Follow a Star (1959)

That was an excellent one.

Disturbing yet enthralling

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

After a brilliant start satirising innumerable Britsh war films,"Follow a star" settles down to a more orthodox path with the highly - talented Mr Wisdom using bits of his Palladium act which first brought him fame and fortune in an era which coincided with the birth - pangs of post - war British television. He is teamed with the sublime Mr Jerry Desmonde the capo di capo of stooges,a man who,like Mr Wisdom was seldom off our flickering black and white tellies. Mr Desmonde plays a fading singer who is thrown a much - needed lifeline when he records Norman's voice(on a "Grundig",no less,about 75 guineas at the time) and mimes to his self - penned ballads. With a wheelchair - bound girlfriend needing an operation(the lovely Miss June Laverick)Norman agrees to work with his erstwhile idol Mr Desmonde as a major - domo,all unknowing that his voice is being "sampled" as they would call it nowadays. He suffers from stage - fright and has to be hypnotised before he can perform in public,a ploy that offers excellent opportunities for Mr Wisdom to perform his idiot - savant act. Amidst the fairly anodyne songs there is a very fine and well - choreographed full blown musical number "You deserve a medal for that" which is good enough to be Lerner and Loewe.To top it all,the great Mr John le Mesurier get his face pushed into a cake.Sheer bliss. Miss Hattie Jacques is oustanding as Norman's elocution teacher. Co - writer of this and many other fine British comedies,Mr Henry Blythe lived near me in Sussex and was captain of the village cricket team. About the time "Follow a star" came out he arranged a game with Freddie Brown(ex England captain)and a select X1 of Test Players on a beautiful ground set in a dip in the downs. As Squire Henry went out to bat shielding his eyes from the sun a deep sigh of anticipation ran round the crowd.England's current fast - bowling hero thundered up to the crease and Henry glanced the first ball for four runs to leg."Life doesn't get any better than this", I thought,sipping my cold ginger beer...and it hasn't.

Norman Wisdom was an English comedian much loved during much of the Fifties, and while his success persisted well into the Swinging Sixties, it did so in a spirit redolent of the previous far more innocent decade. His image was that of a perilously naive and inept, yet wholly adorable little man whose sweetness of nature could be said to somehow put the pretensions of souls less humble and self-sacrificing than he to shame. The "Norman" character being a pure-hearted soul for a time when the West's traditional moral values, rooted in its Judeo-Christian foundation, yet possessed considerable influence. And while "Follow a Star", directed by Robert Asher in 1959, with Wisdom appearing as worker and aspiring singer Norman Truscott, is perhaps among his less well-known movies, few are quite so successful in showcasing his incredible talents. While among its many delights are the melodic and moving title song, written by the great man himself, and sung by him in a surprisingly mature baritone crooning voice. Also starring are superb Wisdom regular Jerry Desmonde as irasible fading singer Vernon Carew; Hattie Jacques as Norman's well-meaning but somewhat over-enthusiastic singing teacher Miss Dobson; and the lovely June Laverick, as his sweetheart Judy, who provides Wisdom with the opportunity to present his more serious and romantic side. And who can blame him. While several stalwarts of a classic age of British comedy also appear, including Richard Wattis, as the pompous psychiatrist Dr Chatterway; John Le Mesurier, as the redoubtable waiter Birkett; Fenella Fielding as the elegant Lady Finchington; and Pat Coombs uncredited as a young woman in a theatre. But the movie as a whole is a joy from a simpler time, when Rock and Roll had been more or less shorn of its initial threat, and Beatlemania almost half a decade away.

Being one of the infrequent Norman Wisdom vehicles covered in "Leonard Maltin's Movie & Video Guide" - which he rates a lowly *1/2 - I was wary of this title but, actually, it was quite pleasant if, in no way, a classic! The very first scene is an inspired one: we see Norman's sweaty face in an atmosphere of overbearing heat (the film was shot by Jack Asher, a talented cameraman best known for his work for Hammer but who also happens to be the brother of the director!) meticulously going about his business thinking he works in a steamship or something, but eventually discovering that what he's doing is simply pressing a pair of pants (a sophisticated style of gag which has been utilized as early as Harold Lloyd's SAFETY LAST [1923]). The plot - a fading crooner 'borrowing' the voice of a naïve newcomer - is simple enough and has been partly lifted from SINGIN' IN THE RAIN (1952).While the love interest is more sentimental than usual, since Norman's sweetheart is wheelchair-bound and he wants to make it as a singer mainly so as to have the money for her operation, the film provides plenty of amusing situations highlighting the ageing performer (Jerry Desmonde at his most despicable), ebullient elocutionist Hattie Jacques and long-suffering maitre d' John Le Mesurier; a party sequence halfway through the film also features a surprise early appearance by a dark-haired Charles Gray!

Norman Wisdom plays a labourer who is also a big fan of singer Vernon Carew. He sees Carew perform live, and manages to annoy the singer from his place in the crowd more than once. The final straw comes when Norman stands up and is singing Carew's famous song, trying to get the crowd properly excited (Carew's stardom is definitely waning) - but what comes to pass is that some head honchos hear Norman's wonderful voice, singing Vernon's song, and get the idea for Norman to dub for Vernon on his up and coming record. The general idea is quite similar to that which was used in Singin' In The Rain, but Follow A Star is not quite that good a movie. Still, it is quite good, and the music isn't bad. 7 out of 10.