"Actor: Edward Chapman"

• They Flew Alone (The Wings of a Woman) DVD | DVD | (16/08/2010) from £47.70   |  Saving you £-34.71 (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  A stirring British film based on the life of Amy Johnson won the hearts of the British public in the 1930s with her record-breaking solo flights around the world. Amy's fame takes a toll on her marriage to fellow flyer Jim Mollison a daredevil in his own right who chafes at being overshadowed by his wife.

• Proud Valley | DVD | (11/01/2010) from £20.23   |  Saving you £-4.24 (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  The Proud Valley

• Stitch In Time, A / Just My Luck | DVD | (12/05/2003) from £7.26   |  Saving you £6.99 (116.50%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Norman Wisdom reprises his famous Pitkin character for the third time in A Stitch in Time, and Edward Chapman is also back to provide Norman with the excuse to reprise his immortal catch-phrase "Mr Grimsdale!". Here he succeeds in causing chaos in a St John Ambulance unit, as well as donning drag to play a blonde nurse complete with suspender belt and silk stockings. Each Norman Wisdom movie usually sees him as the accidental Lord of Misrule in one institution or another, and this time it's the NHS: after being banned from his local hospital, Norman resorts to subterfuge to visit a little orphan girl. There's an autobiographical touch here, as Wisdom himself was raised in an orphanage and centred the plot of One Good Turn (1954) around such an establishment. --Gary S Dalkin An important step in the career of Norman Wisdom, Just My Luck is principally notable for the introduction of actor Edward Chapman, whom many would come to know as series regular Mr Grimsdale. Here he's the stuffy foil to Norman's romantic plans regarding his jewel-making job, where he'll do anything to possess some of the wealth about him. The chance comes in the form of an accumulator bet at Goodwood races thanks to a slimy Leslie Phillips. Another star cameo of note was a second appearance by Margaret Rutherford (after Trouble in Store) as an eccentric animal owner. But the real advance with the Wisdom formula was that--after a reasonably serious plot line--Norman finally gets the girl. --Paul Tonks

• Mandy (65th Anniversary Digitally Restored) | Blu Ray | (12/06/2017) from £11.00   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Mandy Garland was born deaf and has been mute for all of her life. Her parents believe she is able to speak if she can only be taught and enroll her with a special teacher.

• Just My Luck | DVD | (12/11/2001) from £6.94   |  Saving you £3.05 (43.95%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Just My Luck was an important step in the career of Norman Wisdom for several reasons. It's principally notable for the introduction of actor Edward Chapman, whom many would come to know as series regular Mr Grimsdale. Here he's the stuffy foil to Norman's romantic plans regarding his jewel-making job, where he'll do anything to possess some of the wealth about him. The chance comes in the form of an accumulator bet at Goodwood races thanks to a slimy Leslie Phillips. Another star cameo of note was a second appearance by Margaret Rutherford (after Trouble in Store) as an eccentric animal owner. But the real advance with the Wisdom formula was that--after a reasonably serious plot line--Norman finally gets the girl. On the DVD: This is a straight transfer from video. So although the mono sound and 4:3 ratio don't improve on anything previously available, at least it won't deteriorate further.--Paul Tonks

• A Stitch In Time | DVD | (12/11/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Norman Wisdom returns as his famous "Pitkin" character, but also for the first time since his appearance in 1958's The Square Peg, Edward Chapman is also back to provide Norman with the excuse to reprise his immortal catch-phrase "Mr Grimsdale". Following on from the previous year's On the Beat, this is actually Wisdom's third adventure as Norman Pitkin, and he certainly has a thing about uniforms. In the previous pictures he was in the army then the police, while here he succeeds in causing chaos in a St. John's Ambulance unit, as well as donning drag to play a blonde nurse complete with suspender belt and silk stockings. Each Norman Wisdom movie usually sees him as the accidental Lord of Misrule in one institution or another, and this time its the NHS: after being banned from his local hospital, Norman resorts to subterfuge to visit a little orphan girl. There's an autobiographical touch here, as Wisdom himself was raised in an orphanage and centred the plot of One Good Turn (1954) around such an establishment. It's all good fun and clearly shows where such later British comedy as Michael Crawford's BBC TV series Some Mothers Do 'Av 'Em (1973-78) found its inspiration. --Gary S. Dalkin

• Bulldog Breed, The / One Good Turn | DVD | (12/05/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  In 1960, Norman Wisdom was left all at sea in The Bulldog Breed. He had already made a farce of the army in The Square Peg (1958), so what better than to join the navy? Back in the real world, the Russians had kick-started the space race putting Sputnik into orbit, so Norman rapidly finds himself selected to be the first Brit in space. Playing to type, the result is excellent physical comedy and copious tomfoolery at the expense of the upper ranks. With support from John Le Mesurier and Edward Chapman (the legendary "Mr Grimsdale") and uncredited appearances from Oliver Reed and Michael Caine, this is a notable British comedy, with an unusually direct reference to the risqué Carry On movies. For his second starring role Norman Wisdom played the oldest orphan of Greenwood Children's Home in 1954's One Good Turn. Not only does he have to find the money to buy one of the orphans a model car, but after a visit to Brighton he discovers Greenwood is due to be closed down by the home's own unscrupulous chairman, a property developer with plans to build a factory on the site. Also starring Thora Hird, One Good Turn was surely a film with a personal resonance for Wisdom who was himself brought-up in an orphanage after his mother died and his father was unable to raise him. As would become a tradition, he contributes a song, "Please Opportunity", and the movie, though produced by Rank, now sits easily in that classic Ealing era where the ordinary man took on the big guys and won. The innocent knockabout humour remains appealing. --Gary S Dalkin

• The Young and the Guilty | DVD | (06/10/2014) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Janet Munro and Andrew Ray give moving performances in this excellent late-fifties drama in which two sets of parents misunderstand the innocent nature of the relationship between their teenage son and daughter. Scripted by playwright Dixon of Dock Green creator and multiple BAFTA nominee Ted Willis The Young and the Guilty is featured here in a brand-new transfer from the original film elements in its as-exhibited theatrical aspect ratio. ‘The eighth deadly sin is to see evil where none exists...’ So schoolboy Eddie Marshall believes. The son of an ambitious mother who believes she married beneath her and a father considered stupid and selfish by his nagging wife Eddie has always found peace and satisfaction in his studies. And then he meets Sue – a shy dreamy and well-to-do fellow pupil at his school and the two fall deeply in love. Each day they write tender poetic letters to each other; but when Sue’s father finds and reads one of the letters he immediately jumps to the wrong conclusion...

• The Proud Valley | Blu Ray | (27/03/2017) from £12.64   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Hoping to find work in Wales, David Goliath (Paul Robeson: Show Boat), a ship's stoker, boards a train and winds up in a small mining town. There, his powerful physique and magnificent singing voice attract the attention of Parry (Simon Lack), the choir director, who hopes to win the national singing meet on the strength of David's vocal chords. Goliath soon finds himself embracing village life, working down the pit and singing with the choir. However, when a cave-in leads to disaster, the mine is closed and all the workers are left unemployed. Hoping to convince the owners to reopen the colliery, Goliath helps lead a group of activists in a walk to London. Along the way, they learn war has been declared, and begin to plan to get the mine up and running again in time to serve the nation's needs. With a wealth of musical numbers and Paul Robeson's undeniable charm, The Proud Valley is a must-see.

• Doctor At Large | DVD | (30/09/2002) from £11.84   |  Saving you £1.14 (12.88%)   |  RRP £9.99

  'Doctor At Large' was the third entry in the long running 'Doctor' series of films. Directed by Ralph Thomas (brother of Gerald the director of the 'Carry On 'movies) it follows the further madcap exploits of Dr. Simon Sparrow (Dirk Bogarde) in particular his attempts at general practice.

• Man on the Run | DVD | (06/04/2020) from £16.98   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  A key post-war British Noir unseen since the late 1940s, Man on the Run stars Derek Farr as an army deserter unjustly accused of murdering a policeman during an armed robbery. Co-starring Edward Chapman, Laurence Harvey and Kenneth More, it is presented here as a brand-new transfer from original film elements in its original theatrical aspect ratio. A prison escapee, army deserter Peter Burdon makes a new life for himself in London. Short of cash, he tries to pawn his old service revolver and is caught up in an armed robbery, during which a constable is shot and killed. Suspected of being part of the gang, Burdon must go on the run to prove his innocence. Special Feature: Image gallery

• Early Bird, The / Press For Time | DVD | (12/05/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Norman Wisdom reprises his best-loved character, the comically inept Pitkin, in 1965's The Early Bird, ably supported once again by Edward Chapman in his final appearance as Mr Grimsdale. This time around Wisdom is the only milkman working for Grimsdale's Dairy, a small business threatened by a menacing large corporation in the shape of Consolidated Dairies and their electric milk floats. Grimsdale and Pitkin must evoke the Dunkirk spirit to save their family firm from the grasp of the faceless giant. Of course, the wafer-thin plot is the merest excuse for a series of calamitous set pieces in which Wisdom wreaks havoc in his trademark bumbling manner. The best bits involve a disastrous game of golf, the usual shenanigans with a fire hose and a virtuoso tour de force opening sequence as the household struggles to wake up in the morning, all set to Ron Goodwin's tongue-in-cheek music score. --Mark Walker In Press for Time Norman Wisdom offered his version of the crusading reporter movie, though by 1966 time was running out for Norman's style of big-screen comedy. Perhaps a sign of his growing frustration with the formulaic nature of his pictures was that he stretched himself to play not just his usual underdog hero, but also his own mother and his grandfather, the Prime Minister. Wisdom also cowrote the movie in which, as a reporter in a small seaside town, he causes chaos for the council, organises a beauty parade and dresses as a suffragette. Though now nearing the end of his years as a movie star, Wisdom shows himself to still be as polished as ever at his own brand of good-natured slapstick. --Gary S Dalkin

• Juno and the Paycock (1930) | DVD | (20/09/2010) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Derived from Sean O'Casey s acclaimed play, Alfred Hitchcock's adaptation of Juno and the Paycock is one of the Master s most unjustly neglected films. Down in the Dublin slums, Captain Boyle is a shiftless layabout, scrounging off his hard-working wife Juno. When he learns he has inherited a great deal of money, their lives change forever. Starring members of the cast of the original Abbey Theatre production, this powerful drama shows there was more to Hitchcock than just suspense. His skill...

• Gone To Earth | DVD | (27/08/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Hazel Woodus is a peculiar young girl living on the Welsh border at the turn of the century. Dominated by superstitions and lore which she reads from a book she is devoted to her pet fox and to all the local creatures. One of the legends she reads says she must marry the first man who proposes. This turns out to be the mild mannered minister Marston and fearing the legend she agrees to marry him. Hazel feels no true desire for her husband and cannot resist the advances of the r

• Convoy | DVD | (18/05/2020) from £10.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Clive Brook and John Clements star as naval officers at odds with one other in this thrilling drama from Ealing Studios that pits duty against love during wartime. The final film from rising star Pen Tennyson, killed a year later on active service, Convoy is presented here as a brand-new transfer from original film elements in its as-exhibited theatrical aspect ratio. Returning to port after a long and tiring tour of duty, Captain Armitage receives orders to take his warship and urgently escort a fleet of merchantmen safely to Britain. Reaching the convoy, Armitage realises that one ship is missing and amongst the refugees it is carrying is his ex-wife, Lucy. SPECIAL FEATURE: Image gallery

• The Early Bird | DVD | (12/11/2001) from £16.24   |  Saving you £-3.26 (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Norman Wisdom reprises his best-loved character, the comically inept Pitkin, in 1965's The Early Bird, ably supported once again by Edward Chapman in his final appearance as Mr Grimsdale. This time around Wisdom is the only milkman working for Grimsdale's Dairy, a small business threatened by a menacing large corporation in the shape of Consolidated Dairies and their electric milk floats. Grimsdale and Pitkin must evoke the Dunkirk spirit to save their family firm from the grasp of the faceless giant. Of course, the wafer-thin plot is the merest excuse for a series of calamitous set pieces in which Wisdom wreaks havoc in his trademark bumbling manner. The best bits involve a disastrous game of golf, the usual shenanigans with a fire hose and a virtuoso tour de force opening sequence as the household struggles to wake up in the morning. Wisdom's own brand of Jerry Lewis-inspired clowning, with mugging and pratfalls aplenty, is all good clean fun with little or none of the smutty innuendo that characterised the contemporary Carry On series. He carries this film, as he does all his others, solely on the strength of his winningly naïve charm: this is innocent comedy from the days before supermarkets really did wreck all the local businesses, not to mention from the days before The Godfather gave a whole new spin on the comedy value of going to bed with your horse. On the DVD: There are no extra features on this disc at all. Given Wisdom's household-name status and the longevity of these much-loved movies, this seems like a sadly missed opportunity. The 4:3 picture has not been digitally remastered and shows its age, as does the muddy mono soundtrack. Only Ron Goodwin's wonderfully tongue-in-cheek music score comes across reasonably well. --Mark Walker

• Man on the Run | Blu Ray | (06/04/2020) from £10.36   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  A key post-war British Noir unseen since the late 1940s, Man on the Run stars Derek Farr as an army deserter unjustly accused of murdering a policeman during an armed robbery. Co-starring Edward Chapman, Laurence Harvey and Kenneth More, it is presented here as a brand-new High Definition transfer from original film elements in its original theatrical aspect ratio. A prison escapee, army deserter Peter Burdon makes a new life for himself in London. Short of cash, he tries to pawn his old service revolver and is caught up in an armed robbery, during which a constable is shot and killed. Suspected of being part of the gang, Burdon must go on the run to prove his innocence. SPECIAL FEATURE: Image gallery

• X The Unknown | DVD | (26/05/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  A strange blob-like creature terrorises the inhabitants of a Scottish village.

• Girls Will Be Boys | DVD | (07/07/2014) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  This delightfully mischievous comedy was among the first films made in Britain by Paris-born director Marcel Varnel later noted for his collaborations with Will Hay Arthur Askey and the Crazy Gang. It also marked the British screen debut of Dolly Haas providing a typically androgynous role for the gamine German ingénue. Girls Will Be Boys is presented here in a brand-new digital transfer. The mere idea of a woman in his castle made the Duke of Bridgewater feel ill but behind his misogyny lay a family scandal that had left him irascible lonely and heirless. Much was his rejoicing when a letter arrived from abroad beginning 'Dear Grandfather' and signed 'Pat Caverley' it seemed to signal that the Duke had an heir after all and the old man promptly ordered Grey his secretary to fetch the boy. Much to Grey's horror however 'Pat' turned out to be 'Patricia'! Undaunted the impish Patricia cuts off her curls and dons trousers can she make everyone believe that she's a man..? SPECIAL FEATURES: [] Image Gallery

• Things to Come | DVD | (07/09/2009) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £7.99

  Things To Come