Plus on est de fous

With fairly high Pinewood production values this was one of Norman Wisdom's best films, sans his best foil Jerry Desmonde though. Richard Caldicott played the posh pompous machinating bigwig foil here, but unfortunately wasn't (mis)used to the full.

Norman is general dogsbody at quaint orphanage under threat of demolition and replacement by a factory – this umbrellas various episodic adventures he has in his drive to buy an expensive £12 toy car for little Jimmy. Favourite bits: annoying the First Class rail passengers with his vivacity/yobbishness – depending on your point of view; making the best of a trouserless situation; peeling the onion with the sewing machine, to everyone's distress; the boxing bout; conducting the orchestra; the Black Sheep Of Whitehall and Happiest Days Of Your Lives type reprises. Thora Hird got more of a showing than in Black Sheep too. Two sentimental songs from Norman along the way: Step In The Right Direction (bedtime at the orphanage) and one he wrote himself Please Opportunity (at the funfair), both perfectly sung – just how much did Anthony Newley and Robbie Williams owe to him?

Along with some of the sets some of the acting could be a little wooden but much more preferable to me than todays plastic. For a glimpse of a safe but dead Britain it's great stuff, also a pleasant non-heavy comedy in all departments.

Norman agrees to buy a pricey toy car for a young lad at an Orphanage, and sets about earning the required amount.

It is a truly lovely, sweet film, it has some very funny moments, the scene inside the first class carriage, and the orchestra conduction are works of pure brilliance.

Lots of familiar faces, a young William Russell, a good few years before his break on Doctor Who, Thora Hird is lovely as Cook.

Wisdom as always is just wonderful, a great actor, boundless charisma. 8/10.

It's a joy.

Norman is the oldest orphan at Greenwood's orphanage who now works there in return for free board. Norman is always trying to give the orphans a good life but all that is threatened when Mr Bigley announces he is going to sell the property for industrial use, Norman takes action to prevent the sale.

I'm not a huge Wisdom fan but I have seen many of this films. So I know that I do enjoy his brand of humour and know he can be really funny in a gentle way when the film allows him to be. Here the basic plot is only a step to several funny scenes – Norman entered in a walking race, Norman fleeing the police in a toy car, Norman in a train carriage with a group of upper-class stiffs etc. Most of the film is little to do with the plot described above. It's only the final scene where the orphans repel the adults that brings it back to the central idea, however that doesn't mean it's no good. My personal favourite is the scene where Norman gets mistaken for a conductor because he's holding a candy floss stick and gets bungled in front of an orchestra at a concert- again little to do with the plot, but still funny!

The actual set-ups for Wisdom to do his stuff are all pretty funny and don't feel forced despite not fitting naturally into the plot. The humour is gentle and when Norman is doing it he really gives his all. He'll never be respected like some other comedians but here he shows that he is a genius and can work gags well in his own style. In other films he has suffered from a lack of a good support cast, but here he is pretty much carrying the whole thing and does it very well. Some may dislike the cute kids aspect of the film but it's only the end where they get much input. Rice and Abicair are OK but it's nice to see a young Thora Hird before her stair-lift adverts paid her way!

Overall this is funny, gentle comedy Wisdom style. Those that hate his basic style will dislike this but fans will love it and it's good enough to win over new viewers. Definitely one of Wisdom's better films – and that's without the sterling support of regular's Desmonde and Chapman.

Norman Wisdom may not be a household name in North America, but he certainly was one in Europe & Asia during the height of his career in the '50s & the '60s. "One Good Turn" is a funny, clean cut family comedy that you can watch with your kids without having to have the remote handy to press the forward button during the inappropriate sections which nowadays is all over so called family movies. Norman is charming, honest & utterly funny in his movies. A likable character that kids and adults alike can relate to. "One Good Turn" is a funny movie with many clever slapstick sequences (check out the orchestra conductor sequence for just one example) that have not lost their charms. Norman Wisdom movies have been hard to find here in North America but recently WHAM! USA label has put out a whole bunch of them out (sadly on VHS only so far). Get them while they're still around. You won't be disappointed!

Probably the best of Norman Wisdom's films. Some extremely funny and clever scenes are seen in this work. For example, Wisdom fools around in a railway carriage in front of some very 'English' stuffed shirts. Also,(in one of the funniest scenes I have seen in any film) he stands in front of an orchestra waving a candy floss stick. The orchestra plays accordingly! There are some sentimental scenes also, which some viewers may find hard to take (as in all Wisdom's films). But, on the whole, a very funny film guaranteed to cheer you up when you are feeling down.