I guess I just don't know my British film history. I have never heard of this guy, but I started watching him, and he struck me as quite funny. There is a Stan Laurel vacancy to Mr. Wisdom's face that is quite appealing. I thought he was excellent in his dual role as the mincing and lisping Italian hairdresser. A talented comedian, with a bit of Chaplin's pathos. Is 'On the Beat' biting satire? Is it 'outrageous comedy'? No. It's a pleasant little funny movie.
That Mr. Wisdom recalls to mind Stan Laurel is all in his favor. No doubt, the British public has all but forgotten Mr. Wisdom. This type of small, comic entertainment is decidedly 'dated', but that's part of the charm for me.
I immediately liked the comic, if familiar character of Norman Wisdom's clumsy, small nobody who is determined to become one of Scotland Yard's finest, just like his father before him. Perhaps Wisdom's work is forgotten because of the predominance of Peter Sellers, who was the reigning comic king of Britain. That's what made watching this film a bit of a nice surprise.
That Mr. Wisdom recalls to mind Stan Laurel is all in his favor. No doubt, the British public has all but forgotten Mr. Wisdom. This type of small, comic entertainment is decidedly 'dated', but that's part of the charm for me.
I immediately liked the comic, if familiar character of Norman Wisdom's clumsy, small nobody who is determined to become one of Scotland Yard's finest, just like his father before him. Perhaps Wisdom's work is forgotten because of the predominance of Peter Sellers, who was the reigning comic king of Britain. That's what made watching this film a bit of a nice surprise.