Die große Flasche

As a child I grew up with the movies of Norman Wisdom constantly showing on the TV. I watched them avidly. Sadly, as I grew older and more cynical, their flaws became noticeable. The unattainable girl, the sledgehammer pathos, which at times threatens to sink his movies, all these faults and more, became sadly apparent to my more cynical eyes (perhaps that says more about me as a person, then it does about Sir Norman's films).

Yet despite all this, I still have a soft spot for old Norman (and it's not the Grimpon Mire!) and have fond memories of this, possibly his best movie. While there is still pathos (regarding his horse) it's thankfully present in very small doses. Even better, there is no love interest (or rather, no unrequited love interest). Instead we are given a very nice plot about a small, out-of-date diary, threatened by a huge, modern conglomerate, almost Ealing-like in its structure.

The highlight is the opening twenty minutes or so, a near silent sequence where Norman and the ever-present Mr Grimsdale, struggle to get up while still half asleep. Some of the falls look very painful to me, but it remains a very well executed set piece.

Adding to the fun is a very memorable score by Ron Grainer, which you can't help humming after listening to it!

The only downside to this movie is a redundant golfing sequence, in which Sir Norman causes chaos dressed as a vicar! It quickly wears out it's welcome and seems to me to be a bit out-of place, feeling like something added at the last moment to pad out the film.

This is a fun vehicle for Norman Wisdom that starts out quite amiably. He works for his boss "Grimsdale" (Edward Chapman) delivering the milk from his horse-drawn float early each morning. One day, though, he discovers all their empties broken and a new supplier "Consolidated Dairies" taking over his patch. Thwarted at every turn by their supercilious general manager "Hunter" (Jerry Desmonde) and his peak-capped henchman "Austin" (Bryan Pringle) it falls to poor old "Pitkin" to save the day, the business and his job! The beginning works well with a sort of gunfight at OK corral scenario between the two milkmen that clears the street quicker than a thunderstorm. Thereafter, though, the joke wears a bit thin and the story resorts a little too much to slapstick - especially on the golf course - for my liking before descending a little too quickly into the preposterous where it loses much of it's charm and the horse starts to steal all the scenes! It's also a bit on the long side. Perhaps some more ruthless use of the razor blade in the cutting room could have tightened it up bit and kept the pace a bit better concentrated? Wisdom did have great comedy timing and a very expressive face, though, there are giggle moments here for us to enjoy and even a semblance of the Dunkirk spirit! I could just have done with a bit more of that!

Milkman Pitkin (Wisdom) and his employer, Mr Grimsdale (Chapman), pit their small, archaic dairy against a conglomerate, hell bent on taking their business by fair means or foul.

This film is largely innocent and boisterous fun, slapstick and so forth. Even in its day it was hardly considered cutting edge, so it may be of limited appeal to folk who know not of Norman Wisdom and his earlier outings. This is the first Norman Wisdom film in colour and the last to feature regulars Wisdom, Chapman and Desmonde together.

Wisdom we expect to fall about, but others didn't have it easy either; Desmonde passed away two years after this film was made and was in his late fifties (and possibly in poor health) during shooting; he must have been game though; he variously gets sprayed with foam, falls out of a building, drenched with a fire hose, dragged by a runaway lawnmower and hangs from a tree, all whilst doing his trademark 'outraged patrician type' act. Good stuff. Supporting roles from John Le Mesurier, Richard Vernon, Frank Thornton, Peter Jeffrey, and Brian Pringle (as Machiavellian milkman Austin) are well done. Honourable mention goes to Nellie the horse too.

Some of the scenes in this film are quite memorable; the horse tranquilliser's effects on Pitkin and Grimsdale are a nod to the upcoming era of psychedelia.

Yes this is mostly hackneyed, old fashioned, and so forth, but that was really the point; open up a Norman Wisdom film and inside you will find mostly harmless fun, occasionally with a little pathos thrown in. This is a pretty fair example of a Norman Wisdom film; simply being in colour means it is more likely to get watched by some modern audiences.

'The Early Bird' just has to be THE Norman Wisdom film. From the marvellous opening sequence, to the finale, there is not a single dull moment. Of all of his films, this has to be his most popular.

Norman plays a milkman for a local town dairy, his boss is the laid-back Mr. Grimsdale, superbly played by Edward Chapman. However, a large corporate dairy starts to muscle in on their patch, and Norman is soon pitted against a sneaky and unscrupulous Austin (Bryan Pringle). The laughs are soon flowing thick and fast as war develops.

In many ways this film symbolises the changing times of the '60s when the pace of life speeded up, aptly summarised by the quote 'You can't impede the wheels of progress' from the film. As always, Norman manages to save the day, and dispense his particular brand of common sense. In this film, though, his victory is more by default than judgement.

The film contains many classic moments, the sick horse, the apples, the 'shootout', the golf, the fire, and many more.

Finally, I have often wondered if Benny Hill got his inspiration for 'Ernie' from this film?

Definitely **** out of *****

now, everyone has their own opinion on movies and the comment above is fair if that is what he thinks, but, to me, this movie is still a great piece of work by the legendary, sir Norman wisdom. i admit, not my fav out of 13 films of his i've seen but its still good firm piece of British comedy which i, being British, am proud of. so, if you have enjoyed other classic movies of his such as one good turn, just my luck, up in the world,girl on the boat, the bulldog breed, follow a star and many, many others,then i suggest you give this a go and judge for yourself. "mr.grimsdale!" classic. i can honestly say, hand on hart, that sir Norman wisdom is a true legend and will always be a favourite actor of mine for the rest of my life.