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Trouble in Store (1953) More at IMDbPro »
10 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :-
One of my childhood favorites, 13 February 2002
Author: bernie-81 from North Yorkshire
I saw this on UK TV today for the first time in many years and was reminded of the great enjoyment that Norman Wisdom has always provided. This movie now seems very dated and full of the flavour of early 50's Britain.
I'll always remember the 'pill swallowing' sequence and we always used it as a joke with our own kids when they had to take pills and struggled.
Seeing it again I became aware of a number of throw-away lines with sexual connotations that now seem quite modern.
The movie is firmly rooted in the British class system - but here the 'common' working man takes the p*** out of all the establishment figures and institiutions AND wins good in the end AND gets his girl.
No wonder Norman Wisdom was such a hero in Russia and Albania (apparently)!
See this movie if you haven't already .. enjoy it for what it is and what it represented.
11 out of 13 people found the following comment useful :-
A good comedy that will make you forget your troubles., 17 May 2004
Author: david-697 from Stockton, England
Though now slightly over fifty years old, Sir Norman's film debut remains one of his very best movies. 'Trouble In Store' finds the clown in top form, as a stock room worker who wishes to move up in the world and marry the girl of his dreams. Whether roller-skating behind a fast moving bus or crooning his biggest hit (and signature tune) 'Don't Laugh At Me', Norman demonstrates the charisma that made him such a major box office attraction.
Backing Norman is the fantastic Margaret Rutherford, who in only a handful of scenes steals the picture (and everything else!) as an elderly shoplifter. The very lovely Lana Morris also scores as the object of Sir Norman's affections. Lana comes across in this picture so well that it is a real pity that she did not have a better movie career.
Highlights range from Wisdom's window dressing 'duel' with Michael Ward, a very catchy duet with Lana (Norman once again showing us his great singing voice) and a fun Western parody climax. This movie seemed to fly by and is probably Sir Norman's most enjoyable film.
9 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :-
TROUBLE IN STORE (John Paddy Carstairs, 1953) **1/2, 25 August 2006
Author: MARIO GAUCI (marrod@melita.com) from Naxxar, Malta
Norman Wisdom's brand of comedy is an acquired taste; for those unfamiliar with his particular shtick, he's basically the British counterpart to Jerry Lewis - with all that it entails! I had watched a few of his films over the years but it'd been some time since then, so I decided to rent a 12-DVD Box Set (on Region 2) available from my local outlet - which, actually, I did mainly for my father's sake who used to lap his films up...and is already halfway into the collection as I write this!
Anyway, his debut feature is pleasant enough and is actually considered by many to be his best vehicle (though still featuring a couple of sentimental songs). In itself, simple-minded but occasionally inventive (particularly the window-dressing 'competition', the "sale day" rush and the climactic rounding-up of the bad guys) and with a premise that's seen service in countless 'comedian' films - Charlie Chaplin's short THE FLOORWALKER (1917) and again later in MODERN TIMES (1936), Harold Lloyd's SAFETY LAST (1923), The Marx Bros.' THE BIG STORE (1941) and Jerry Lewis himself in WHO'S MINDING THE STORE? (1963). Here the star is nicely abetted by Jerry Desmonde as his flustered boss (often serving as the brunt of Wisdom's accident-prone gags) and Margaret Rutherford as a charming elderly shoplifter.
6 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
"Makes you good to feel alive", 29 June 2008
Author: Gary170459 from Derby, UK
It's often said you have to be English to understand Norman Wisdom's humour – Albanians would probably agree, the same as Russians would've done about George Formby. The fact is he's always appealed to certain parts of the population, usually kids or people with defiantly unsophisticated humour like me. In his films I cringe at the obligatory mawkish bad bits but overall have always got more out than I put in, apart from his last.
This was his first big effort: he plays lowly Norman in the stockroom at a big department store under the control of new broom Jerry Desmonde and intent on winning the love of the girl on the record counter. There's various adventures along the way, many firings and re-hirings and a tiny sub-plot involving a gang of what turned out to be extremely cartoony robbers, but basically it's a one man show. However if you already know that Norman isn't your bag, try this one solely for the beautiful performances by the ever frothing Desmonde up against Wisdom for the first time, and regal Margaret Rutherford as an expert shoplifter in a fantastic feathered hat. Favourite bits: the smashing window dressing scene; Norman's first explosive encounter with Desmonde; the climactic violent gunfight in front of an audience. Norman's most famous song is here too: Don't Laugh At Me 'Cause I'm A Fool; in 2008 UK BBC broadcast an otherwise interesting programme on him at 92 years old with Alzheimer's disease setting in with that precise aim in mind. I do hope no one takes the mickey out of those particular sensitive documentary makers if they ever get old and in the way too.
Recommended as I've always liked Norman's films - to a point - but then again maybe my funny bone froze at age 11.
7 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
Gentle comedy from an age gone by, 15 February 2002
Author: bob the moo from Birmingham, UK
When a major London department store is taken over by a new manager, Mr Freeman, stock boy Norman finds himself out of a job after a series of misunderstandings. He wins back his job in time to get embroiled in an internal robbery of the store.
This was the first of the Norman Wisdom/Rank comedies that became an annual money spinner from the 50's well into the 1960's. The plot is rarely important and here we have a mix of romance and robbery that supports the usual mix of accidents and misunderstandings. The romance and the robbery don't really work, the romance seems to happen far too quickly while the robbery is tacked on at the end.
Wisdom is as excellent as always - his uncoordinated, shy, eager, accident prone and misunderstood personality allows him to have a series of funny set pieces. It's an acquired taste, but if you like the short of slapstick humour then Wisdom will appeal to you. Wisdom regular Jerry Desmonde is good as the store manager and Margaret Rutherford (second in the cast list for a very small role) is funny as an upper-class shop lifter. The only weak link is Lister as Norman's love interest, she's a little light and her character changes depending on how the story is going.
Overall it's not a masterpiece but it's a good Norman Wisdom comedy. It won't appeal to everyone but it's a gentle family comedy from another age.
2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
Will you be quiet?, 27 September 2007
Author: Andrei Pavlov from Archangel, Russia
*** This comment may contain spoilers ***
No, I won't, I am raving mad! Well, Mr Norman Wisdom strikes again. Another over-the-top comedy with his trademark style. Now his genuine "Don't laugh at me…" song is included too. What surprises me here is good timing in very well choreographed crowd scenes. The supermarket "sale-out" day is represented as one solid piece of mass hysteria.
The old lady, who steals everything in sight, is almost stealing the show – well, she could have stolen this movie if it were not a Norman movie. Mr Norman Wisdom makes some impressive stunts here (roller-skating along the busy streets of London, performing some rather dangerous acrobatic jumps and falls, and playing with fire).
Ladies and gentlemen, this is the way the comedies are to be made. No modern stuff can beat it. When another Hollywood so-called "comedy" comes to the screen nowadays, I am 99% sure it is going to be junk with less than 5% of healthy giggles potential. And whenever I watch a Norman Wisdom movie, "laughing my ass off" is guaranteed. Like it or not, Mr Norman Wisdom is a comic genius, like Mr Charlie Chaplin, Mr Buster Keaton, and Mr Arkadiy Raikin.
If you don't like this movie, you are probably dead, bright green, and are about to smell bad (no offence here).
With deep respect to the master, 10 out of 10. Thank you for attention.
1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
Oh the innocence of it all.Goodness and Wisdom triumph., 12 February 2009
Author: ianlouisiana from United Kingdom
*** This comment may contain spoilers ***
In the 1950s I worked at a big store where the manager wore a Morning Suit and whisked through the departments every morning with his assistants and secretaries spinning in his wake like the asteroids in the tail of a comet.Having nodded imperiously at the various Heads of Departments who bowed or curtsied according to their inclinations,he repaired to his office where he spent the morning drinking tea from bone china cups before being picked up in a chauffeur-driven Daimler for lunch.Watching "Trouble in Store" brought it all back.Mr Jerry Desmonde,brilliant stooge to the stars,is outstanding as the faux-posh boss with his air of natural born superiority who lords it over his staff and exercises his power with relish.Mr Norman Wisdom,consummate stage comedian and clown is one of those great performers whose work seems natural and effortless,a state only achieved by those in complete control of their mental and physical faculties.One minute wicked and impish,the next sentimental and lachrymose,he had the balance of a tightrope walker,the suppleness of an acrobat.His "Norman" character had an innocence that was just right for an era that has recently been acknowledged as the very best of times to have been growing up in - if I may be excused such a barbaric assault on the English language. He could sing,dance and do slapstick,pratfalls and hush a Palladium audience with the smallest gesture of one hand.Like most comics he performed best in front of the curtains,but in a cash-strapped post-war Britain most people settled for seeing him at the movies. In "Trouble in Store",he falls for the sweet and innocent Miss Lana Morris,dark-haired and doe-eyed.Will they end up "going steady"?How quaint it all sounds today when our Norman and Lana would have probably had a knee-trembler under the counter of the Fancy Goods dept ten minutes after meeting. The splendid Miss Margaret Rutherford does a jolly turn as a genteel shoplifter,another beautifully-judged miniature to add to her gallery of English eccentrics. Of course the plot is silly - and quite irrelevant - as Mr Wisdom carries on regardless,his customary act disdaining a movie's necessity for some hook to hang the gags and songs onto. Back in 1953 nobody went to a Norman Wisdom movie for the story;just for the opportunity to see the funniest man in British pictures beat the villain and woo the girl.The triumph of innocence over cynicism- it works every time.
1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
A Lot Of Fun, 1 January 2009
Author: crossbow0106 from United States
This is a comedy starring Norman Wisdom as a bumbling stock person in Burridge's, the big London department store. This is a slapstick comedy with heart. He really likes Sally, a salesclerk played by the sweet looking Lana Morris. There are many rich characters in this film, such as Moira Lister playing supervisor Peggy Drew (Miss Srew, if you don't mind!) and the comic icon Margaret Rutherford playing a crafty shoplifter. The Jerry Lewis film "Who's Minding The Store?" borrowed some elements of this film, but this film is better. It is more engaging and involves great sight gags, such as the big sale with thousands of marauding shoppers and Norman trying to catch Sally to give her her purse while on roller skates. No need to go into the central plot, it doesn't matter. This is a fun comedy from the great Norman Wisdom. I recommend this. In these crazy times you need a laugh and this film gives you some.
1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
Norman Wisdom in his debut performance as the unforgettable character, but did it deserve a BAFTA?, 13 November 2007
Author: Aaron Hassard from United Kingdom
*** This comment may contain spoilers ***
Well too start i remember wanting to get this film taped years ago off the BBC, since i watched bits of the other ones we had on VHS (A Stitch In Time, The Bulldog Breed, The Square Peg, On The Beat),i've watched the film more recently so i have a clearer image of it.
The film starts off with Norman on his bike, on his way to the superstore where he works, falling of his bike and causing all sorts of commotion, in the store where Norman works, there is a plot of buglers (obviously) plotting to burgle the store (they do even in front of Normans eyes!!!) but he and his girlfriend (who he sings too, my least favourite part of the movie) find out about the plot and stop it, leaving Norman with the job he wanted so much, to be a window dresser!
and now to my main question, did it deserve a BAFTA?.... well definitely yes for best newcomer, i enjoyed this movie but as my dad said "it's not as good as the ones we have on video" and well i agree, so overall i think it did deserve a BAFTA for it's category....
so overall i enjoyed this film , like all of Normans films i've seen....
4 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :-
hokier than Wisdom's later stuff, 30 November 2006
Author: Lee Eisenberg (eisenberg.lee@gmail.com) from Portland, Oregon, USA
Over the past few months, I've gotten into Norman Wisdom (I'd literally never heard of him before some people lent me a DVD containing some of his movies). Well, after I nearly laughed myself to death watching "Up in the World", "The Square Peg" and "A Stitch in Time", "Trouble in Store" actually seems weaker. Maybe it's that there are some scenes where he breaks into song, or that the whole movie is rather hokey, but it just can't equal the quality reached by its successors.
Still, I will say that the movie is good for a few laughs. Playing his usual clumsy character Norman, he works in a London department store and hopes to get promoted, but his idiocy keeps working against him...until he and a female co-worker discover a plot to rob the store. I guess that what I really like about Norman Wisdom's movies is how he pokes fun at the class system, as the underdog messing up the stuffy rich people's lives; certainly he does that here. But they really could have done without the songs.
Overall, I get the feeling that maybe Wisdom was still trying to figure out his version of comedy, so I can forgive him if this flick isn't as funny as his later ones. I would recommend watching his later movies first, so as not to get put off by this one.
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