The Bulldog Breed

Norman Wisdom was a household name in the UK and he had a very long and successful career. However, here in the States very few have ever heard of him or have a taste for his comedy. I watched this film purely to see Michael Caine in a VERY small uncredited part...mostly because I've seen nearly all his films and might as well see them all!

After trying to impress Marlene and completely botching it, Norman decides to kill himself. Unfortunately, before jumping off a cliff, a sailor stops him and convinces him to join the navy instead of suicide. Without any sort of basic training, Norman is now assigned to a ship where he instantly makes a total nuisance of himself. At the same time, the Admiral (Ian Hunter) says that the navy's new rocket can be controlled by anyone and they pick Norman to undergo a training program for the rocketry program. Can he manage to do SOMETHING right or will this, too, be a total failure?

In many ways, this film is in the tradition of Lou Costello in "Buck Privates" and Jerry Lewis in "At War With the Army". In other words, a total idiot in the service manages, eventually, to get it right. However, Norman might just be even less intelligent.

The important question is, is it funny? Well, occasionally yes...but mostly no. A few scenes go on way too long and aren't funny (such as the man overboard sequence) and a few do work better (such as when Norman becomes a deep sea diver). In other words, it's a real mixed bag. Die-hard fans will no doubt like it, whereas for others it might be a bit of a hard sell to get them to like it...if at all.

Overall, a film that is watchable and nothing more....a true time-passer. Perhaps it would have been better had I grown up watching and enjoying his Wisdom's films.

Norman takes on the Navy and its archaic judging system, there are a few laughs but nothing tremendous, Norman is still fun and accident prone, but not as funny as in other films.

Look out for a droll John Le Mesurier and Frank Williams, both who found fame in Dads Army later, Liz Fraser who was in the Dad's Army film, David Lodge, Cyril Chamberlain, Michael Caine and Oliver Reed, there were also a few bit-role players who did a good few Carry On's.

Not the best, but worth watching if not for the actors, but just to see Norman in another film.

Grocer delivery boy Norman Puckle is frustrated in his attempts to et a local girl and tries to kill himself. However he is saved at the last minute and told that to join the navy is to get all the girls he'll ever want. However Norman is not a sea-faring man by trade and struggles with the disciplined lifestyle required. Things are made worse when The Admiral selects him for an experimental rocket as proof that any sailor could operate it given the proper training. He hadn't planned on Norman.

Wisdom is very much an acquired taste. I'm not an Albanian but I do still enjoy most of his films. Here the plot sees him as, wait for it, a lowly worker who makes good, gets the girl and shows up the toffs at the same time! So not a mile (or a yard) away from the usual fare then. But that's fine, the usual stuff is actually OK. Here his usual routines are mostly OK but some are just average. If you usually get a laugh from it then this will just about suffice.

Wisdom is good and has a strong support cast. However the problem is that it feels too heavily on his shoulders and the rest aren't used well enough to share the load. When you've got actors like Hunter, Chapman, Jones, Alexander and the ever great Le Mesurier then you need to use them. Most have the odd good line or two but I wanted more from all of them.

The comedy is basic and times and you know where it's heading from minute number 1! I'm a fan and found this to be amusing but not Wisdom's best by any means. If this is your first meeting with Wisdom then you may be disappointed, fans will enjoy it.

Our Norman's appeal was that of the 'little man' - which is why his films were considered sufficiently politically correct to be screened in Albania, where he remains a household name to this day - while the recruitment methods employed by the Royal Navy are definitely shown to be highly questionable.

The proof the pudding however is in the eating, and the little weasel shows a nasty inclination to throw his weight around whenever he gets the chance and often demonstrates that the ability to hurt goes straight his head and just what he is capable of when permitted a modicum of power over others; although his stunt work is up to his usual high standard.

They say women love a man in uniform, which is the only plausible explanation that in one memorable scene the gorgeous Liz Fraser gives him the time of the day.

The Bulldog Breed is a Norman Wisdom vehicle that's directed by Robert Asher & co-written by Wisdom with Henry Blyth & Jack Davies. Plot sees Wisdom as Norman Puckle, a hapless grocer's assistant who is hopelessly in love with Marlene (Penny Morell). When she spurns his offer of marriage he attempts to commit suicide, but he proves to be inept at that as well. Finally settling on jumping off of "Lover's Leap" as a sure fire way to die, he is saved at the last minute by a Naval Officer who seduces him with talk of life as a sailor, where the girls are plenty and life is totally great. Buying into it Norman enrols, but he quickly finds that it's a tough life, that he is hopeless as a sailor and that the commander wants to fly him off into outer space!.

The Bulldog Breed comes at a time when Wisdom was most prolific on the big screen, in a 17 year period from 1953 to 1969 Wisdom was the lead star in 15 movies. While during this time he was lending support to a number of ensemble and TV pictures too. It's inevitable that during a busy period such as this that the quality of entertainment will vary, this effort falls some where in the middle on the list of Wisdom's best movies. The formula remains the same as Wisdom plays plays a bumbling but lovable dope who creates carnage where ever he goes. The comedy set pieces are many, with a "man overboard" sequence of events the particular highlight. While it also serves as an interesting snap shot of the times. Where The Bulldog Breed differs from many of Wisdom's most fondly thought of film's is with its darker tones of suicide and sexual suggestion (the latter beautifully brought to life by the sultry Liz Fraser). It's an odd mix of a film, and one that has proved to divide Wisdom purists. Newcomers to his work are most likely better off choosing something else as a starting point to his movie output. 6/10

Footnote: The film marks early appearances of Michael Caine and Oliver Reed who share a scene together with Wisdom. While fans of British soap Coronation Street will find value in seeing actors Johnny Briggs and William Roache also appearing in the piece.