Press for Time

Norman Wisdom - Norman Shields/Emily Shields/Sir Wilfred Shields, P.M.
Derek Bond - Major R.E. Bartlett
Angela Browne - Eleanor Lampton
Tracey Crisp - Ruby Fairchild
Allan Cuthbertson - Mr. Ballard
Noel Dyson - Mrs. Corcoran
Derek Francis - Ernest Corcoran
Peter Jones - Robin Willobey
David Lodge - Mr. Ross

Press For Time was Norman Wisdom’s final comedy in his sympathetic ‘little-man’ character, his next stop was America for a supporting role in The Night They Raided Minsky's. Sadly, this feeble comedy featuring the slapstick performer in three roles illustrates just how Wisdom’s earlier winning formula had become tired and obsolete. Despite being a feature film, it possess many of the characteristics demonstrated by the tv-film crossovers of the early 1970’s, essentially a series of comedy sketches connected by a wafer-thin plot.

The Prime Minister is embarrassed by the presence of his hapless grandson, Norman Shields, working as a newspaper vendor outside Westminster tube station. After a series of flashbacks chronicling Norman’s parents; a suffragette mother and sewer worker father, his Grandfather entices Norman into the position of reporter on a small seaside newspaper - unaware of the walking disaster area he has unleashed on the unsuspecting coastal town of Tinmouth. However, whatever the story Norman is sent to cover, he ends up making news rather than reporting it. His first assignment is the hardly earth-shattering task of covering a local jumble sale, but even this disastrously leads to the sinking of a double-decker bus. The rest of the story involves the gullible Norman being exploited as a pawn in a tussle between town councillors.