ggeffers Some of the reviews here are from people who, having been told this is Norman's best film, might not watch any others. I'd not exactly say I don't like this, but I'd place it near the bottom of the list. Perhaps only Press for Time is worse. There's a certain style of comedy and pathos that's missing here, and strangely the colour does not help. The opening scenes are reminiscent of Morecambe and Wise, in their Breakfast sketch. Overall, there's a lack of sharpness to the comedy, so oddly the Norman Wisdom films from ten years earlier don't look so old fashioned as the ones made in the 1960's.Trouble in Store, Stitch in Time, Bulldog Breed, at least give those a try if The Early Bird was not your cup of tea, because those three are more representative of Norman Wisdom's comedy - not just silly slapstick, but true heart.

Chris Gaskin The Early Bird is the one where Norman Wisdom plays a Milkman. I found this quite funny.Wisdom works for the Grimsdale Dairy, a small family run concern. He uses a horse and cart as his float. A large modern dairy then opens up and its milkmen start taking the same round as Grimsdale's and this threatens the future of the small business. Plenty of chaos before the two bosses come to an agreement at the end, reprieving Wisdom's horse in the process.The Early Bird certainly has its moments and I've never seen this sort of thing happen with the milkman who comes round where I live (yet!). One part I thought which was a little too daft is where the horse sleeps in Wisdom's bed.Joining Wisdom in the cast are Edward Chapman as Mr Grimsdale, Dad's Army star John Le Measurer and Frank Thornton (Are You Being Served?, Last Of the Summer Wine).Have a good laugh with The Early Bird.Rating: 3 stars out of 5.

fertiliser At first I thought this film was in black and white, you have to turn the colour up quite a lot to see it. Yes it's Norman falling down a lot but it's done in a way that makes you think 'ouch', which when it happens in real life is usually funny, unless it's you that's falling down of course. Jerry Desmonde is excellent as the exasperated Dairy boss who has to endure Norman destroying everything from his green house and car to his entire Dairy, all by accident of course. If you like slap-stick you'll like this, even if you don't you probably will.

bob the moo Norman Pitkin works in a small, very basic dairy for Mr Grimsdale. Their quiet, horse-drawn existence is threatened by the expansion of a huge modern dairy (Consolidated Dairies) with a fleet of milkmen, some of whom are muscling in on Grimsdale's patch by breaking their bottles.. Norman sets out to ensure his dairy's survival – hilarity and much chaos ensues.I love Norman Wisdom but this is nowhere near his best. Here the plot is actually quite good but it's only used well once or twice. Instead we have several set piece scenes which were clearly thought up before the actual plot because they are almost crowbarred into the film. For example – the whole golf scene is very thinly inserted and things like the lawnmower scene and the fire fighting scene bear little relation to the story itself.This wouldn't be a major problem if it was very funny, however, like the scenes themselves, the comedy feels a bit forced and not natural in the way Wisdom's best routines are. The whole golf scene is forced and the lawnmower scene will have you asking why he didn't just let go of the thing. There still is plenty to enjoy – my favourite being a cowboy pastiche – but overall it is really just Pitkin falling down as much as possible with the plot forgotten.Wisdom looks old and well fed – a strange comment perhaps, but it offsets his usual image as a working class hero. Being in full colour doesn't help but he isn't the character he was 10 years ago. Chapman is OK but his extra material and love interest make him less enjoyable as a comedy character. Desmonde is the upper class fool as always but here the comedy almost demeans his talents. The upside of the film is that there is no wasted time for Wisdom to chase a pretty young ankle – we have no love interest.Overall this is enjoyable for die-hard fans and children. The reliance on physical humour is to the detriment of the plot and regularly feels forced and unfunny. It is sill amusing and I had a few laughs but this is many miles from Wisdom at his peak.