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''The Bulldog Breed'' is a 1960
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending ( black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the o ...
starring
Norman Wisdom Sir Norman Joseph Wisdom, (4 February 1915 – 4 October 2010) was an English actor, comedian, musician and singer best known for a series of comedy films produced between 1953 and 1966 featuring a hapless onscreen character often called Norman ...
and directed by Robert Asher.


Plot

Norman Puckle (Norman Wisdom), a well-meaning but clumsy grocer's assistant, cannot seem to do anything right. After being rejected by Marlene, the love of his life, he attempts
suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and ...
, but cannot even do that. He is saved from jumping off a cliff at "Lover's Leap" by a
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...
petty officer A petty officer (PO) is a non-commissioned officer in many navies and is given the NATO rank denotation OR-5 or OR-6. In many nations, they are typically equal to a sergeant in comparison to other military branches. Often they may be super ...
. He persuades Puckle to join the Royal Navy, where he will meet "lots of girls". Life in the Navy proves not to be as rosy as described, and Puckle fails at every task during basic training. But despite this, he is regarded by the Admiral in charge of a rocket project to be a "typical average British sailor", and chosen to be the first man to fly into outer space in an experimental rocket. Puckle fails at every stage of his training and is court-martialled, but successfully pleads for a final chance to prove himself. By accident, he takes the place of an
astronaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally r ...
and leaves Earth in the rocket. Equally by accident, he manages to return. He crash-lands on a Pacific island and ends up in the arms of a compliant local maiden.


Cast

*
Norman Wisdom Sir Norman Joseph Wisdom, (4 February 1915 – 4 October 2010) was an English actor, comedian, musician and singer best known for a series of comedy films produced between 1953 and 1966 featuring a hapless onscreen character often called Norman ...
as Ordinary Seaman Norman Puckle * Ian Hunter as Admiral Sir Bryanston Blyth * David Lodge as
Chief Petty Officer A chief petty officer (CPO) is a senior non-commissioned officer in many navies and coast guards. Canada "Chief petty officer" refers to two ranks in the Royal Canadian Navy. A chief petty officer 2nd class (CPO2) (''premier maître de deuxiè ...
Knowles * Robert Urquhart as Commander Clayton * Edward Chapman as Mr. Philpots * Eddie Byrne as Petty Officer Filkins * Peter Jones as Diving instructor *
John Le Mesurier John Le Mesurier (, born John Elton Le Mesurier Halliley; 5 April 191215 November 1983) was an English actor. He is perhaps best remembered for his comedic role as Sergeant Arthur Wilson in the BBC television situation c ...
as Prosecuting counsel *
Terence Alexander Terence Joseph Alexander (11 March 1923 – 28 May 2009) was an English film and television actor, best known for his role as Charlie Hungerford in the British TV drama ''Bergerac (TV series), Bergerac'', which ran for nine series on BBC One be ...
as Defending counsel *
Sydney Tafler Sydney Tafler (31 July 1916 – 8 November 1979) was an English actor who after having started his career on stage, was best remembered for numerous appearances in films and television from the 1940s to the 1970s. Personal life Tafler was bor ...
as Speedboat owner *
Brian Oulton Brian Oulton (11 February 1908 – 13 April 1992) was an English character actor. Biography Born in Liverpool, Lancashire, Oulton made his acting debut in 1939 as a lead actor. During the Second World War he served in the British Army, and retu ...
as Bert Ainsworth (cinema manager) * Harold Goodwin as Streaky Hopkinson * Johnny Briggs as Johnny Nolan * Frank Williams as Mr. Carruthers * Joe Robinson as Tall sailor *
Liz Fraser Elizabeth Joan Winch (14 August 1930 – 6 September 2018), known professionally as Liz Fraser, was a British film actress, best known for being cast in provocative comedy roles. Early life Fraser was born in Southwark, London. Her year of bi ...
as NAAFI girl *
Penny Morrell Penny Morrell (4 February 1938 – 3 January 2020) was a British actress. She was married to the actor George Cole until his death in 2015. Death Penny Morrell died at the Royal Berkshire Hospital, Berkshire, England on 3 January 2020, aged 81 ...
as Marlene Barlow *
Claire Gordon Claire Gordon (16 January 1941 – 13 April 2015) was an English film actress and comedian known for leading and cameo roles in many British films from the late 1950s to the mid-1980s, and for working with most of the television comedy stars of ...
as Peggy * Julie Shearing as WRN Smith *
Leonard Sachs Leonard Meyer Sachs (26 September 1909 – 15 June 1990) was a South African-born British actor. Life and career Sachs was born in the town of Roodepoort, in the then Transvaal Colony, present day South Africa. He was Jewish. He emigrated t ...
as Yachtsman * Glyn Houston as Gym instructor *
Michael Caine Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite; 14 March 1933) is an English actor. Known for his distinctive Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films in a career spanning seven decades, and is considered a British film ico ...
as a sailor (uncredited) *
Oliver Reed Robert Oliver Reed (13 February 1938 – 2 May 1999) was an English actor known for his well-to-do, macho image and "hellraiser" lifestyle. After making his first significant screen appearances in Hammer Horror films in the early 1960s, his ...
as a Teddy boy (uncredited) *
William Roache William Patrick Roache (born 25 April 1932) is an English actor. He is best known for playing Ken Barlow in the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' since it was first broadcast on 9 December 1960. He is listed in the ''Guinness World Records ...
as Space Centre Operator (uncredited) *
Sheila Hancock Dame Sheila Cameron Hancock (born 22 February 1933) is an English actress, singer, and author. Hancock trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art before starting her career in repertory theatre. Hancock went on to perform in plays and music ...
as Doris (uncredited) *
Cyril Chamberlain Cyril Chamberlain (8 March 1909 – 5 December 1974) was an English film and television actor. He appeared in a number of the early ''Carry On'', ''Doctor'' and '' St. Trinian's'' films. Chamberlain was born on 8 March 1909 in London and died ...
as Jimmy the landlord (uncredited)


Production notes

The film features early appearances by future British film stars
Michael Caine Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite; 14 March 1933) is an English actor. Known for his distinctive Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films in a career spanning seven decades, and is considered a British film ico ...
and
Oliver Reed Robert Oliver Reed (13 February 1938 – 2 May 1999) was an English actor known for his well-to-do, macho image and "hellraiser" lifestyle. After making his first significant screen appearances in Hammer Horror films in the early 1960s, his ...
who share a scene together with Wisdom. It takes place in a cinema lobby, where Norman gets into a fight with a gang of
Teddy Boys The Teddy Boys or Teds were a mainly British youth subculture of the mid 1950s to mid 1960s who were interested in rock and roll and R&B music, wearing clothes partly inspired by the styles worn by dandies in the Edwardian period, which ...
(one of which is played by Reed), only to be helped by some
sailors A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. The profession of the s ...
, who include Caine. ''
Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford. Orig ...
'' actors Johnny Briggs and
William Roache William Patrick Roache (born 25 April 1932) is an English actor. He is best known for playing Ken Barlow in the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' since it was first broadcast on 9 December 1960. He is listed in the ''Guinness World Records ...
, later to play the roles of Mike Baldwin and Ken Barlow respectively, also had small roles. The film was made with co-operation from the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...
, and features several of the Type 14
Blackwood-class frigate The Type 14 ''Blackwood'' class were a ship class of minimal "second-rate" anti-submarine warfare frigates. Built for the Royal Navy during the 1950s at a time of increasing threat from the Soviet Union's submarine fleet, they served until the ...
s. An early scene shows a flotilla of these small frigates sailing out of
Portland harbour Portland Harbour is located beside the Isle of Portland, Dorset, on the south coast of England. Construction of the harbour began in 1849; when completed in 1872, its surface area made it the largest man-made harbour in the world, and remai ...
, led by HMS ''Murray'' (F91).


Critical reception

''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' wrote, "the film stands or falls by Wisdom and though the actor, as always, seems to be trying rather too hard, his general good humour and energy carry him through the various situations entertainingly...Wisdom is surrounded by some very capable performers, notably Ian Hunter as the pompous admiral and Edward Chapman as an even more pompous character."


External links

* *


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bulldog Breed, The 1960 films 1960 comedy films British black-and-white films British comedy films Films about space programs Films directed by Robert Asher Military humor in film Films shot at Pinewood Studios Seafaring films 1960s English-language films 1960s British films