Film Review
Director Robert Asher's long and fruitful collaboration with Norman
Wisdom got off to a flying start with this ebullient comedy, which is
widely considered to be one of the best and funniest of Wisdom's
films. A scurrilous send-up of
A Star is Born (1954), with a
few plot ideas stolen from
Singin' in the Rain (1952), the
film makes good use of its star's musical talents as well as his almost
unrivalled flair for slapstick. Under Asher's masterful
direction, there is little of the tacky sentimentality that marred many
of Wisdom's earlier films, with the result that this stands up far
better today than most of the comic's other films.
Follow a Star also benefits from
the fact that the comedy burden is shared more evenly between Wisdom
and his supporting artistes. The immense success of this film
cemented Asher's working relationship with Wisdom and led him to direct
his next five films.
One of the strengths of
Follow a Star
is the calibre of the supporting cast. As in Wisdom's previous
film,
The Square Peg (1959), the most
memorable scenes are those in which Norman is paired with another
comedy giant, Hattie Jacques. There is a genuine rapport between
the two performers which makes for some great comic moments. In
their previous rencontre, Jacques had to endure having champagne poured
down her cleavage by Norman. Here, she gets her revenge by
inflicting what looks like a medieval torture ritual on her co-star in
an attempt to improve his diction. Jerry Desmonde provides some
exemplary straight man back-up as the unscrupulous singer who sets out
to rob Norman of his fame, suffering countless indignities along the
way, such as having his rear end compared with that of Fenella Fielding
(a one horse race, obviously). Other comedy stalwarts Richard
Wattis and John Le Mesurier up the laughter quotient even further in
one of the film's weirder digressions and help to make this one of
Norman Wisdom's slickest, liveliest and most enjoyable films.
© James Travers 2010
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Film Synopsis
Norman Truscott is a humble dry cleaner's assistant who dreams of
becoming a famous singer like his idol, Vernon Carew. One day, he
gets an opportunity to demonstrate his vocal talents, ironically at one
of Carew's shows, breaking into song when some members of the audience
ridicule the star's dated musical numbers. Carew knows that his
career is on the decline and quickly realises that Norman may save
him. Under the pretence of giving him singing lessons, Carew
invites his overzealous admirer to stay at his apartment so that he can
secretly record his singing on tape. Carew will then sell the
tape to a record company, claiming that he, not Norman, is the
singer. The scam works surprisingly well until Norman's
music teacher, Miss Dobson, sees through the deception when Carew
appears on television, miming to Norman's song. Miss Dobson now
has two tricky problems: first to expose Carew as a fraud and then to
give Norman the confidence he needs so that he can make a career as a
singer. Norman's difficulty is that he can only sing in the
presence of his wheelchair-bound girlfriend, Judy. To cure Norman
of his inhibitions, Miss Dobson sends him to a renowned
psychoanalyst. The results of this consultation are spectacular
but short-lived...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.