''Up in the World'' is a 1956 black and white

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 ol ...

directed by

John Paddy Carstairs John Paddy Carstairs (born John Keys; 11 May 1910, in London – 12 December 1970, in London) was a British film director (1933–62) and television director (1962–64), usually of light-hearted subject matter. He was also a comic novelist and ...

and 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 ...

, Maureen Swanson and

Jerry Desmonde Jerry Desmonde (born James Robert Sadler; 20 July 1908 – 11 February 1967) was an English actor and presenter. He is perhaps best known for his work as a comedic foil in duos with Norman Wisdom and Sid Field. Early life Jerry Desmonde was ...

. It was produced by

Rank Rank is the relative position, value, worth, complexity, power, importance, authority, level, etc. of a person or object within a ranking, such as: Level or position in a hierarchical organization * Academic rank * Diplomatic rank * Hierarchy * H ...

Plot

Norman is given a job as a window cleaner at a stately home by the Labour Exchange. He quickly encounters young Sir Reginald, an obnoxious teenager has an extremely over-protective mother. Due to Reginald's age, the estate is run by the pompous Major Willoughby. The whole household must kowtow to Reginald. This is epitomised in an estate football match where everyone understands that Reginald must win but Norman doesn't understand this. Meanwhile Norman develops a romance with the maid, Jeannie. Reginald demands that Norman take him to London to see a magic show. He tortures him by tickling his feet with a feather and demands that they go that evening... which means he can't take Jeannie to the dance. Norman is tricked into breaking the TV and a bogus repair van comes to the house. The have come to kidnap Regi but take Maurice by mistake, as REgi has gone off with Norman. Norman and Regi go to a show and have dinner together. By coincidence it is owned by the kidnappers. When police arrive the kidnappers pin the blame on Norman. Regi gets a bump on the head a and remembers nothing. Norman gets sentenced to 25 years in prison. But, as the one serving the longest sentence he becomes the boss of the group of prisoners. Cleaning prison windows on a long ladder he accidentally escapes. Heading back to Banderville Hall a series of mishaps ends with him looking like a paratrooper and enters the estate with an army group searching for the escapee. Norman tracks down Jeannie at an ongoing fancy dress party and dresses himself as a harem girl. After a dance with the Major he tries to get Regi to remember him. Jeannie and Norman fight off guests and army from the gallery. The army starts to use

tear gas Tear gas, also known as a lachrymator agent or lachrymator (), sometimes colloquially known as "mace" after the early commercial aerosol, is a chemical weapon that stimulates the nerves of the lacrimal gland in the eye to produce tears. In ad ...

but Norman bats it back into the party-goers. In the commotion Regi bumps his head and remembers everything. Norman and Jeannie get married.with The Sergeant and his men as wedding guests in morning dress.

Cast

as Norman * Maureen Swanson as Jeannie Andrews *

as Major Willoughby *

Michael Caridia Michael Caridia (born 2 August 1941) is a British former child actor. His prominent roles include Sir Reginald, an obnoxious boy, in the Norman Wisdom vehicle ''Up in the World'' and Hugo Wendt in the 1956 horror-comedy ''The Gamma People''. In ...

as Sir Reginald *

Colin Gordon Colin Gordon (27 April 1911 – 4 October 1972) was a British actor born in Ceylon. Biography He was educated at Marlborough College and Christ Church, Oxford. He made his first West End appearance in 1934 as the hind legs of a horse in a ...

as Fletcher Hethrington *

Ambrosine Phillpotts Ambrosine Phillpotts (13 September 1912 – 12 October 1980) was a British actress of theatre, TV, radio and film. '' The Times'' wrote, "She was one of the last great stage aristocrats, a stylish comedienne best known for playing on stage a ...

as Lady Banderville * Michael Ward as Maurice *

Jill Dixon Jill Dixon (born 1935) is an English actress. Personal life and career Jill Dixon was born in England in 1935. She made her debut as an actress at the age of three, appearing as a water nymph at the London Hippodrome. Although she appeared in se ...

as Sylvia *

Edwin Styles Edwin Styles (13 January 1899 – 20 December 1960) was a British stage comedian, pantomime actor, radio and TV performer and film actor. Partial filmography * ''Hell Below'' (1933) - Herbert Standish - Flight Comdr. * '' On the Air'' (1934) - Ed ...

as Conjuror *

Hy Hazell Hyacinth Hazel O'Higgins (4 October 1919 – 10 May 1970), stage name Hy Hazell, was a British actress of theatre, musicals and revue as well as a contralto singer and film actress. AllMusic described her as "an exuberant comic actor and lively ...

as Yvonne * William Lucas as Mick Bellman *

Lionel Jeffries Lionel Charles Jeffries (10 June 1926 – 19 February 2010) was an English actor, director, and screenwriter. He appeared primarily in films and received a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, Golden Globe Awa ...

as Wilson *

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 Harper * Michael Brennan as Prison Warder *

Eddie Leslie Eddie Leslie (11 October 1903, in Camberwell, Surrey, England – 27 June 1975 (age 71) in West Chiltington, Sussex, England) was a British film actor and screenwriter. He often acted alongside Norman Wisdom, on stage and in his films '' ...

as Max *

Bernard Bresslaw Bernard Bresslaw (25 February 193411 June 1993) was a British actor. He is best known as a member of the ''Carry On'' film franchise. Bresslaw also worked on television and stage, did recordings and wrote a series of poetry. Biography Bernard B ...

as Williams, his cell-mate

Critical reception

*The ''

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in May 1923 by J ...

'' wrote, "for his fourth starring vehicle, Norman Wisdom teamed up once more with director John Paddy Carstairs. However, this tacky comedy gave notice that the winning formula was already beginning to wear thin...The worst aspect of this maudlin mishmash is the fact that Wisdom gets to warble so often. No wonder he ends up in prison". *''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...

'' called the film a "routine British comedy".

Box office

According to ''Kinematograph Weekly'' the film was "in the money" at the British box office in 1957.

References

External links

* * 1956 films Films directed by John Paddy Carstairs 1956 comedy films Films shot at Pinewood Studios British comedy films 1950s English-language films 1950s British films British black-and-white films {{1950s-UK-comedy-film-stub