Press for Time

Last updated

Press for Time
"Press for Time".jpg
Original British 1-sheet poster
Directed by Robert Asher
Written by Eddie Leslie
Norman Wisdom
Angus McGill (book)
Produced by Robert Hartford-Davis
Peter Newbrook
StarringNorman Wisdom
CinematographyJonathan Usher
Edited by Gerry Hambling
Music by Mike Vickers
Distributed by Rank Film Distributors
Release date
  • 8 December 1966 (1966-12-08)
Running time
102 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Press for Time is a 1966 British comedy film starring Norman Wisdom. The screenplay was written by Eddie Leslie and Norman Wisdom, based on the 1963 novel Yea Yea Yea, by Angus McGill. It was partly filmed in Teignmouth in Devon. It was the last film Wisdom made for the Rank Organisation.

Contents

Plot

Norman Shields (Norman Wisdom) is a newspaper seller in London, a job organised for him by his grandfather, the Prime Minister (also played by Wisdom). After causing chaos. he is found a new job as reporter on a newspaper in the fictional seaside town of Tinmouth (partly filmed in the real seaside town of Teignmouth). The newspaper owner, an MP, has ambitions to become a junior minister and so goes along with the Prime Minister's 'request'.

During his time in Tinmouth, the well-meaning Norman gets himself into all sorts of trouble whilst reporting, such as starting an argument at a council meeting which develops into an all-out fight between members. He later becomes the reporter for the entertainment section of the newspaper, covering a beauty contest which his girlfriend Liz wins. They later return to London together, leaving a more politically settled Tinmouth behind.

Cast

Reception

It was one of the twelve most popular films at the British box office in 1967. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dandy Nichols</span> British actress (1907-1986)

Dandy Nichols was an English actress best known for her role as Else Garnett, the long-suffering wife of the character Alf Garnett who was a parody of a working class Tory, in the BBC sitcom Till Death Us Do Part.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teignmouth</span> Town in Devon, England

Teignmouth is a seaside town, fishing port and civil parish in the English county of Devon. It is on the north bank of the estuary mouth of the River Teign, about 12 miles south of Exeter. The town had a population of 14,749 at the 2011 census.

<i>The Ghost and Mr. Chicken</i> 1966 film by Alan Rafkin

The Ghost and Mr. Chicken is a 1966 American comedy horror film starring Don Knotts as Luther Heggs, the town dunce and a newspaper typesetter who spends a night in a haunted house, which is located in the fictitious community of Rachel, Kansas. Don Knotts' first major project after leaving The Andy Griffith Show, The Ghost and Mr. Chicken uses a similar small town setting and involved a number of alumni from the sitcom, including director Alan Rafkin and writers Jim Fritzell and Everett Greenbaum. It was a box office success, paving the way for a string of other Knotts-fronted comedy films. The working title was Running Scared. The title is presumably a humorous variation of the film The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947).

<i>The Underworld Story</i> 1950 film by Cy Endfield

The Underworld Story is a 1950 American film noir crime film directed by Cy Endfield and starring Dan Duryea, Herbert Marshall, Gale Storm, Howard Da Silva and Michael O'Shea. Da Silva plays the loud-mouthed gangster Carl Durham, one of his last roles before becoming blacklisted.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sally Geeson</span> English actress (born 1950)

Sarah Louise Clouston Geeson, known professionally as Sally Geeson is an English actress with a career mostly on television in the 1970s. She is best known for playing Sid James's daughter, Sally, in Bless This House and for her roles in Carry On Abroad (1972) and Carry On Girls (1973). She also starred alongside Norman Wisdom in the film What's Good for the Goose (1969), and appeared with Vincent Price in two horror films, The Oblong Box (1969) and Cry of the Banshee (1970).

<i>Only Two Can Play</i> 1962 film by Sidney Gilliat

Only Two Can Play is a 1962 British comedy film starring Peter Sellers, based on the 1955 novel That Uncertain Feeling by Kingsley Amis. Sidney Gilliat directed the film from a screenplay by Bryan Forbes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harry Davenport (actor)</span> American actor (1866–1949)

Harold George Bryant Davenport was an American film and stage actor who worked in show business from the age of six until his death. After a long and prolific Broadway career, he came to Hollywood in the 1930s, where he often played grandfathers, judges, doctors, and ministers. His roles include Dr. Meade in Gone with the Wind (1939) and Grandpa in Meet Me in St. Louis (1944). Bette Davis once called Davenport "without a doubt [. . .] the greatest character actor of all time."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerry Desmonde</span> English actor

Jerry Desmonde was an English actor and presenter. He is perhaps best known for his work as a comedic foil in duos with Norman Wisdom and Sid Field.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ian Wolfe</span> American actor (1896–1992)

Ian Marcus Wolfe was an American character actor with around 400 film and television credits. Until 1934, he worked in the theatre. That year, he appeared in his first film role and later television, as a character actor. His career lasted seven decades and included many films and TV series; his last screen credit was in 1990.

<i>On the Beat</i> (1962 film) 1962 British film

On the Beat is a 1962 British comedy film directed by Robert Asher and starring Norman Wisdom, Jennifer Jayne and Raymond Huntley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marianne Stone</span> English actress (1922–2009)

Marianne Stone was an English character actress. She performed in films from the early 1940s to the late 1980s, typically playing working class parts such as barmaids, secretaries and landladies. Stone appeared in nine of the Carry On films, and took part in an episode of the Carry On Laughing television series. She also had supporting roles with comedian Norman Wisdom.

<i>The Bulldog Breed</i> 1960 film

The Bulldog Breed is a 1960 British comedy film starring Norman Wisdom and directed by Robert Asher.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doris Lloyd</span> English-born American actress

Hessy Doris Lloyd was an English–American film and stage actress. She is perhaps best known for her roles in The Time Machine (1960) and The Sound of Music (1965). Lloyd appeared in two Academy Award winners and four other nominees.

<i>William Comes to Town</i> 1948 film by Val Guest

William Comes to Town is a 1948 British comedy film directed by Val Guest and starring William Graham and Garry Marsh. It was based on the Just William series of novels by Richmal Crompton. It served as a loose sequel to 1947 film Just William's Luck. It is also known by its U.S. alternative title William Goes to the Circus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A Seaside Rendezvous</span> 2009 concert tour by Muse

A Seaside Rendezvous was a 2009 pair of concerts by English alternative rock band Muse. Held at The Den in Teignmouth, Devon, the town in which the band's members spent their childhoods and began their musical careers, the homecoming concerts were the band's first shows in the town for 15 years. It is believed that the name 'Seaside Rendezvous' was taken from the Queen song of the same name.

<i>Just My Luck</i> (1957 film) 1957 British film

Just My Luck is a 1957 British sports comedy film directed by John Paddy Carstairs and starring Norman Wisdom as a worker in a jewellery shop. The cast also included Margaret Rutherford, Jill Dixon and Leslie Phillips. It was shot at Pinewood Studios near London with sets designed by the art director Ernest Archer.

<i>All Over the Town</i> 1949 British film

All Over the Town is a 1949 British comedy film directed by Derek N. Twist and starring Norman Wooland, Sarah Churchill and Cyril Cusack. It was based on the 1947 novel by R. F. Delderfield.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Tannen</span> American actor

William Tannen was an American actor originally from New York City, who was best known for his role of Deputy Hal Norton in fifty-six episodes from 1956 to 1958 of the ABC/Desilu western television series, The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp. During the 1930s and 1940s, he was a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract player.

Harold Boggess, who used the stage name John Holland, was an American actor and singer.

Angus McGill was an English journalist who made his name writing a humorous weekly column in the London Evening Standard, which ran for 30 years documenting all that was eccentric about London life. In 1968, with the illustrator Dominic Poelsma, he also created a daily cartoon strip called Clive, later renamed Augusta. McGill won the British Press Award as Descriptive Writer of the Year 1968 and was appointed MBE in 1990.

References

  1. "Sean Connery tops the bill again". The Guardian Journal. 30 December 1967. p. 6.