Little Big Shot

It is difficult to believe that Associated British could believe that this so called comedy was worth filming.Maybe because Ronnie Shines was such a big star at the time.The 5 minute Chicago gangster dream in the middle of the film has to be the most unfunny dream scene ever filmed.

Ronald Shiner is an amicable, monumentally incompetent crook, trusted for some reason to locate the whereabouts of some jewels owned by the wealthy but eccentric Mrs Maddox, who takes a liking to him and employs him for work around the house.

Laughs prove very few and far between, and though comedy tends to date more than other genres, it's hard to see how anyone found this very amusing at the time. The scene featuring Shiner dreaming he's a Chicago gangster is desperately unfunny, as is an interminable sequence of misunderstandings with a barely recognisable Derek Farr as a would-be comic detective. It was the last film of Jack Raymond whom had been around since silent days and who'd earlier directed Shiner in the film version of WORM'S EYE VIEW, the stage version of which had boosted the snipe-nosed comedian into a star. He was at his best in 'Bilko' type roles, but as a less assertive character he's not as effective. Veteran actress Marie Lohr is better as Shiner's good-natured employer and her girl-guide troop provide a traditional custard pie finale.