Trouble in Store (1953)

Excellent but underrated film

Don't listen to the negative reviews

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

"Saint in London" director John Paddy Carstairs' amusing comedy of errors "Trouble in Store" ranks as Norman Wisdom's finest and funniest film with him in the lead role. Indeed, before he toplined in "Trouble in Store," Wisdom worked primarily in British television after playing a peripheral role in the 1948 comedy "Date with a Dream" with Terry-Thomas. Cast as a bungling buffoon who seems like a walking booby-trap, Wisdom plays a well-meaning but shy stockroom clerk in a major London department store who cannot seem to quit getting in trouble. Carstairs puts Wisdom through an obstacle course of slapstick shenanigans that the young comic indulges in with considerable flair and spontaneity. An underdog from the word go, our goofy hero yearns to become a window dresser, but he does himself no favors when a new 'chief' comes aboard to run the company. Wanting to know everybody from bottom to top, Augustus Freeman (Jerry Desmonde of "A King in New York") meets Norman and everything that can go wrong—does go wrong for our hero. No sooner has Norman brought credit to himself, he does an about-face and disgraces himself. The running gag through this 85-minute bit of hilarity is that Freeman fires Norman but then turns around and rehires him! Of course, our fine young protagonist feels Cupid's arrows sink into him when he lays his eyes on pretty young co-worker, Peggy Drew (Moira Lister of "The Limping Man), who works in the recording department. Margaret Rutherford has a field day as a shoplifter who fools everybody with whom she comes into contact. Initially, she hauls off quite a lot of merchandise and gets the unwitting Norman to carry it for her. The comedy is basic, but good comedy never goes out of style, and poor Norman is such a sympathetic soul that you can overlook his idiocy. The big plot concerns a well-organized group of thieves that plan to take over the shop on a clearance day and make away with a horde of cash. By this time, our madcap hero has become a persona non-grata as he struggles to warn Mr. Freeman about this wholesale onslaught of larceny. Jerry Desmonde is just as hilarious as the new chief whose best-laid plans go awry.

Norman Wisdom and Margaret Rutherford together: movie heaven! Unfortunately the lovable Mr. Wisdom and the delightful Ms. Rutherford share little screen time in "Trouble in Store," Wisdom's first screen outing as his bumbling on-screen persona, Norman. Humble department-store stock clerk with ambitions to become a window dresser encounters the new store manager and hilarious complications pile on even more hilarious complications. Like a classic Laurel & Hardy routine, Norman competes with another window dresser and manages to destroy a china display to the delight of passing onlookers on the street. Margaret Rutherford is a congenital scene-stealer and, as Miss Bacon, a dotty shoplifter, her delivery and facial expressions are hysterically funny. When Norman helps her from the store laden with stolen suitcases stuffed with the store's goods, the store manager thanks her for her business, and so do we."Trouble in Store" also features Jerry Desmonde as the store manager and Lana Morris as Norman's love interest; both later worked with Wisdom in "Man of the Moment." Wisdom is in fine voice on a couple songs, one of which he penned himself; he was obviously a man of endless talents. Norman's effortless pratfalls and slapstick are wonderful. Although less sentimental and more upbeat, Wisdom likely owed much to such great clowns of the silent era as Charlie Chaplin. The always-endearing Norman delivers the comedy goods as usual, and "Trouble in Store" was a good vehicle for him.

Though now slightly over fifty years old, Sir Norman's film debut remains one of his very best movies. 'Trouble In Store' finds the clown in top form, as a stock room worker who wishes to move up in the world and marry the girl of his dreams. Whether roller-skating behind a fast moving bus or crooning his biggest hit (and signature tune) 'Don't Laugh At Me', Norman demonstrates the charisma that made him such a major box office attraction.Backing Norman is the fantastic Margaret Rutherford, who in only a handful of scenes steals the picture (and everything else!) as an elderly shoplifter. The very lovely Lana Morris also scores as the object of Sir Norman's affections. Lana comes across in this picture so well that it is a real pity that she did not have a better movie career.Highlights range from Wisdom's window dressing 'duel' with Michael Ward, a very catchy duet with Lana (Norman once again showing us his great singing voice) and a fun Western parody climax. This movie seemed to fly by and is probably Sir Norman's most enjoyable film.

I saw this on UK TV today for the first time in many years and was reminded of the great enjoyment that Norman Wisdom has always provided. This movie now seems very dated and full of the flavour of early 50's Britain.I'll always remember the 'pill swallowing' sequence and we always used it as a joke with our own kids when they had to take pills and struggled.Seeing it again I became aware of a number of throw-away lines with sexual connotations that now seem quite modern.The movie is firmly rooted in the British class system - but here the 'common' working man takes the p*** out of all the establishment figures and institiutions AND wins good in the end AND gets his girl.No wonder Norman Wisdom was such a hero in Russia and Albania (apparently)!See this movie if you haven't already .. enjoy it for what it is and what it represented.