Stars: Norman Wisdom, Edward Chapman, Jerry Desmonde, Derek Bond, David Lodge, Frances White

Director: Robert Asher

Summary: In 'The Early Bird' Norman causes chaos in a dispute between a large dairy company and his boss's one-horse operation. 'Press For Time' sees Norman making headlines as a press reporter.

Mr Wisdom bursts into colour with these two movies:
THE EARLY BIRD (1965): In this caper, Norman is a milkman for good old Grimsdale Dairy. When the dairy is threatened with takeover by a big, modern dairy pint-sized Norman puts up one hell of a fight.
PRESS FOR TIME (1966): A triple dose of Norman this time. He plays a newspaper seller, the newspaper seller's mother and also the newspaper seller's grandfather the prime minister!

WIN DVDs by rating this DVD

Average User Rating:

WIN DVDS by being amongst the first to review this DVD. Reviewing DVDs earns you bonus entries and lets you WIN DVDs!Please login before reviewing this DVD. If you're a new user, register for free and enter to WIN FREE DVDs!

Norman Wisdom reprises his best-loved character, the comically inept Pitkin, in 1965's The Early Bird, ably supported once again by Edward Chapman in his final appearance as Mr Grimsdale. This time around Wisdom is the only milkman working for Grimsdale's Dairy, a small business threatened by a menacing large corporation in the shape of Consolidated Dairies and their electric milk floats. Grimsdale and Pitkin must evoke the Dunkirk spirit to save their family firm from the grasp of the faceless giant. Of course, the wafer-thin plot is the merest excuse for a series of calamitous set pieces in which Wisdom wreaks havoc in his trademark bumbling manner. The best bits involve a disastrous game of golf, the usual shenanigans with a fire hose and a virtuoso tour de forceopening sequence as the household struggles to wake up in the morning, all set to Ron Goodwin's tongue-in-cheek music score. --Mark Walker

In Press for TimeNorman Wisdom offered his version of the crusading reporter movie, though by 1966 time was running out for Norman's style of big-screen comedy. Perhaps a sign of his growing frustration with the formulaic nature of his pictures was that he stretched himself to play not just his usual underdog hero, but also his own mother and his grandfather, the Prime Minister. Wisdom also cowrote the movie in which, as a reporter in a small seaside town, he causes chaos for the council, organises a beauty parade and dresses as a suffragette. Though now nearing the end of his years as a movie star, Wisdom shows himself to still be as polished as ever at his own brand of good-natured slapstick. --Gary S Dalkin

Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Audio Commentary on THE EARLY BIRD - Norman Wisdom, Theatrical Trailers, Subtitles for the Hard of Hearing - English
Year:	1965
Release Date:	May 12, 2003
Runtime:	191 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	37115 03543
Keywords:	Time, Comedy, Bird, General, Early, Press
Genre:	Comedy