Welcome

Welcome indeed to my very first Ciao review...

I have read some of your reviews to see how it is done. I hope I won't disappoint you.

I decided to begin with a DVD containing two wonderful films, starring the inimicable Norman Wisdom.

The first film is entitled Trouble In Store. It is the first film Norman ever made.
The second is entitled Up In The World.

A litle wisdom on Wisdom

Norman Wisdom was born in 1915. Sadly he lead an unhappy childhood. His father was violent and abusive and his mother abandoned the family in 1924. Subsequently, Norman and his brother were placed in care.
Aged 13, Norman found his first job down a mine. Aged 14, he joined the army. In between he was also a waiter and an errand boy
It was in the army that Norman began to entertain. He learned to dance and play a number of musical instruments.
He left the army in 1946, aged 31. He was now a professional entertainer and worked in many variety clubs. His trademark comedic character was well received in the West End and it wasn't long before he starred in his first film: Trouble In Store.
In 1995 he received an OBE. In 2000, a Knighthood. Norman was certainly a true knight of comedy.

My thoughts

I adore Norman Wisdom. I have almost every film he ever made, and never tire of watching them.
My husband and I regularly play one of his movies on a Sunday night, with a large bowl of popcorn to hand. We both have our favourites however, and end up arguing about which DVD to choose. It's an amicable row though.
If you have never seen Norman Wisdom, then you are missing a very funny man. I insist you watch at least one of his comedies. Please?

Trouble In Store

Produced in 1953. The film is 82 minutes long and is in black and white. It was directed by John Paddy Carstairs.

The story

Norman Pitkin* (Norman Wisdom) works in the stockroom of a large department store in the West End. He dreams of becoming a window dresser and longs for the attention of pretty shop girl Sally (Lana Morris). Sadly, his hopes seem somewhat crushed by his persistant foolishness, and he simply ends up infuriating his boss Mr Freeman (Jerry Desmonde).
Matters aren't helped by the presence of Gerald (Derek Bond), Norman's devious rival, and unwholesome cad.

Will the bumbling hero get the job and the girl? What do you think? Watch the comedy and find out.

*Pitkin was the name regularly used by Norman Wisdom's character in films.

My thoughts

This is a wonderfuly funny film. Norman Wisdom's talents are superbly comical of course, as he begs for the viewer's sympathies and makes those silly noises, whilst behaving like a total prat.
But I have to point out that casting Jerry Desmonde as the straight man*, and enlisting the lovely Margaret Rutherford as the gracious, but thieving Miss Bacon, does add to the laughs. Infact, I would go so far as to say that Rutherford might have stolen Wisdom's glory if she had been given a bigger part.

Some of the more memorable scenes include Norman chasing after a bus on roller skates, and setting himself on fire during the company dinner.
My favourite moment of all is when Norman meets Mr Freeman for the first time, and not realising who he is, tries to get him to steal cigars and liquor from his own office! I'm smiling just thinking about it.

As a bonus, we also get to see Joan Sims of the Carry On team in this. Need I say more.

This is a hilarious romp, and I recommend it wholeheartedly.

*Desmonde subsequently played the straight man in several more Wisdom comedies.

Up In The World

Produced in 1958. The film is 87 minutes long and is in black and white. It was directed by John Paddy Carstairs.

The Story

Norman Pitkin is once again hapless. This time he is a window cleaner, who goes to work for the very rich Lady Banderville (Ambrosine Phillpotts) at her country manor.
As usual he manages to get himself into a number of pickles, and is assisted in this by Lady Banderville's young son, Sir reggie (Michael Caridia), who loves playing pranks on him.
Jerry Desmonde is present here as one of Sir Reggie's guardians. He plays Major Willoughby, and makes yet another great contribution as the token straight man.
As the funny plot unfolds, we find that Lady Banderville's spoilt brat forces our Norman to take him to see a magician, with very unfortunate consequences for the poor window cleaner.

How will it all end this time? Take a look for yourselves.

My thoughts

Another hilarious movie, with Norman's usual gormless charm and talents. This is my favourite of the two comedies, as Wisdom's character is pitted against snobs. It's a scream.
There is a scene in this film, that has me in tears of laughter every time. Just watch out for the moments that involve Norman interrupting a meeting and you'll know what I mean.
His friendship with Sylvia the maid (Jill dixon) has rather sentimental undertones, and adds a little touch of seriousness to the picture, but not too much, so it won't interfere with the giggles.

A second wholehearted recommendation that you just have to see!

The DVD

The disc offers a commentary by Norman Wisdom, but sadly only in audio format.

A worthwhile listen if you are interested in his views on the two films featured here.

It has Dolby Digital Mono sound and is only viewable in English. There are no subtitles.

I purchased my copy for £12.99 at Amazon, but you may find it cheaper elsewhere.

A final thought

It might be easy to dismiss these great comedies if you are unfamiliar with Norman Wisdom's comedy genius, especially as they are in black and white. Perhaps if I were to compare his mishaps to those usually associated with Inspector Clouseau, you may be tempted to watch. Unless of course you don't know who Clouseau is either. In which case you are missing out twice!

I hope you enjoyed reading the review and found it informative enough.