The Bulldog Breed (1960)

When he is crossed in love, grocers assistant Norman Puckle joins the Navy, where he is recruited to man the first British rocket.

Director:

Robert Asher

Writers:

Jack Davies (original screenplay), Henry Blyth (original screenplay),

Stars:

Norman Wisdom, Ian Hunter, David Lodge

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Norman Wisdom	...	Norman Puckle
Ian Hunter	...	Adm. Sir Bryanston Blyth
David Lodge	...	CPO Knowles
Robert Urquhart	...	Cmdr. Clayton
Edward Chapman	...	Mr. Philpots
Eddie Byrne	...	PO Filkins
Peter Jones	...	Diving instructor
John Le Mesurier	...	Prosecuting counsel
Terence Alexander	...	Defending counsel
Sydney Tafler	...	Speedboat owner
Brian Oulton	...	Bert Ainsworth (cinema manager)
Harold Goodwin	...	Streaky Hopkinson
Johnny Briggs	...	Johnny Nolan
Frank Williams	...	Mr Carruthers
Joe Robinson	...	Tall sailor

Storyline

When he is crossed in love, grocers assistant Norman Puckle joins the Navy, where he is recruited to man the first British rocket.

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Plot Keywords:

rocket | navy | diving | british admiralty | rabbit | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 April 1961 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

Die Rakete zur flotten Puppe

Filming Locations:

Beaconsfield Studios, Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Rank Organisation, The

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The ship, F 91, is the HMS Murray, launched in 1955 and broken up in 1970.

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Goofs

When Puckle views the Earth from the spaceship (c. 128 minutes) he sees lines of latitude and longitude, and countries marked in various colours, just as an inflatable plastic globe atlas usually has.

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Crazy Credits

Bosun the bulldog

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Connections

Featured in Mike Baldwin & Me (2001)

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Soundtracks

"What Shall We Do With A Drunken Sailor"
(uncredited)
Traditional
Sung by Norman Wisdom

User Reviews

Interesting, but not one of his best.

'The Bulldog Breed' is one of my favourite Norman Wisdom films, but not one of his best.It is interesting because of the space flight angle, and the film certainly captures the mood of the era.

In many respects this is a sad film; Puckle is portrayed as a rather tragic character, who never really finds his niche.The whole films carries a slight air of depression about it, which is not helped by the melancholy music score.

There are several funny scenes, notably the 'man overboard' scene, the diving lesson, and the mountain climbing episode. In all of these though, the comedy is diluted by the overall gloom of the film.

A hidden gem in the film are the brief, uncredited, appearances of Michael Caine and Oliver Reed in the cinema foyer scene.