Kurt at 21:49, 12 April 2023

2023-04-12T21:49:21Z

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	{{Infobox film		{{Infobox film
	~~\| name = Man of the Moment~~
	\| image = Man_of_the_Moment_(1955_film).jpg		\| image = Man_of_the_Moment_(1955_film).jpg
	~~\| image_size =~~
	\| caption =		\| caption =
	\| director = [[John Paddy Carstairs]]		\| director = [[John Paddy Carstairs]]

Kurt at 15:43, 4 April 2023

2023-04-04T15:43:32Z

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	~~{{Use dmy dates\|date=June 2016}}~~
	~~{{Use British English\|date=June 2016}}~~
	{{Infobox film		{{Infobox film
	\| name = Man of the Moment		\| name = Man of the Moment
	\| image = ~~"Man_of_the_Moment"_~~(1955_film).jpg		\| image = Man_of_the_Moment_(1955_film).jpg
	\| image_size =		\| image_size =
	\| caption =		\| caption =
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	* {{BritMovie title\| Man-of-the-Moment_1955 }}		* {{BritMovie title\| Man-of-the-Moment_1955 }}
	* {{IMDb title\| 0048346 }}		* {{IMDb title\| 0048346 }}
			*{{BFI\|4ce2b6afd11ca\|Man of the Moment}}
	*[https://letterboxd.com/film/man-of-the-moment/ Man of the Moment] at Letterbox DVD		*[https://letterboxd.com/film/man-of-the-moment/ Man of the Moment] at Letterbox DVD
	*[https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6afd11ca Man of the Moment] at BFI		*[https://archive.org/details/ManOfTheMoment Man of the Moment] available for free download at [https://archive.org/ Internet Archive]
	* [https://archive.org/details/ManOfTheMoment Man of the Moment] available for free download at [https://archive.org/ Internet Archive]
	*[https://archive.org/details/variety200-1955-09/page/n230/mode/1up?q=%22belinda+lee%22 Review of film] at ''Variety''		*[https://archive.org/details/variety200-1955-09/page/n230/mode/1up?q=%22belinda+lee%22 Review of film] at ''Variety''
	~~{{John Paddy Carstairs}}~~

	[[Category:1955 films]]		[[Category:1955 films]]

Kurt: 1 revision imported

2023-03-30T21:49:20Z

1 revision imported

← Older revision	Revision as of 16:49, 30 March 2023
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en>Britfilm: /* Production */ add info

2023-03-30T01:00:23Z

Production: add info

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{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2016}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Man of the Moment
| image = "Man_of_the_Moment"_(1955_film).jpg
| image_size =
| caption =
| director = [[John Paddy Carstairs]]
| producer = [[Hugh Stewart (film editor)|Hugh Stewart]]<br>'''executive'''<br>[[Earl St John]]
| writer = {{ubl|[[Maurice Cowan]] (story)|John Paddy Carstairs|[[Vernon Sylvaine]]}}
| narrator =
| starring = {{ubl|[[Norman Wisdom]]|[[Lana Morris]]|[[Belinda Lee]]|[[Jerry Desmonde]]}}
| music = [[Philip Green (composer)|Philip Green]]
| cinematography = [[Jack E. Cox]]
| editing = John Shirley
| studio = {{ubl|[[Rank Organisation]]|Group Film Productions}}
| distributor = Rank Film Distributors
| released = 24 November 1955 (UK)
| runtime = 88 minutes
| country = United Kingdom
| language = English
| budget =
| gross =
}}

'''''Man of the Moment''''' is a 1955 British [[comedy film]] starring [[Norman Wisdom]], [[Belinda Lee]], [[Lana Morris]] and [[Jerry Desmonde]]. The film includes songs sung by the [[Beverley Sisters]], including, "Dreams for Sale" (Arthur Groves, Peter Carroll), "Beware" (Norman Wisdom), "Yodelee Yodelay", and "Man of the Moment" (Jack Fishman).<ref name="tvguide1">{{cite web|url=http://movies.tvguide.com/man-of-the-moment/review/126460 |title=Man Of The Moment Review |publisher=Movies.tvguide.com |access-date=2014-06-08}}</ref>

==Plotline==
Norman, a file clerk in the (fictional) British Ministry of Overseas Affairs, becomes a British delegate to a diplomatic conference in [[Geneva]], as there is no one else available. He accidentally votes against a motion that would allow intervention in the affairs of the (fictional) peaceful Pacific island nation of Tawaki. This earns him the gratitude of the Queen of Tawaki, who leaves all matters concerning her nation's future in the hands of 'Honourable Sir Norman'.

The furious governments, including America, Great Britain and the Soviet Union, which want to establish a military base on one of Tawaki's outlying islands, shower honours on Norman to persuade him to influence the Queen in their favour. One government sends a glamorous film star to seduce him before killing him, but fails in the attempt. He is then sent a parcel bomb, but he evades it. Finally, they kidnap his new girlfriend Penny. Norman chases the thugs through BBC studios, causing chaos in programmes being transmitted live.

Finally, Norman, now apparently an [[Ambassador]], travels to Tawaki. As he addresses the Queen, a volcanic eruption completely destroys the island the governments had designs on.

==Cast==
{{cast listing|
* [[Norman Wisdom]] as Norman
* [[Lana Morris]] as Penny
* [[Belinda Lee]] as Sonia
* [[Jerry Desmonde]] as Jackson
* [[Karel Štěpánek]] as Lom
* [[Garry Marsh]] as British Delegate
* [[Inia Te Wiata]] as King of Tawaki
* [[Evelyn Roberts]] as Sir Horace
* [[Violet Farebrother]] as Queen of Tawaki
* [[Martin Miller (actor)|Martin Miller]] as Swiss Tailor
* [[Eugene Deckers]] as Day Lift Man
* [[Hugh Morton (actor)|Hugh Morton]] as Mitchell
* [[Cyril Chamberlain]] as British Delegate
* [[Lisa Gastoni]] as Chambermaid
* [[Harold Kasket]] as Enrico
* [[Beverley Brooks]] as Air Hostess
* [[Michael Ward (actor)|Michael Ward]] as Photographer
* [[Derek Sydney]] as Lesnevitch
* [[Peter Taylor (actor)|Peter Taylor]] as Gritter
* [[Josef Behrmann]] as Rietz
* [[Charles Hawtrey (actor, born 1914)|Charles Hawtrey]], play director
}}

==Trivia==
The television programmes interrupted by Norman chasing the thugs who kidnapped Penny comprise;

* a cookery session by [[Philip Harben]], whose nearly-ready souffle is destroyed.
* A scene from ''[[The Grove Family]]'', in which 'Granny Grove' trips up the thugs.
* ''[[Fabian of the Yard]]'', in which 'Fabian' attempts to arrest them.
* A scene from a Greek drama is disrupted.

==Production==
It was Norman Wisdom's third film. Producer Hugh Stewart reportedly gave up the chance to make ''A Town Like Alice'' to do the film.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article75997776 |title=Star Dust |newspaper=[[The Mirror (Western Australia)|The Mirror]] |volume=3 |issue=1791 |location=Western Australia |date=24 September 1955 |access-date=8 August 2020 |page=12 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> Stewart went on to work a numbner of times with Wisdom.<ref name="hugh">{{cite web|url=https://historyproject.org.uk/interview/hugh-stewart|website=British Entertainment History Project|title=Hugh Stewart|date=22 Nov 1989}}</ref> It was one of several comedies Lee made at Rank.<ref name="bomb">{{cite magazine|first=Stephen|last=Vagg|magazine=Filmink|title=A Tale of Two Blondes: Diana Dors and Belinda Lee|date=September 7, 2020|url=https://www.filmink.com.au/a-tale-of-two-blondes-diana-dors-and-belinda-lee/}}</ref>

==Critical reception==
* ''[[TV Guide]]'' noted, "some fine slapstick moments, including a television studio chase that interrupts several programs."<ref name="tvguide1"/>
*David Parkinson gave the film three out of five stars in the ''[[Radio Times]]'', writing, "Norman Wisdom is almost at the peak of his powers in this typically silly comedy, in which, as ever, slapstick and sentiment jostle for centre stage....Although we usually think of Wisdom as a bashful bungler, he also did a nice line in cockiness, and it's surprisingly amusing to watch Whitehall and Geneva dance to his tune. Jerry Desmonde again provides supreme support as the stooge."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.radiotimes.com/film/hrs5q/man-of-the-moment |title=Man of the Moment | Film review and movie reviews |publisher=Radio Times |access-date=2014-06-08}}</ref>

==Box Office==
The film was a huge hit in Hungary with over two million of the population of ten million going to see it.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/KineWeekly2802/page/n8/mode/1up?q=%22man+of+the+moment%22+|magazine=Kine Weekly|date=15 June 1961|page=9|title=British comedies are the big attraction}}</ref> According to ''Kinematograph Weekly'' it was a "money maker" at the British box office in 1955.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Kinematograph Weekly|title=Other Money Makers of 1955|date=15 December 1955|page=5}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{BritMovie title| Man-of-the-Moment_1955 }}
* {{IMDb title| 0048346 }}
*[https://letterboxd.com/film/man-of-the-moment/ Man of the Moment] at Letterbox DVD
*[https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6afd11ca Man of the Moment] at BFI
* [https://archive.org/details/ManOfTheMoment Man of the Moment] available for free download at [https://archive.org/ Internet Archive]
*[https://archive.org/details/variety200-1955-09/page/n230/mode/1up?q=%22belinda+lee%22 Review of film] at ''Variety''
{{John Paddy Carstairs}}

[[Category:1955 films]]
[[Category:1955 comedy films]]
[[Category:British black-and-white films]]
[[Category:Films directed by John Paddy Carstairs]]
[[Category:Films set in Geneva]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by John Paddy Carstairs]]
[[Category:Films shot at Pinewood Studios]]
[[Category:British comedy films]]
[[Category:Films about diplomats]]
[[Category:1950s English-language films]]
[[Category:1950s British films]]

Man of the Moment (1955 film) - Revision history

Kurt at 21:49, 12 April 2023

Kurt at 15:43, 4 April 2023

Kurt: 1 revision imported

en>Britfilm: /* Production */ add info