Series Link 10.24.08 #7: Norman Wisdom
Posted by Arnold Furious on 10.24.2008
Mistah Grimsdale, MISTAH GRIMSDAAAAALE
Series Link #7: Norman Wisdom
Mistah Grimsdale, MISTAH GRIMSDAAAAALE
SERIES LINK
Or Furious on Franchises…wish I'd thought of that 6 months ago.
Frequently when reviewing movies I notice I'm missing sequels here and there from classic series. In line with one of my key film watching beliefs I'll be making a point of tidying up some of my sequel history. The belief in question being that as long as I enjoyed the original I'll watch any sequel made of it. I don't know where this belief came from but it's one that seems to work out for me quite frequently and there are many film series where I have enjoyed multiple sequels based on my love and respect for the initial instalment (Alien, Lethal Weapon, Die Hard, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Rocky etc).
For this seventh column I'm keeping in mind something that Chad Webb wrote. He said that he was amazed I'd managed to dig up a series he'd never even heard of. It occurred to me that being British is my advantage in this respect. And growing up in England there were roughly four types of films that were on during the day when I watched TV. 1. Old American imports like Laurel & Hardy, Three Stooges, Charlie Chaplin and so on. I was big on physical comedy. 2. Carry On films. There no escaping Carry On films if you're English. If you don't know what I'm talking about then you'll just have to wait for when I have time to do an extremely long column on them. There has to be somewhere in the region of 30 films to cover. 3. James Bond. But that was more often than not at Christmas or during other holidays. 4. Norman Wisdom movies. I spent a great deal of my youth watching Norman Wisdom movies. A lot of American readers are probably looking at the name and drawing a blank. But Wisdom was the British version of Charlie Chaplin (yes, I know he's British as well). Lots of physical comedy. Lots of inventiveness and added catchphrases! But you'll learn about those in due course.
Requests – Friday 13th. I'll do this at some point. And Halloween. They're on my ‘to do' list. Especially Halloween as I'm pretty sure I've not seen 2 or even 3 of the movies. Alien wasn't in my plans but if I keep on doing these long enough there's bound to be an Alien column. James Bond is on my ‘to do' list as I own all the films. It should make life easy. No need for rentals. It probably wouldn't be one column though. I might break it down into Bond actors or decades. Ideas on a postcard…
Series Link #7:
Norman Wisdom/Pitkin
How many films?
Twelve. I'm only including films where Wisdom played a character called Norman.
Starring?
Norman Wisdom (12 times), Edward Chapman (5 times), Derek Bond (3 times), Jerry Desmonde (9 times), Lana Morris (4 times), Belinda Lee (2 times), Jill Dixon (2 times)
Directed by?
John Paddy Carstairs (6 times), Robert Asher (6 times).
Series Span:
13 years. 1953-1966.
Trouble in Store (1953)
If America thinks it has the market cornered in gurning simpletons they're quite wrong. Norman Wisdom was Britain's low rent version of Charlie Chaplin. Wisdom shot to fame in the late 1940's starring in his own TV show "Wit and Wisdom" where he established himself as an able physical comedian. Like many TV stars he eventually moved up to movies with this 1953 debut where he plays a stock lad in a department store with dreams of getting promoted to window dresser. His clumsy, bumbling failure connected with post-war Britain as the crowds egged him on in his pursuit of the girl. In this movie it's Lana Morris in her first of four collaborations with Wisdom. Quite why she humours him is anyone's guess. Wisdom has a terrible habit of making his characters likeable at first and then turning them into gigantic twats when they get any measure of success. So to begin with you root for Norman because he's so pathetic but when he gets success he becomes so thoroughly unlikeable that you want him back in the gutter. He's provided with able support in Trouble in Store though with Jerry Desmonde being quite exceptional as his heel foil Augustus Freeman. Margaret Rutherford is also really good in support as an elderly shoplifter and steals practically every scene she's in.
Issues during Trouble in Store almost all stem from Wisdom's inexperience as a lead. He's good at set pieces and little comedy bits. But whenever something serious is happening he gets the mood wrong. Like when he's singing. He's too good. There's no comedy in it. His flirtations with Lana are frustrating because his approach varies dramatically between being invisible and being irritating. Sometimes you just want to slap him. And yet his physical skills are grand. The first woofer in Trouble in Store comes from him riding his bike head on into another one. In fact his physical skills are so good you get annoyed at him when he gets lines because he's nowhere near as funny. The character he plays is also an unspeakable idiot. The scene where he meets his new boss (Desmonde) and doesn't realise he's in charge is ridiculous.
There are great moments of physical comedy though. Like the bit where the criminal tries to ply Norman with sleeping pills to kill him but Norman "can't swallow pills". Everything he tries to do to get the pill down fails and Norman keeps popping it back out on his tongue. Most of it is liberally borrowed from Charlie Chaplin's films. In particular Modern Times. While Chaplin's comedy is timeless Wisdom's own brand has aged quite badly. Most of it pokes fun at the old British class system; a target of most of the comedy from the 1950's. As a kid most of it either went over my head or went some way to establishing the way Britain was presented to me. Either way I've not seen a Norman Wisdom film in a long time and I'm surprised at how mediocre this film is. And I have another eleven to go!
One Good Turn (1955)
Norman Wisdom's second star turn saw him as a grown up orphan who still lives at the orphanage because no one wants him. You can see why. He's intensely irritating in One Good Turn. Far more so than in Trouble in Store. Butchering the English language and just generally pissing off everyone around him. No more than when he sits in the First Class carriage on the train and suggests a sing-song. Then he moves everyone in the carriage because he's lost his bottle stopper, which is in his pocket. You just want to punch him right in the mouth. He is the very personification of annoying. But he's not annoying people who deserve it like Chaplin often did. Then he loses his trousers and won't get off the train. "I didn't get to see the sea" he moans. Well then you should have gotten off the train you fucking moron.
The film seems to be a running excuse for gag scenes that have little to do with the plot, or lack thereof, and just a series of pratfalls. It's remarkably disjointed and each scene plays with little connection to the one before it. Sometimes they're funny and sometimes they're clever but not often. The best scene is another where Wisdom doesn't say a word; when he's directing the orchestra by accident. Until he realises what's going on and falls over laughing thus ruining the effect. There's something about Wisdom laughing at his own jokes that probably made them seem more infectious back in the 50's but now I just find it annoying. Much like the majority of the film. Norman's bumbling is always good for chuckles but his abrasive personality doesn't seem to match it. He really should be less of a jerk. There's a scene in One Good Turn where he deliberately stops cars on a crossing. And then stops them again and stands there in the road like a prick.
Again Chaplin is an inspiration with the previous years Limelight's orchestral finale serving as the basis for one scene. Only director John Paddy Carstairs decides to stick it in the middle of the film thus making everything that follows it rather disappointing. I guess they couldn't put it at the end because it had nothing to do with the plot. But that doesn't stop the rest of the film. The actual plot, about the orphanage being sold off, is hardly touched on for the majority of the run time. Another Chaplin moment sees Norman participate in a boxing match. But it's just not as inventive as Chaplin or as funny.
The lack of straight man foil hurts the set up. There's one scene that mimics Trouble in Store where Norman watches a movie at the cinema without paying and gets the owner of the theatre to keep guard. But apart from that the film has to rely firmly on Norman being funny by himself. Although he is aided by a young Thora Hird in support. This film is about as good as Trouble in Store but with a worse script. The set pieces do occasionally make amends but they don't push them far enough. The boxing scene in particular can't make its mind up as to whether it's a serious scene or not. And what's with the singing? I really don't remember Norman Wisdom breaking into song when I was a nipper but he does it twice in this film. Uncalled for.
Man of the Moment (1955)
Having gone a little wayward in his second film Wisdom returned to familiar territory by re-teaming with Trouble in Store duo Lana Morris & Jerry Desmonde for Man of the Moment. Once again John Paddy Carstairs is behind the directing chair for his third straight Wisdom collaboration. Added in are the skills of Belinda Lee as famous actress Sonia. And by skills I mean cleavage. In Man of the Moment Norman plays the part of a lowly filing clerk who gets to go to the United Nations with the British delegation. When he accidentally knocks out one of the delegates he gets to take their place as the British don't want to appear inferior by only having five delegates. "All the other nations will have six…and that just won't do". He then accidentally vetoes a bill and protects South Seas island Tawaki.
The film rather bizarrely helped to create Norman as a folk legend in Albania and other Communist countries as it portrays the little man getting one up on larger nations. Norman's bumbling approach varies in entertainment. As per usual his physical comedy is excellent but his obnoxious alterego is a complete pain in the ass. You just want to slap him. The return of the agitated Jerry Desmonde is a good choice and Lana Morris does well with her uneven character. She's never quite sure what to make of Norman and his character does irritate from the get go by standing on her hat. He's perhaps too childish at times. Especially when he can't stop laughing when he gets his photo taken. It's childish to the point of annoyance.
The trying to dispose of a bomb scene was later utilised to greater comic effect in the first Batman film. And the chase through the TV studio was used to greater comedic effect in Blazing Saddles. But the inspiration and ideas are all here. The songs once again seem out of place. Norman breaking into song just doesn't seem right. Especially when he's so good. It's the same as the Road To movies with Bob Hope breaking into song. It just didn't seem right. And Norman does even better with the ladies in this one too. He charms the pants off Lana Morris by being himself and then gets to take a run at blonde stunner Belinda Lee too. With his evening attire on he looks like James Bond's goofy little brother.
Norman doesn't irritate at all in the second half and the multitude of funny set pieces makes this the best Wisdom film to date.
Up in the World (1956)
Building on the success of Man of the Moment the next film in the Wisdom series saw Norman assume the role of another working class hero. This time as a window cleaner to a rich family. Jerry Desmonde made his third appearance as the stuffy counterbalance to Norman's wacky lead. No Lana Morris this time around though. She opted to star with Jack Warner in Home and Away, a comedy about a man who wins the pools. She's replaced by Maureen Swanson (the aunt of Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid's Rachel Ward). Oddly enough Maureen retired in 1961 when she married the Earl of Dudley. This is her only appearance in a Wisdom film. John Paddy Carstairs helms his 4th collaboration with Norman. Swanson doesn't have the sex appeal of Belinda Lee but she's pretty like Lana Morris. As if they were looking for a "Lana Morris type" to play the role. It wouldn't surprise me. She has the same sort of charm.
Jerry Desmonde is by this point amusing me by the sheer number of times he's got to fire Norman's characters from their jobs. He went twice during Trouble in Store, again during Man of the Moment and there's Desmonde in charge of him in Up in the World to give him the boot once again. After the breakneck second half of Man of the Moment the pacing of Up in the World seems tame. The singing again intrudes as well. What was it with the 1950's and the comedy leads singing?
The pace picks up with the football game between the outdoors staff and the indoors staff. Spoiled only son Sir Reginald (Michael Caridia) always wins and Norman, doing his usual dumbass routine, winds up on the opposing side. He's the only one who wants to compete with Sir Reginald and it leads to some nice comedy including Norman booting the pre-teen toff. If he wasn't so small Norman wouldn't be able to get away with giving a child a kicking but they almost match up in terms of size. The nightclub scene is also good for a lark and Wisdom's prison sequence features a superb cameo from Carry On actor Bernard Bresslaw ("playin' a lone hand, eh?"). The other cons assume Norman is a serious gangster because of his long term sentence and fear his time rather than the man. There's also a great scene where Norman accidentally disguises himself as a soldier. Then Jerry Desmonde hits on Norman in drag, which has to be the film's high point. The resulting chaos results in a full on army assault of a mansion, tear gas and an old lady remarking "it must be a new American dance" while Norman, crying profusely, wages war on the entire rest of the cast. Leave it to Jerry Desmonde to save the best pratfall of the film for the dying seconds.
Not quite the hilarity and madcap mayhem of Man of the Moment's second half but it's still a solid entry in the series with plenty of low-brow japes.
Just My Luck (1957)
Interesting concept this time out for Wisdom. He's playing the usual downtrodden salt-of-the-earth type. Although he's not quite as poor as usual. He even has a surname! Usually just dubbed Norman the character now gains the surname of Puckett. Which is a good old fashioned working class name if I ever heard one. He works for a jeweller's workshop and idolises the pretty window dressing lady (Jill Dixon) across the road. Only it'll take him 114 years to save up enough money to buy her a pendant he has his eye on. So he puts a quid on a six horse accumulator at the horses with a local bookie (Leslie Philips). Only no one expected them to all win! With five horses having already won the bookie down £16,000 something has to be done about the last race!
The start of Just My Luck is a little short on comedy but there are still little moments. The cinema scene with Joan Simms is good with lots of run on gags. Norman's attempts to raise a pound involve a great scene where he's trying to navigate some creaky stairs without a sound. Also his mental arithmetic needs work. £1 x 5 = and Norman is there counting in his head before eventually reaching the correct conclusion that 1 x 5 is indeed five. His attempt at being foreign is also great. Especially when an Italian gent before him gets into the race horse easily but Norman's random Eastern European causes chaos. "He's trying to speak Latvian". "No, he's trying to speak Greek". In an aside the music for Just My Luck by Philip Green is the best of the series and one chosen to represent it on the DVD box set.
Just My Luck is missing Jerry Desmonde, apart from a cameo, but it does have one of the better plots. There isn't the same madcap chaos though. Its like they realised some of Norman's films were almost devoid of plot and just a series of gags and tried to make Just My Luck a linear narrative where one event leads to another. Jill Dixon is pretty good at the ‘Lana Morris' role and both Leslie Philips and Margaret Rutherford provide able support although both are funnier in other roles. Joan Simms has a lot of fun playing Phoebe. The bit where she's consoling Norman's Mom about his disappearance and suggests its pointless combing the river because "(bodies) pop up to the surface after three days, all bloated". Norman has worked out by this point, and the previous two films, that being irritating is only fun in small doses and tries to avoid aggravating others unless they deserve it. Like the snooty cinophile at the local picture house.
The Square Peg (1958)
This would be John Paddy Carstairs final Norman Wisdom film having collaborated with the actor in every film in the series so far. And finally he happens upon Wisdom's most famous sidekick; Mr Grimsdale (Edward Chapman). Other co-stars include future Bond girl Honor Blackman (aka Pussy Galore) and Carry On regular Hattie Jacques. Norman also gains his most famous surname onscreen; Pitkin. The one that would become synonymous with the series. In this film Norman has a different enemy the usual. Previously his targets for goodhearted abuse were the upper crust of the British society; the snobby upper class. The Square Peg aims at a target that everyone can relate to; Nazis. Hell if it's good for Indiana Jones its good for anyone.
Pitkin starts out as an officious jobsworth digging up the roads outside an Army Base. He gradually pisses off enough people (like shouting out additional instructions during drills) that he gets drafted along with his boss Mr Grimsdale and shipped off to France. On the way they end up on the wrong truck and end up parachuting into France. Norman's reactions are priceless on the plane as he thinks everyone is falling off the plane. "Murderer!" They set about repairing roads in France but get a touch overzealous and end up in enemy territory.
The situation allows another loan from Charlie Chaplin as Pitkin happens to look exactly like local General Otto Schreiber. Like Chaplin did in the Great Dictator. No harm is stealing from the best. Wisdom's Schreiber is wonderfully over the top. "SILENCE, PIG-DOG!" And it is nice to see him playing a different character for once. The Pitkin in this film is undoubtedly the one the Albanian people fell in love with. Downtrodden and yet strangely brave he quite happily stands up for right against any oppressors. The German side of Norman allows the usually drab song to be dressed up as German opera, which instantly makes it the best song in the series. Just before he settles down with Hattie Jacques to sing they get very close and a watching Norman, looking through the keyhole, delivers a perfectly timed "cor".
The Square Peg is one of Norman Wisdom's better films although it's nowhere near as clever as the Great Dictator. The rare joy of seeing Wisdom play a character that's not a bumbling underdog is almost worth seeing this alone. If you've seen a lot of Wisdom movies and not this one it's just great to see him yuck it up as a heel. The dual role also allows for some broader comedy like a superb mirror gag. The inclusion of Mr Grimsdale gives Norman a perfect foil who isn't a bad guy thus changing the dynamic from the earlier Jerry Desmonde movies and freshening up the act. If there had been more gags and more mayhem in the films rather pedestrian conclusion then it had potential to overtake Man of the Moment and be the best Wisdom film to date.
Follow a Star (1959)
John Paddy Carstairs had completed his run with Norman Wisdom having guided the young comedian through his early roles and prevented interference from Rank. Now he was eager to do something different and left Norman's career in the hands of another director; Robert Asher who would see the Norman series through to its conclusion. Asher had been AD on the two previous Norman movies and had also worked on A Night to Remember. Follow a Star would mark his directorial debut. In this outing Norman Truscott (Wisdom) befriends and infuriates his idol; singer Vernon Carew (Jerry Desmonde). He aspires to be a singer himself although his teacher Dymphna Dobson (Hattie Jacques) has him doing conflicting things (breathing through the stomach, singing from the top of the head). As per usual his physical comedy is excellent getting big laughs with a beach ball act and navigating a garden gate. This is perhaps the most musical of all the Wisdom comedies, which is a pity because the singing seems intrusive and is routinely lacking in the laugh department.
The chemistry between Wisdom and Desmonde is excellent as always but Norman's love interest Judy (June Laverick) is somewhat bland. Confined to a wheelchair her character is remarkably flat. Hattie Jacques is in scene stealing mood though so that does somewhat compensate for it. Particularly her delivery on the line; "oh, an orgy". Desmonde is at his mean-spirited best as Wisdom's stooge but Wisdom employs way too much sentimentality in the role. "All I really want is for Judy to walk". It's a crutch he relied on too much in his later films and this is the first really glaringly obvious use of it. The small role for Richard Wattis is an inspired choice as he is another excellent stooge for Wisdom as he has a huge amount of pride and pomposity. The sequence where he hypnotises Truscott leads to Norman playing "18 months old" and bursting into tears, ranting and kicking his legs around until he falls off the couch. He then attempts to walk, being 18 months old he doesn't know how, and falling on his face in a Flair-esque bump. The crazy turn may be Norman's most psychotic acting of his career.
Just when you think we've run out of great performances Wisdom gets hypnotised into thinking he's posh and belittles a waiter played by John LeMesurier. Thematically this is one of Wisdom's weaker films though and the lack of structure really hurts it. Plus the bizarre reliance on musical numbers, the one in the posh club being the worst, hurts it even more. Not without its moments thanks to some solid support but it was just a bad idea to begin with.
The Bulldog Breed (1960)
An early scene in the Bulldog Breed sees a group of teddy boys tangle with a few sailors. One of the teddy boys is Oliver Reed and one of the sailors is Michael Caine. Uncredited star power! Unfortunately the scene is stupid and doesn't play well. Norman Puckle (Wisdom) gets turned down by his girlfriend Marlene (Penny Morell) when he asks her to marry him and in a really dark moment, for Wisdom and perhaps influenced by Ealing, he attempts suicide by a number of ways but he's a complete failure at that too. Convinced he's good for nothing Puckle joins the navy to get away from his life. Plus you get chicks in the navy! Girls of the world and all that. Norman gets the appeal…and so do I.
Norman instils his routine degree of chaos onboard ship although I don't like that he goes from suicidal to his fun loving self just because he dons a naval uniform. Ian Hunter plays Norman's nemesis here as Admiral Blythe. He's not as entertaining as Jerry Desmonde and comes off as a little bland. Edward Chapman is also board as the rocket designing Mr Philpotts. Military comedies are nothing new and were possibly even played out by 1960. The Bulldog Breed isn't one of Norman's best efforts as a result. Most of the comedy comes off quite flat. The comedy comes together in little skits. As if it was shot as 10 shorts. The result is rather disjointed. The "Man Overboard" scene is probably the most fun while the diving sequence is perhaps the worst thanks to dreadful special effects.
They do a really good job with the court room scene making me wish the whole film had been a court-based comedy instead. Wisdom destroys the integrity of the court inside of 5 seconds pitting the lawyers against each other. Terence Alexander and John LeMesurier play the two legal counsels perfectly. Although the pacing and comedy is often off and I think that's an issue with director Robert Asher who seems less gifted than John Paddy Carstairs for utilising Norman's strengths. His slapstick is just too broad and lacking in the subtlety of earlier performances. I also can't forgive the shonky early CGI (the diving suit & the rabbit both suck, not to mention the space rocket).
In 1961 Wisdom made PG Wodehouse comedy The Girl on the Boat, which is one of the few films he's not named Norman in. His character is Sam Marlow.
On the Beat (1962)
Most of Norman's comedies see him playing the little man in search of his dream. Here the dream is very specific. Norman Pitkin (Wisdom) wants to follow in his father's footsteps and become a top police officer. So he works at Scotland Yard but doing all the menial crap jobs like washing cars. His nemesis on this occasion is the excellent Raymond Huntley playing Sir Ronald Ackroyd. He's always been a strong straight man. But like in the Square Peg Norman gets a duel role; also playing greasy Italian hood/hairdresser Giulio Napolitani. It's not quite the same as his Nazi officer but it's always nice to see Wisdom attempting something beyond his usual working class bumbler.
The plot somewhat takes a backseat to Norman blundering his way into impersonating a copper. That takes up most of the runtime, with him being pursued around London by 400 or so other officers after accidentally raising a false alarm. This runs alongside Giulio attempting to romance his rival's daughter Rosanna (Jennifer Jayne). The bits with Giulio in are pretty much without laughter or entertainment. When Raymond Huntley finally notices the similarity between Pitkin & Giulio the plot finally kicks in at the hour mark. Pitkin getting his police officer gig in exchange for going undercover in the mob. Sadly Norman ruins the experience with an overly sentimental love story with Rosanna, which is rushed and badly handled.
On the Beat feels like a Wisdom film too far. The ideas and jokes are starting to dry up and although it has a better linear storyline than the Bulldog Breed it really is lacking that film's laughs. There's one scene where David Lodge, the manly Inspector, suddenly becomes incredibly camp while teaching Norman how to act like a hairdresser but the laughs really are few and far between. It probably doesn't help that Huntley only has a few scenes. The one where Norman is washing the car is funny and then there's a huge gap until Huntley appears again. The deteriorating quality of the films now makes me worry about the final three Wisdom films.
A Stitch in Time (1963)
And here we have the dream Wisdom cast. Not only does he have Jerry Desmonde on board but also Edward Chapman as Mister Grimsdale. Norman plays a butcher's assistant working for Mr Grimsdale. When the butchers is held up Mr Grimsdale accidentally swallows his gold watch and chain. Off they go to hospital milking every sight gag along the way. The stretcher gag is almost five minutes of solid gag. Everything you can do wrong with picking up a stretcher they do. This is also the first film where Norman applies the "mistah grimsdaaaale" technique that became his catchphrase. Ask anyone to do a Norman Wisdom impression and that's usually the phrase they'll use.
Wisdom's films were becoming increasingly blighted by sentimentality. This is especially prevalent here as Pitkin befriends a mute girl in the hospital called Lindy. The scenes between them are borderline sickening. They do make amends with the usual excellent support roles from Chapman (at one point suffering from severe anal trauma) and Desmonde. And Wisdom has his fair share of physical comedy moments like bed racing and being wrapped from head to toe in bandages. He also gets to do his bit in drag, which is good for a few chuckles and a marching band scene where Norman causes all manner of chaos.
Norman does ruin all his hard work with OTT sentimentality though and his working class speech at the films conclusion where he berates the gathering of socialites is the most sentimental scene of all. Followed immediately by his emotional reunion with Lindy. Despite this tosh a Stitch in Time is one of the better Wisdom comedies. Not quite at the chaotic highs of Man of the Moment but close to it in terms of laughs.
The Early Bird (1965)
This is pretty much the definitive Norman Wisdom film. It has Edward Chapman as Mr Grimsdale, Jerry Desmonde as the stooge heel and the battle of a big Consolidated dairy against a small one (Grimsdales). Wisdom representing the latter. It's also the first Wisdom comedy to be shot in colour. Unfortunately colour rather shows up Wisdom's old age. He was heading towards 50 and was playing the ‘young lad' character still. The improved film techniques somewhat exposed the issues between the character's age and Wisdom's appearance. The film is sufficiently loaded with sight gags to make amends. Norman and Mr Grimsdale both fall down stairs throughout the opening sequence. Norman on one occasion doing so with a cup of tea, which he doesn't spill. Then he falls back downstairs with it and again doesn't spill a drop. Poor Mr Grimsdale ends up on the wrong end of some abuse too with Norman accidentally throwing the tea over his face and then blowing him up.
Desmonde is also showing his age. The colour photography shows up his white hair and craggy features. Although he's on his usual fine form. Norman's first meeting with him is incredibly destructive with a runaway lawnmower wiping out half the garden before a tree destroys Desmonde's car. Jerry takes it badly and pulls out a rifle in an attempt to kill Norman! That should show you what extremes the Early Bird goes to one-up its predecessors. The curiously named Bryan Pringle (Brazil, Jabberwocky) also has a great turn as Consolidated Dairies rival milkman Austin. He has an amazing line in bullshit talking about war pensions, violent cats and when he's caught breaking bottles blames it on "headaches".
The more cutting edge Wisdom comedy includes a scene where Norman eats an apple spiked with, I presume, LSD. This sees Norman freaking out during a bad trip where his housekeeper turns into a horse. The usual tone of the movies is livened up somewhat to appeal to the swinging 60's audience but there's no escaping the fact that it's still the same old Norman Wisdom comedy. The attempt to make it livelier does give it an edge that other Wisdom films were perhaps missing. Some of the speeded up footage is rubbish and the woeful banjo soundtrack is a disaster but otherwise this is the best example of Wisdom on form. Lots of fun set pieces (the golf game featuring John LeMesurier is superb) and perfect support.
Press for Time (1966)
This is Norman Wisdom's final star vehicle. The post-war fad of Wisdom comedies had somewhat faded away and the 60's were into full swing. The same year Michael Caine shot Alfie. London was alive and swinging. They weren't interested in Wisdom's old fashioned hijinx anymore. Wisdom attempted to move on next starring in The Night They Raided Minsky's with director William Friedkin. The studio tinkered with the cut and by all accounts it ended up a bit of a failure. He made another attempt at UK comedy with What's Good for the Goose but by then the public were entirely on a different page to Wisdom and his lot as a movie star was over. He resorted to a fairly popular TV show in the 70's but his star was on the wane. When "A Little Bit of Wisdom" finished in 1976 he effectively disappeared from TV and into semi-retirement reappearing in his old age to make appearances on shows like Last of the Summer Wine. Wisdom's heyday had come to an end before the release of Press for Time, his second colour feature, but Rank refused to acknowledge it. By the time of release Norman was fully 50 years old and still playing the same hard done by ‘young lad' character he'd been playing since Trouble in Store.
Here the stretch is too far with Norman playing a 50 year old whose grandfather is prime minister. He plays that role too though and overplays it so badly that the character must be 125 years old at least. It would be Norman Wisdom's worst ever performance were it not for another turn from him in the same movie; playing his own daughter/mother. He's absolutely dreadful. The plot isn't much better with Norman playing a newspaper salesman who gets shipped off to the countryside to become a reporter at his grandfather's insistence. It's all over the place and just an excuse for a series of hijinx. Norman occasionally makes these funny and plays an excellent drunk making you wonder why he didn't opt for that comedy more frequently. He's never as good as Charlie Chaplin at it but this sees him taking a stab at it.
The supporting cast is really quite poor on the whole though. No Desmonde, no Chapman and no entertaining female lead. No wonder Wisdom chose to play three parts himself. David Lodge does appear as the newspaper editor, but he's alone in terms of talent. Angela Browne is thoroughly flat as the lady reporter who Norman befriends. I think the lack of fizz about the film showed that Norman's time in the sun was up. He was stuck in a comfort zone of the same character and the same basic movie. Norman does work in a great scene at the opening of a house where he destroys the bandstand by pulling out planks to get at a golden key. The assorted pratfalls are good for chuckles. He promptly destroys the house too. Although outside of the big set pieces Press For Time is easily the flattest and drabbest of the series. The characters are really dull and lifeless. And the horrendous conclusion (a shockingly awful beauty contest) just puts a further miserable cap on a mediocre film.
RATINGS –
Trouble in Store **1/2
One Good Turn **
Man of the Moment ***1/2
Up in the World ***
Just My Luck ***
The Square Peg ***1/2
Follow a Star **
The Bulldog Breed **1/2
On the Beat **
A Stitch in Time ***
The Early Bird ***1/2
Press for Time *
The 411 –
Norman Wisdom's films haven't aged particularly well. He has a few decent films though. The Early Bird, minus the soundtrack, is lots of fun and both Man of the Moment and the Square Peg have strong comedy. The films get a little samey and some of the earlier ones suffer from Wisdom's lack of acting skills and the later ones from overly sentimental behaviour from the lead. Norman is usually at his best when he's bouncing off either Jerry Desmonde or Edward Chapman who both provide stellar support during the series. Whether you'll enjoy Wisdom will depend on your sense of humour. For American readers the most obvious comparison is with Jerry Lewis. They both play the same sort of characters; the loveable loser prone to comedy gaffs and share a lot of the same mannerisms. Wisdom's humour is at times badly dated and even puerile and childish. For Brits who grew up on his films though it's a pleasant trip down memory lane to look back at his career. Although I probably wouldn't watch the majority of his films again. Only a few are worth a second look. The rest are just star vehicles with thin scripts.
