As a child, I grew up watching films like A Stitch In Time, On The Beat, Press For Time and The Early Bird. I can remember watching both grandfathers and dad at some stage cry with laughter at the antics of Norman Pitkin and Mr. Grimsdale. They all shared a mutual love for Norman Wisdoms brand of slapstick comedy and it was only a matter of time before it would make an impression on me.
Casting him in that first role in the film Trouble In Store turned out to be an inspired choice, as what followed was a number of classic films which have proved very popular here in the UK and abroad. Whilst the comedy is simple, it is clean, something that you don't see today.
Fat Mancunian mentioned on Twitter earlier this week that there probably is a whole generation of younger people that don't who Norman Wisdom is or will have never seen his work. I agree with his comment that it is a sobering thought. You can only feel that they've missed out on seeing such a talented actor and his films.
The scene where Pitkin is holding onto the runaway lawnmower in The Early Bird is one of my favourite ones. Unfortunately there isn't a clip of this on Youtube to share with you.
However, here's the opening scenes from The Early Bird, including Norman accidentally tearing wallpaper off the staircase, a personal favourite of Alex Lester as he mentions in this weeks blog. Another scene that has the ability to tickle me is the Council Meeting Scene in Pressed For Time. If you haven't viewed these scenes before (highly unlikely I hope), I've included them below:
Rest In Peace Norman. Many thanks for all the laughter.
