Up in the World
| Up in the World | |
|---|---|
 Original British 1-sheet poster | |
| Directed by | John Paddy Carstairs |
| Written by | Jack Davies Henry Blyth Peter Blackmore |
| Produced by | Earl St. John Hugh Stewart |
| Starring | Norman Wisdom Maureen Swanson Jerry Desmonde |
| Cinematography | Jack E. Cox |
| Edited by | John Shirley |
| Music by | Philip Green |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | J. Arthur Rank Film Distributors |
Release date | 6 December 1956 (UK) |
Running time | 87 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Up in the World is a 1956 black and white comedy film directed by John Paddy Carstairs and starring Norman Wisdom, Maureen Swanson and Jerry Desmonde. It was produced by Rank.
Plot
Norman is given a job as a window cleaner at a stately home by the Labour Exchange.
He quickly encounters young Sir Reginald, an obnoxious teenager has an extremely over-protective mother. Due to Reginald's age, the estate is run by the pompous Major Willoughby.
The whole household must kowtow to Reginald. This is epitomised in an estate football match where everyone understands that Reginald must win but Norman doesn't understand this.
Meanwhile Norman develops a romance with the maid, Jeannie.
Reginald demands that Norman take him to London to see a magic show. He tortures him by tickling his feet with a feather and demands that they go that evening... which means he can't take Jeannie to the dance.
Norman is tricked into breaking the TV and a bogus repair van comes to the house. The have come to kidnap Regi but take Maurice by mistake, as REgi has gone off with Norman.
Norman and Regi go to a show and have dinner together.
Cast
- Norman Wisdom as Norman
- Maureen Swanson as Jeannie Andrews
- Jerry Desmonde as Major Willoughby
- Michael Caridia as Sir Reginald
- Colin Gordon as Fletcher Hethrington
- Ambrosine Phillpotts as Lady Banderville
- Michael Ward as Maurice
- Jill Dixon as Sylvia
- Edwin Styles as Conjuror
- Hy Hazell as Yvonne
- William Lucas as Mick Bellman
- Lionel Jeffries as Wilson
- Cyril Chamberlain as Harper
- Michael Brennan as Prison Warder
- Eddie Leslie as Max
- Bernard Bresslaw as Williams
Critical reception
- The Radio Times wrote, "for his fourth starring vehicle, Norman Wisdom teamed up once more with director John Paddy Carstairs. However, this tacky comedy gave notice that the winning formula was already beginning to wear thin...The worst aspect of this maudlin mishmash is the fact that Wisdom gets to warble so often. No wonder he ends up in prison".[1]
- TV Guide called the film a "routine British comedy".[2]
References
- ^ "Up in the World | Film review and movie reviews". Radio Times. 8 April 2013. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
- ^ "Up In The World Review". Movies.tvguide.com. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
- Harper, Sue; Vincent Porter (2007). British Cinema of the 1950s: The Decline of Deference. OUP Oxford. p. 257. ISBN 978-0-19-815935-3. Retrieved 3 June 2010.
.... Trouble in Store, which unexpectedly became the second most popular film of 1954, led Rank to make six more films with [Wisdom] during the 1950s: One Good Turn (1954), Man of the Moment (1955), Up in the World (1956), ....
External links
- Up in the World at the TCM Movie Database
- Up in the World at IMDb
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