The Square Peg marks a slight departure for Norman Wisdom, being his first comedy to be set, however recently, in the past. He plays one of a pair of council workmen, who while repairing the road outside an army base come to illustrate the oxymoronic nature of the phrase "military intelligence". Finding themselves drafted, the workmen are sent to repair the roads ahead of the Allied advance through war-torn Europe by the sergeant they previously embarrassed. Norman finds himself behind the German lines, joins-up with French Resistance, gets captured then sets out to... rescue British prisoners from a German military HQ by impersonating General Schreiber. Of course Wisdom plays Schreiber too, offering the sort of comedy stereotyping which Basil Fawlty in best "Don't mention the war" mode would appreciate. The Square Peg is the film which introduced Norman Wisdom's famous catch-phrase, "Mr. Grimsdale!" for whenever disaster struck. The long suffering Mr Grimsdale is played by Edward Chapman, who would reprise the role in Wisdom's A Stitch in Time (1963) and The Early Bird (1965), as well as playing Mr Philpots in The Bulldog Breed (1960). Hattie Jacques gets to sing a remarkable duet with Wisdom, and a pre-Goldfinger (1964) Honor Blackman provides the love interest.--Gary S. Dalkin [show more]
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