Norman Wisdom: Live on Stage

My next primary resource is 'Norman Wisdom: Live on Stage'. I have chosen to look at this because I want to research into all aspects of his career. Although this was made later on in his career, it still helps me to find out more about him as a comedian and a musician rather than just a film star.

In this part of the DVD, Norman is acting along side another man. His role is very similar to the character that Jerry Desmond would often play in Norman's films. It is the role of a man in higher authority or a higher class that contrasts with Norman's lower class character. This shows me that this a trait that he uses on the stage as well as in film.

Throughout the DVD, Norman performs many songs. Some are his best loved songs while others are his own compositions. He also plays various instruments such as the piano, drums, trumpet and saxophone. I think these are important scenes for me to look into because Norman was a very successful singer, songwriter and musician as well as an actor.

The product description says that "Live on Stage captures the essence of the king of the clowns - a mixture of pathos and side-splitting comedy." Overall, I think this resource is useful to me because it helps me to reasearch into a different aspect of Norman's Career.  

Lucky Little Devil

Product Description from Amazon:

"In this book, which includes previously unpublished photographs from his own treasured collection, Sir Norman Wisdom proudly welcomes the reader into the Isle of Man home he designed himself and takes you on a round-island tour to some of his favourite places. Lavishly illustrated with stunning photographs of the Island and Sir Norman's career, the book also tells the amazing rise of one of Britain's greatest comedy legends."

Although this book is mostly about Norman's life on the Isle of Man, some parts of it would have been relevant to my project as it also contains sections about his rise to fame. Despite this, I have had trouble trying to get hold of this book as it does not seem to be available to me anywhere. Therefore, I have to dismiss this source from my investigation. 

'Cos I'm A Fool

'Cos I'm A Fool' was published to commemorate Norman Wisdom's fifty years as a professional entertainer. It is the second volume of memoirs, following 'Don't Laugh At Me'. This volume focus on his early life, his more successful times and his showbusiness life. It also talks about Norman's more serious side, including his experiences of Chernobyl and Eastern Europe.

After researching into the book, I have found that it mostly talks about Norman's early life. Although this may be important to my project, both previous books I have looked into (My Turn and Don't Laugh At Me) both discuss his childhood so this book is most likely to be just another version of what I have already read. Also this book is very difficult to get hold of. Therefore, I am dismissing this source from my research.

Don't Laugh At Me!

'Don't Laugh At Me' is another autobiography by Norman Wisdom. It is very similar to 'My Turn' so it may not be very useful to me as a lot of it is repeated. This book is currently only available to me online so I can only read certain sections. Here are some extracts that may be useful to me.

 This first extract talks about some of the other British and American stars that were around at the time of Norman's rise to fame. I think this is useful because it allows me to get an idea of the other stars that were around at the time which is useful for comparision.

This extract is about the film 'On The Beat'. As this is one of my focus films, I want to discuss parts of it in my essay because some scenes are good examaples of Norman's typical 'gump' character.

In this extract, Norman is talking about his role in 'Square Peg'. As this is one of my focus films, Norman's view on this role is very useful to me.

This extract discusses Norman's 'gump' character and also mentions George Formby who I will be researching into later on. This is a good basis for comparing the two. It also allows me to understant Norman's view on him and how he may have influenced him. 

This extract has taught me about 'A Date With A Dream' which was Norman's first film. I think this may be worth looking into despite its lack of success. This film may give me a better understanding of how Norman developed his chatracters.

 Overall, I think this source was useful in teaching me certain things about Norman that I didn't already know. However, it is very similar to 'My Turn' so at the moment I am not too sure how useful this book will be to my project as a lot of it is repeated in both books.

My Turn: An Autobiography

My Turn is an autobiography written in 2002. It looks into Norman's childhood and how he rose to fame. This is a great primary source as it was written by Norman himself and therefore, is a very reliable source of information. It also is helpful in finding out Norman's personal view on his life. The following photocopies are pages I feel will be useful to my project.

 The photocopy above is useful to me because it mentions how Norman took inspiration from Charlie Chaplin. It also talks a lot about 'Trouble In Store' which is one of my feature films that I will be focusing on. Norman talks about his favourite scenes from this film which helps me to get an idea of his own opinion on it.

 The page above is very useful for this project because Norman explains exactly where his 'gump' character and image came from. This is relevant because it is a trait of Norman's that helped to make him a British comedy icon.

 The next photocopy (above) is a page in the book where Norman talks briefly about his character that he created. However, the majority of this extract is about Norman's home in the Isle of Man. This isn't particularly relevant to my project. Having said this, Norman does talk about the trophies he had collected over the years. This helps me to get an idea of Norman's achievements as a British Comedian.

The final extract I have looked at from the book focuses on Norman's knighhood. This doesn't tell me much about Norman as a British comedy icon but it is useful in telling me about his achievements in the entertainment industry.

Other than these 4 examples, I have also looked at Norman's childhood. This is because he often talks about how his childhood inspired his performances. For example, he says that the abuse he got from his father taught him how to fall. This would later become a trait of Norman Pitkin.

On The Beat, 1962

'On The Beat' is my third and final focus film. It was made in 1962. I have chosen to look at this film because it is more 'British' than the other two. By this, I mean that it focuses on typical British lifestyle which will help me to discuss Norman as a British comedy icon. Also, I have chosen this film because there are several scene which truely show the character of 'Norman Pitkin' so it is a great source to discuss in terms of Wisdom as a comedian.

The first scene I will be looking at is the car wash scene. This is a typical slapstick comedy scene and would be great for comparing to other comedians such as Laurel and Hardy. This is one of the most famous sequences from Norman's films and shows how his character gets himself into these situations. Similarly to a scene from 'Square Peg', it is an example of how Norman's character doesn't really understand what is going on around him, which is very 'childlike'.   

 The next scene I have looked at is where Norman refferees a group of young boy's football match. I have selected this scene because it depicts typical 1950's Britain. This is particularly shown through the locations and the the clothing. I think these things are important becuase I am looking at Norman as a British icon therefore it is relevant for me to look at the way Britain is portrayed within his films. Also, this scene is great for discussing Norman's image which reflects his childlike character.

The third scene I have looked at is the medical check-up scene. I initially chose this scene because it shows the characters determination to get into the police force. Although this is a common theme in many of Norman's films (determination) I feel it may not be completely relevant to my investigation. Having said this, it is a good way of explaining the characters determination to be equal to others and to fit in with the upper classes.



The final scene I have selected is where Norman has to impersonate another character. I chose this scene because it is a great example of the character's foolish nature and how it impacts those around him. Norman's childlike performance is seen in mnay of his films and is a common trait of the 'Norman Pitkin' character. I think this scene will be useful for me to discuss this acting style.

Trouble In Store, 1953

My second focus film in 'Trouble In Store' which was made in 1953. This was Norman's first film. I have chosen to look at his film in particular because it was the start of his career as a British Comedy icon. Also, I have chosen it because it contains many scenes that would be great to discuss in my essay. Norman also made a commentary for this film which is very useful to me as it helps me to understand the film from Norman's own personal point of view. This is a very reliable source.

The first scene I have chosen to look at is where Norman fools about in the cheifs new office (image on left). I have picked this scene because it is a great example of Norman's slapstick comedy style. Also, I have selected it because it is one of Norman's favourite scenes from this film (according to his autobiography). This is useful because it helps me to better understand him as a comedian and how he liked to perform.

The next scene I have chosen to look at is the opening scene. According to his autobiography, this is another one of Norman's favourite scenes from this film. This scene is a great example of Norman's 'gump' character. In many of his films, Norman's character views himself as equal to others even if they are of a higher authority. This is a trait of his films that audiences came to love, especially Albanian audiences. Therefore, this is a good example of where the trait started and how Norman developed the character.                                 


                        

The next scene I have looked at is where Norman performs his song 'Don't Laugh At Me'. This is one of the most well known scenes from all of his films. It is particularly important for me to look at this scene because this song was incredibly popular with audiences and was in the top ten in the charts for 9 months. This is a relevant scene for me to look at because it shows how Norman's popularity grew after the films release.

The final scene I have looked at is the window dressing scene. This scene is a good choice for my project because Norman and the director had a dispute about the way Norman should act in this scene. They decided to let Norman perform the way he wanted and see if audiences liked it. When the scene was a huge success, the director appologised to Norman. This is important for me to look at because it shows how Norman put his own stamp on his performance.