Blondie Goes Latin
                                                   
Director: Frank Strayer
Year: 1941
Rating: 6.0
This is probably banned in Florida as Dagwood goes drag. This is good silly fun but seems like a very odd one for a Blondie film. For one thing Blondie (Penny Singleton) is a hot potato who dances the rhumba and sings a killer torch song while Dagwood (Arthur Lake) is a whiz on the drums. I sat their wondering who these two people are. This is from the old days when nearly all actors could sing and dance a little. But this I didn't expect. When Singleton puts on a stunning sleek dress and takes to the dance floor with Mexican singer Tito Guizar, I thought wow. And she spent most of her career playing a ditzy housewife with a dweeb for a husband.

 

Dagwood and Blondie are invited by the boss, Mr. Dithers (Jonathan Hale), to go on a cruise with him to South America. Baby Dumpling and the dog Daisy are along. Hell, Baby Dumpling gets to sing a duet with an urchin. But just as the boat is ready to set sail, the boss gets a telegram and he has to send Dagwood back. Except he doesn't make it off the boat and spends the  remainder of the film trying not to be seen. Instead, he joins the band to play drums in drag. Ruth Terry is the singer. Apparently, that really is Lake and Singleton performing. This has less goofy humor and more drama than usual and it works. And a lot of music. Best is the goodbye scene when Dagwood and Blondie show how much they love each other. Was kind of sweet. The 8th in the series. Only another thousand to go.