There Was a Crooked Man *** (1960, Norman Wisdom, Andrew Cruickshank, Alfred Marks, Susannah York, Reginald Beckwith, Jean Clarke, Ronald Fraser) – Classic Movie Review 5432

‘Hair Raising! Roof Raising! A Feast Of Laughter!’ British laughter legend Norman Wisdom stars in director Stuart Burge’s playful 1960 vehicle for his particular style of comedy. In this independently made film, Wisdom does extend his range beyond his usual screen persona, but otherwise, his whole wide-eyed innocence act is all still here, the mugging, the hesitance, and the incompetence – and it is all quite appealing and endearing.

Wisdom plays a naïve explosives demolition expert who finds himself involved with a lovable gang of safe-cracking crooks who pose as American soldiers to foil the nasty nefarious machinations of the evil mayor of a northern town (Andrew Cruickshank), a prominent industrialist who is trying to trick punters through a phony stocks and shares scam.

Written by Reuben Ship, the plot is complete tosh, of course, but that hardly matters. It is the comedy that matters and Norman’s fooling is ably supported in laughter-raising by the likes of Sixties comic stalwarts like Alfred Marks, Reginald Beckwith and Ronald Fraser, plus the young and lovely Susannah York, in her movie debut, aged just 21.

Also in the cast are Jean Clarke, Timothy Bateson, Brian Oulton, Redmond Phillips and Percy Herbert.

Arthur Ibbetson shoots in black and white, of course.

After a brand new transfer, it is released for the first time ever on DVD on 8 May 2017, joining Network’s extensive The British Film collection. It hasn’t been seen for years, withdrawn after allegedly offending American audiences when Wisdom masquerades as an arrogant US general requisitioning British land for the US Air Force.

Canadian-born scriptwriter Reuben Ship was denounced by a House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) hearing, blacklisted in the US for alleged communist ties, and deported back to Canada in 1953.

© Derek Winnert 2017 Classic Movie Review 5432

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