A Stitch in Time

Very funny and surprisingly well made film. Norman Wisdom does not put a foot wrong, well he does but he's supposed to! What is particularly gratifying here is that whilst Wisdom is his brilliant self, everybody else puts in excellent and thoughtful performances. There is none of the 'prima donna' stuff we tend to get in the 'Carry On' films of the period and everybody is mainly interested in making themselves look good. Peter Jones, for instance puts in a magnificent performance as a St Johns Ambulance Brigade leader in a little scene that becomes central to the whole film. From the very beginning in the butcher's shop the slapstick is immaculate and typified by the hospital trolley race, Wisdom's tone is some magical mix of the male desire to prove himself and wanting to be a little boy again.

Norman Pitkin works for Mr Grimsdale in a butcher shop. When a robbery goes wrong Mr Grimsdale is put into hospital to recover. While in the hospital he and Norman decide that they have been `called' to serve as doctors. While visiting Norman makes friends with a lonely young girl in the children's wing, even giving her Mr Grimsdale's gold watch to cheer her up. However a series of misunderstandings leads Sir Hector to ban Norman from the hospital. However he tries many tricks to get in to visit the girl.

Norman Wisdom films rarely surprise - you pretty much know what you're going to get and this is no different. Here his wide eyed innocent gets into a raft of comical misunderstandings around the hospital. His innocent act still works well and many of the set pieces are funny and well handled. The actual scenes with the little girl are too cute and sweet to be totally enjoyable but they do set up the usual `message' at the end - this one (as with so many others) allows Norman's working class fool to challenge the selfishness of the upper classes.

Wisdom is good, he still manages to carry off the likeable innocent. Wisdom regulars Jerry Desmonde and Edward Chapman are both good and as usual the rest of the cast is filled out by reasonable attractive girls eager to fall for Norman's charms.

Overall fans of Wisdom will not be disappointed and people who enjoy physical comedy with no nasty or cynical edges will find much gentle charm to enjoy here.

This one is above average, not Norman's best, but still good.

The scenes at the butchers are good, my wife could not stop laughing, , it was worth seeing it just for that.

This one has Jerry Desmonde and Herbert Chapman both supporting Norman and Jeanette Sterke is the pretty girl, Jeanette is one of the few from Norman's films who is still with us, now aged 87, she retired in 1986.

Lookout for Patsy Rowlands, Frank Williams (he did a few of Norman's films), Cyril Chamberlain and Pat Coombs.

The ending was a bit dramatic, but not too cheesy, it turned from a comedy to a social drama.

This film really does highlight Norman Wisdom at his best and features all the elements that made him such a fantastic screen clown.

Ably supported by Jerry Desmonde and Edward Chapman the film manages to feature all of the humour and the sentiment that make Wisdom's films so special. This one is particular shows him at his best because the sentiment is kept in check and there's none of the silly business of Norman playing multiple roles that perhaps bogged down his later outings.

Although it feels like a combination of sketches at times (Norman as a ST John's ambulance member, Norman as a nurse) they are brilliant ones, and there is enough of a plot to hold them all together. The scenes with Lindy are especially well written and it is perhaps this element that makes 'A Stitch in Time' my favourite of Norman's films.

A Stitch in Time is directed by Robert Asher and collectively written by Jack Davies, Norman Wisdom, Henry Blyth and Eddie Leslie. It stars Norman Wisdom, Edward Chapman, Jeanette Sterke and Jerry Desmonde. Music is by Philip Green and cinematography by Jack Asher.

Although not prime Wisdom, A Stitch in Time holds the secrets as to what made the diminutive star so popular. Obviously his style of slapstick and malarkey for laughs isn't for everyone, but Wisdom's career blossomed because the feel good factor in his movies was always so high. While there was nearly always a sweet thread in his movies, where the harsh critics would cite schmaltz or sappiness, others rightly point to the honest escapism factor, a chance to forget the world and its troubles for a brief moment in time.

A Stitch in Time sees Wisdom as Norman Pitkin, the young assistant to Mr. Grimsdale (Chapman) at the town butchers. When Grimsdale is hospitalised, Pitkin is determined to help wherever possible, which unfortunately means chaos will follow. This set-up allows Wisdom to indulge in a number of high spirited sequences involving motorised beds, teeth extractions, stretcher bearing, ambulance surfing, marching band chaos and even dressing up in drag. The "tender" sub-plot involves an orphan girl who after losing her parents in a plane crash, refuses to talk or smile, but Norman is on that case with the message being the innocence of unprejudiced kindness. That's that, really, all wrapped up in just under an hour and half of film.

Harmless and innocent fun for those who want to escape their blues. 7.5/10