''Little Big Shot'' is a 1952 British

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

crime film Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

Jack Raymond Jack Raymond (1886–1953) was an English actor and film director. Born in Wimborne, Dorset in 1886, he began acting before the First World War in '' A Detective for a Day''. In 1921 he directed his first film and gradually he wound down his a ...

and starring

Ronald Shiner Ronald Alfred Shiner (8 June 1903 – 29 June 1966) was a British stand-up comedian and comedy actor whose career encompassed film, West End theatre and music hall. Career Early life and career When he was seventeen, Shiner joined the Royal Nor ...

Marie Löhr Marie may refer to: People Name * Marie (given name) * Marie (Japanese given name) * Marie (murder victim), girl who was killed in Florida after being pushed in front of a moving vehicle in 1973 * Marie (died 1759), an enslaved Cree person in T ...

and

Derek Farr Derrick Capel Farr (7 February 191221 March 1986) was an English actor who appeared regularly in British films and television from 1938 until his death in 1986. His more famous roles include Group Captain John Whitworth in '' The Dam Busters' ...

. It was produced by Henry Halsted's Byron Film and distributed by Associated British. The film's sets were designed by the

art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...

Wilfred Arnold Wilfred Arnold (1903–1970), also known as C. Wilfred Arnold, was a British art director.Ryall p.98 He was prolific contributor to British films, designing the sets for more than a hundred. His brother Norman Arnold was also an art director. ...

. It was the final film of Raymond who had begun his career in the

silent era A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, wh ...

Plot summary

This

crime comedy Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

depicts the bumbling son of a recently deceased

crime boss A crime boss, also known as a crime lord, Don, gang lord, gang boss, mob boss, kingpin, godfather, crime mentor or criminal mastermind, is a person in charge of a criminal organization. Description A crime boss typically has absolute or nearl ...

, who does his best to follow in his father's footsteps, but to little avail. In the end, he accidentally switches sides and helps to bring in the crooks.

Cast

as Henry Hawkwood *

as Mrs. Maddox *

as Det. Sgt. Wilson *Yvette Wyatt as Ann *

Digby Wolfe James Digby Wolfe (4 June 19292 May 2012) was a British actor. After a successful career in the UK and Australia, his later career was based in the US. Early life James Digby Wolfe was born to a father who was an international banker and a m ...

as Peter Carton *Marjorie Stewart as Miss Crane *

Manning Whiley Manning Hedges Whiley (23 January 191529 January 1975) was a British actor. Partial filmography * ''Trunk Crime'' (1939) - Bentley * '' The Four Just Men'' (1939) - (uncredited) * '' Pack Up Your Troubles'' (1940) - Muller * '' Contraband'' (19 ...

as Mike Connor * Danny Green as Big Mo *Victor Baring as Little Mo * Cyril Conway as Tony Vapini

Critical reception

Sky Movies Sky Cinema is a British subscription film service owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). In the United Kingdom, Sky Cinema channels currently broadcast on the Sky satellite and Virgin Media cable platforms, and in addition Sky Cinema ...

'' noted, "another reminder of how much the world of British comedy has missed the abrasive cockney wit of Ronald Shiner. Here he plays the soft-hearted son of a famous crook who tries to emulate his father. Alas, he's too nice to be a criminal, and the gang only keep him out of respect for his old man. Digby Wolfe, once a familiar television face on panel games and reviews, and later creator of ''

Laugh-In ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' (often simply referred to as ''Laugh-In'') is an American sketch comedy television program that ran for 140 episodes from January 22, 1968, to March 12, 1973, on the NBC television network, hosted by comedians Dan ...

'', scores as an impecunious journalist ever on the look-out for a scoop."

References

External links

* * * 1952 films British crime comedy films Films directed by Jack Raymond 1950s crime comedy films 1952 comedy films Films with screenplays by John Paddy Carstairs British films based on plays 1950s English-language films 1950s British films English-language crime comedy films {{comedy-crime-film-stub