first1=Tim |last1=Brooks |first2=Earle |last2=Marsh |year=2007 |edition=9 |title=The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946–Present |pages=154–155 |publisher=Random House Publishing |isbn=978-0-345-49773-4 |access-date=2024-05-23 }}

A pilot episode was filmed in 1954 with Hal Le Roy as Dagwood opposite Britton's Blondie. The series was released in its entirety on September 25, 2018 by ClassicFlix.{{Cite web|url=https://www.classicflix.com/products/blondie-the-complete-1957-television-series|title = Blondie - the Complete 1957 Television Series - ClassicFlix}} As of 2024, it airs on Shout! TV.

Cast

Arthur Lake as Dagwood Bumstead
Pamela Britton as Blondie Bumstead
Florenz Ames as J.C. Dithers
Ann Barnes as Cookie Bumstead
Stuffy Singer as Alexander Bumstead
Harold Peary as Herb Woodley
Elvia Allman as Cora Dithers
Lucien Littlefield as Mr. Beasley
Hollis Irving as Mrs. Woodley

Episodes

{{Episode table |background=515151 |overall= |title= |titleR={{Cite web|url=https://www.classicflix.com/products/blondie-the-complete-1957-television-series|title = Blondie - the Complete 1957 Television Series - ClassicFlix}} |director= |writer= |airdate= |episodes=

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 1

| Title = Sudden Wealth

| DirectedBy = Hal Yates

| WrittenBy = John L. Greene

| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1957|1|4}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor = 515151

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 2

| Title = It's for the Birds

| DirectedBy = Hal Yates

| WrittenBy = John L. Greene

| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1957|1|11}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor = 515151

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 3

| Title = The Folks Who Came to Dinner

| DirectedBy = Hal Yates

| WrittenBy = Warren Spector & Gordon T. Hughes

| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1957|1|18}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor = 515151

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 4

| Title = The Other Woman

| DirectedBy =

| WrittenBy =

| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1957|1|25}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor = 515151

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 5

| Title = Home Sweet Home

| DirectedBy = Hal Yates

| WrittenBy = Jack Ellinson & Charles Stewart

| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1957|2|1}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor = 515151

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 6

| Title = Get That Gun

| DirectedBy = Hal Yates

| WrittenBy = Frank Gill, Jr.

| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1957|2|8}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor = 515151

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 7

| Title = The Feud

| DirectedBy = Paul Landres

| WrittenBy = John L. Greene

| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1957|2|15}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor = 515151

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 8

| Title = The Quiz Show

| DirectedBy = Hal Yates

| WrittenBy =

| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1957|2|22}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor = 515151

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 9

| Title = Husbands Once Removed

| DirectedBy =

| WrittenBy =

| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1957|3|1}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor = 515151

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 10

| Title = The Payoff Money

| DirectedBy = Paul Landres

| WrittenBy = George Beck & Jo Conway

| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1957|3|8}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor = 515151

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 11

| Title = Hard Luck Idol

| DirectedBy = Paul Landres

| WrittenBy = John L. Greene

| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1957|3|15}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor = 515151

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 12

| Title = Oil for the Lamps of Blondie

| DirectedBy =

| WrittenBy =

| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1957|3|22}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor = 515151

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 13

| Title = Blondie the Breadwinner

| DirectedBy =

| WrittenBy =

| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1957|3|29}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor = 515151

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 14

| Title = The Glamour Girl

| DirectedBy =

| WrittenBy =

| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1957|4|5}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor = 515151

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 15

| Title = The Rummage Sale

| DirectedBy = Paul Landres

| WrittenBy =

| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1957|4|12}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor = 515151

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 16

| Title = Deception

| DirectedBy = Paul Landres

| WrittenBy = Don Nelson & Jay Sommers

| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1957|4|19}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor = 515151

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 17

| Title = Puppy Love

| DirectedBy = Gerald Freedman

| WrittenBy = George Carleton Brown & Frank Gill Jr.

| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1957|4|26}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor = 515151

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 18

| Title = Made to Fire

| DirectedBy = Paul Landres

| WrittenBy = Gordon T. Hughes & Warren Spector

| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1957|5|3}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor = 515151

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 19

| Title = Blondie Redecorates

| DirectedBy = Paul Landres

| WrittenBy = John L. Greene

| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1957|5|10}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor = 515151

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 20

| Title = Blondie's Double

| DirectedBy = Paul Landres

| WrittenBy =

| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1957|5|17}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor = 515151

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 21

| Title = The Spy

| DirectedBy = Paul Landres

| WrittenBy = John L. Greene

| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1957|5|24}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor = 515151

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 22

| Title = Cupid's Question Column

| DirectedBy = Paul Landres

| WrittenBy = John L. Greene

| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1957|5|31}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor = 515151

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 23

| Title = The Tramp

| DirectedBy = Paul Landres

| WrittenBy = John L. Greene

| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1957|6|7}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor = 515151

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 24

| Title = Follow That Man

| DirectedBy = Paul Landres

| WrittenBy = John L. Greene

| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1957|6|14}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor = 515151

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 25

| Title = The Party

| DirectedBy = Paul Landres

| WrittenBy = John L. Greene

| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1957|6|21}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor = 515151

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 26

| Title = Howdy Neighbor

| DirectedBy =

| WrittenBy =

| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1957|6|28}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor = 515151

}}

Production

William Harmon was the producer, Hal Yates was the director, and John L. Greene was the director.{{cite magazine |date=January 16, 1957 |page=31 |title=Blondie |magazine=Variety |url=https://archive.org/details/variety205-1957-01/page/n423/mode/1up?view=theater |accessdate=May 23, 2023 }} The show was a Hal Roach Jr. production. Toni and Nestle sponsored it on alternate weeks. It was broadcast on Fridays from 8 to 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time.{{cite magazine |date=January 2, 1957 |title=Nestle, Toni Will Split 'Blondie' Tab |url=https://archive.org/details/variety205-1957-01/page/n17/mode/1up?view=theater |magazine=Variety |page=17 |accessdate=May 20, 2023}}

Critical response

A review in the trade publication Variety found little to like in the premiere episode. It said that the TV adaptation "adds no new dimensions, either in wit or humor, to the comic strip." In contrast, it added, "the comic strip humor is diluted, the cliched lines and situations standing out like sore thumbs."