On the Beat

Norman Wisdom - Norman Pitkin/Giulio Napolitani
Jennifer Jayne - Rosanna
Raymond Huntley - Sir Ronald Ackroyd
David Lodge - Inspector Hobson
Esma Cannon - Mrs. Stammers
Eric Barker - Doctor

Reprising the formula already familiar from his army comedy The Square Peg, Norman Wisdom’s alter ego Norman Pitkin is pitted against flamboyant villains and authority figures. Norman Pitkin's (Norman Wisdom) ambition is to be a policeman just like his father, but his height - amongst other things - prevents this. He has to be content with washing police cars at Scotland Yard until the police realise that the only way to solve a spate of jewel thefts is to make use of Norman's uncanny resemblance to the chief suspect. The criminal is posing as an effeminate hairdresser, so Norman is sent undercover to impersonate him and retrieve evidence leading to the thief’s arrest.