An American family moves into a spooky manor house located within a wooded area in the English countryside. Before long they start to see some odd things like mirrors that don't reflect and the ghost of a blindfolded girl. The new tenants learn that 30 years ago a teenage girl who bears an uncanny resemblance to their daughter Jan disappeared nearby. Soon the supernatural presence starts contacting both sisters.
Donald Wolfit heads a strong cast as an endearing Edwardian idler whose family's attempt to keep him respectably occupied unwittingly sets loose a passion for pedal power! Based on Brock Williams' novel Uncle Willie's Bicycle Shop, Isn't Life Wonderful is featured here in a brand-new transfer from original film elements, in its as-exhibited theatrical aspect ratio. Uncle Willie, who is on more than nodding terms with the Demon Drink, has for years been the black sheep of his wife Kate's stuffy family. So when his brother-in-law becomes engaged to the daughter of a rich American banker, it is decided that Something Must Be Done about Uncle Willie. The family reluctantly agrees to buy him a bicycle shop in the hope that it may exert a steadying influence; in fact, it simply leads to more trouble... SPECIAL FEATURES: Original theatrical trailer Image gallery Promotional material PDF
Final Appointment: A newspaper journalist and his wisecracking assistant team up with the police to solve a perplexing murder case involving war veterans, each killed on the same date each year. Murder On The Campus: A reporter learns that his brother, a student, has committed suicide. Unconvinced, he begins his own investigation when the police dismiss his suspicions. Could a killer be on the loose in Cambridge?
In 1962's On the Beat, Norman Wisdom's Pitkin, the most famous incarnation of his riotous buffoon character, is dreaming of something better as usual. Pitkin wants to follow in his father's footsteps and become a policeman, but being decidedly on the short side, has to settle for washing police cars. Of course it's not long before Norman is impersonating an officer of the law. Wisdom also plays his nemesis here, the German General Schreiber, as well as the chief suspect in a series of jewel robberies which only Pitkin's chaotic antics can solve. Terence Alexander effectively reprises his character from The Square Peg (1958), and Wisdom regular David Lodge, previously seen costarring in The Bulldog Breed (1960), is also on hand, though otherwise the supporting cast is less stellar than before. By the time of 1955's Man of the Moment, Wisdom was firmly established as Britain's favourite movie comedian, his shy, helpful and good-natured "gump" character forever unintentionally causing catastrophe in the great tradition of Charlie Chaplin. However, while Chaplin ventured into politics in Modern Times (1936) for satirical purposes, when Norman's minor civil servant here accidentally becomes the UK delegate at a conference in Geneva the emphasis is on farce and pratfalls. The plot sees Norman sticking up for the rights of the fictional kingdom of Tawaki against less-than-honest government interests, while his new-found status brings the attention of the ladies, including the return of his Trouble in Store (1953) costar Lana Morris. Continuing his collaboration with veteran director John Paddy Carstairs, the film is a polished laughter machine that continues to entertain. --Gary S Dalkin
Having proved himself a war hero in The Square Peg (1958), Norman Pitkin, Norman Wisdom's most famous incarnation of his riotous buffoon character, is here demobbed and, as usual for a Wisdom movie, dreaming of something better. Norman wants to follow in his father's footsteps and become a policeman, but being decidedly on the short side, has to settle for washing police cars. Of course it's not long before Norman is impersonating an officer of the law. As in The Square Peg, Wisdom also plays his nemesis here, the German General Schreiber, as well as the chief suspect in a series of jewel robberies which only Pitkin's chaotic antics can solve. In fact, as if emphasising that On the Beat really is The Square Peg with different uniforms, Terence Alexander, who later found fame as Charlie Hungerford in the long running BBC series Bergerac, also returns, albeit playing a different character. Wisdom film-regular David Lodge, previously seen co-starring in The Bulldog Breed (1960) is also on hand, though otherwise the supporting cast is less stellar than before. Solid if very predictable feel-good entertainment, Wisdom's particular brand of charming anarchy proves again his box-office formula could withstand endless variations. --Gary S Dalkin
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