MAN OF THE MOMENT

New Zealand Listener, Volume 34, Issue 877, 25 May 1956, Page 19

MAN OF THE MOMENT

(Rank-Group Films) 2OR one reason and another, I saw neither of the earlier Norman Wisdom comedies, but’ having heard so much about them I found it hard to approach Man of the Moment with an open mind. I gather it may be better than the others, and I must say I found it agreeably surprising. I was especially pleased to discover only one scene that really invited us to feel sorry for Mr. Wisdom. It’s true he’s a simple soul, a little man, who gets by more or less by accident-but he does get by. and keeps bouncing. As a person and a character I find him quite engaging-one of those likeable fellows who are most amusing when they’re most able to be themselves. The weakest parts of this film are slightly tedious farce, no coubt meant to force the pace, which seems to me largely to ignore his special talent. The story concerns an argument about a Pacific island which a number of countries, including Britain, would like to use as a base. Mr. Wisdom, a filing clerk, finds himself whisked off to Geneva, and eventually standing in as a delegate to maintain the strength of Britain’s voice. Of course, there are intrigue, dirty work, pretty girls, and so on, and because he wrote a simple man’s simple letter to the island queen Mr. Wisdom suddenly finds himself invited to bargain from a Position of Strength. Inia Te Wiata, by the way, has a smallish part as a Pacific island delegate. John Paddy Carstairs directed.