Press for Time

Gormless Norman is the Prime Minister's grandson, a newspaper-seller kicked upstairs (because grandfather is embarrassed) to a journalist's post in a seaside town (where he wreaks much havoc). Based on a novel by Evening Standard hack Angus McGill, this features Wisdom in three roles, spreading his creepy persona too thinly for comfort. His humour was very much a product of the conscription years; by 1966, it had worn hopelessly thin, and after this film, he attempted to update his style with Swinging Sixties fare like What's Good for the Goose - a disastrous step, it transpired.