There Was a Crooked Man

Out of the 20 films the great Sir Norman has made this is the only one I have yet to see- but why? All film books say it is one of his best, and yet it has never been screened on TV or released on video/DVD. Come on, whoever can make it possible, show this film, or make it available for all die-hard Sir Norman fans so we can experience more of this amazing mans talents. Sir Norman is a national treasure to be cherished for all time and, having met him 6 times I can honestly say what a lovely, down to earth person he is, and I am sure he would want this one missing film of his to be available to his legion of devoted fans, so come on, someone, put right this glaring oversight.

I have been a Norman Wisdom film since my pre teen days, when they showed them every tuesday night on TV. I couldnt get enough of his films, so funny, such a great snapshot of england in the 50's. As with all great artists, he made the occasional questionable film, notably "the girl on the boat", and fans are divided by "Whats good for the goose", but he made a lot of other great films, too many list here. I thought I had seen them all, til i learned about this film a few years ago, and how it was only shown for a few days, then pulled, as the film company didnt have the rights to the film. What a frustration, a film by one of my all time comic heroes, was there in the vaults and it couldnt be seen. I since learned it had been shown on TV twice in the 60's, so chances are I had actually seen it at the time, but i would only been about five and wouldnt remember it.

And then the unbeleivable happened, they were going to release it on DVD. Oh happy day!!!

Here comes the serious bit, it was supposed to be digitally restored, but the it still looked like an old print, even though technically the prints wouldnt have been shown that much, so most of the original copies should have been pristine.

Down to the film itself, Norman doesnt play his usual "gump", but he doesnt play it straight either. What you get is Norman trying to move onto to something better, and develop his gump character, but it wasnt the crowd pleaser, and it didnt sell well at the time. Was this the reason why it was originally pulled? The sleeve note seem to indicate this, but why has it gone unseen for 50 years? My two cents goes with the original copyright holder passing on, and that meant it could be shown again. Maybe we will never know, but at least its out there.

Down to the nitty gritty, was it worth the wait? The film has an odd story line, and takes some beleiving, but there are funny moments, and its worth watching, but time hasnt done it any favours, and maybe people nit pick about things more nowadays, something that brings to light the films shortcomings. Now dont get me wrong, i will be watching this again, and again and again and again. Its a long lost film that i should have seen a million times since the early 70's, and i think it will get better each time i see it.

Imagine there was a long lost episode of star trek, and it met a mixed reaction, you would be grateful to have a chance to watch, and you would watch it again and again...this is like this.

This would make great material for "Talking Pictures" TV, but its not as good as his best things like "man of the moment" , "trouble in store" or "on the beat", but better than the one with the lady on the boat.

Recommended for fans...........other people will watch it once, and then probably erase it from their set top box.

Me? I will watch it again and again.

I would have given five out five if the picture quality was pristine 35mm, but it was worth the 50 year wait in any form :)

This is actually a scorching social satire dressed up and developed into a hilarious comedy to match the best British comedies of the 50s. Many shrug their shoulders to Norman Wisdom and find him more silly and ridiculous than funny, but he actually has some veins of the same kind as Charlie Chaplin. Many of the scenes here are so funny that you'll have to laugh your sides off, but don't be fooled by the tremendous masquerade concealing some of the major issues of 20th century society, brought to shattering light by George Orwell and Franz Kafka. When you discern the skeleton hidden behind all the fun you won't laugh any more but still enjoy the exaggerated but poignant satire. Wisdom really shows off to crown the show when he dresses up as an American general from the south with an accent to overwhelm all Washington. This was one of Susannah York's first major performances. Andrew Cruickshank made many crooks in his days, they are all excellent, but here is one of the best, played with great and shrewd irony. It is one of the major satires of the early 60s and the better for being such a hilarious comedy at the same time.

This long lost classic is out there somewhere. During the last Christmas break I joined a group of people in our local pub to watch Norman Wisdom in The Bulldog Breed on someone's laptop. It was from one of those streaming sites. At the end of the film someone mentioned TWACM and this chap brought it up on his screen. I sat and watched it right through - full titles, music, credits etc. Therefore if it is available to screen on the internet then surely it must be available to buy on DVD? I have tried to find a copy without luck, however, on the Darwen, Lancashire web site there is mention of this film being screened recently in the town hall in celebration of films made in Darwen - Brief Encounter etc. Apparently the town hall scenes in TWACM were filmed there.

Seeing a film which has been unseen in decades and to all intents and purposes "lost" is a real privilege. Although you're viewing something by today's standards and eyes. It almost needs two scores: with those factors included and discounted. I'd heard about this film 10 years ago. It was shown in Darwen, where it was filmed. The print being owned by a private collector. It was frustrating it wasn't given a DVD release. Periodically I checked online for any word on the film and that remained the case until 2017. When my search result revealed it was being released. Fantastic news! I don't know what the obstacle was. Whether it was rights issues or the owner didn't want to sell or even if the release was his print. But that's history now. Overall I'd give this an 8. The plot meanders a bit in the middle and watching it with any logical scrutiny is perhaps not the best idea (it's a 1960 Norman Wisdom comedy!) But it is very enjoyable and Norman gives an excellent performance. Many people stress in this film he tried to move away from his famous "gump" character. He does and it makes a welcome change. And shows he had greater range. That said he's not so hugely different to not appeal to those who like the Gump. The ending is quite something. I'm slightly sad that over the past decades, this film hasn't been known or seen widely, as with his other films. Although this is the future- today we see less and less repeats of the greats on the main national broadcasters. Such as Laurel and Hardy. Overall, thoroughly recommend.