Up in the World

Up in the World is a 1956 black and white comedy film directed by John Paddy Carstairs and starring Norman Wisdom, Maureen Swanson and Jerry Desmonde. It was produced by Rank.

Plot
Norman is given a job as a window cleaner at a stately home by the Labour Exchange.

He quickly encounters young Sir Reginald, an obnoxious teenager who has an extremely over-protective mother. Due to Reginald's age, the estate is run by the pompous Major Willoughby.

The whole household must kowtow to Reginald. This is epitomised in an estate football match where everyone understands that Reginald must win but Norman doesn't understand this.

Meanwhile Norman develops a romance with the maid, Jeannie.

Reginald demands that Norman, working as a window cleaner, takes him to London to see a magic show. He tortures him by tickling his feet with a feather, whilst Norman is trapped in an upstairs window frame, and demands that they go that evening... which means he can't take Jeannie to the dance.

Norman is tricked into breaking the TV and a bogus repair van comes to the house. They have come to kidnap Regi but take Maurice by mistake, as Regi has gone off with Norman.

Norman and Regi go to a show and have dinner together. By coincidence it is owned by the kidnappers. When police arrive the kidnappers pin the blame on Norman. Regi gets a bump on the head and remembers nothing. Norman gets sentenced to 25 years in prison. But, as the one serving the longest sentence he becomes the boss of the group of prisoners. Cleaning prison windows on a long ladder he accidentally escapes.

Heading back to Banderville Hall a series of mishaps ends with him looking like a paratrooper and enters the estate with an army group searching for the escapee. Norman tracks down Jeannie at an ongoing fancy dress party and dresses himself as a harem girl. After a dance with the Major he tries to get Regi to remember him.

Jeannie and Norman fight off guests and army from the gallery. The army starts to use tear gas but Norman bats it back into the party-goers. In the commotion Regi bumps his head and remembers everything.

Norman and Jeannie get married with the Sergeant and his men as wedding guests in morning dress.

Cast

 * Norman Wisdom as Norman
 * Maureen Swanson as Jeannie Andrews
 * Jerry Desmonde as Major Willoughby
 * Michael Caridia as Sir Reginald
 * Colin Gordon as Fletcher Hethrington
 * Ambrosine Phillpotts as Lady Banderville
 * Michael Ward as Maurice
 * Jill Dixon as Sylvia
 * Edwin Styles as conjuror
 * Hy Hazell as Yvonne
 * William Lucas as Mick Bellman
 * Lionel Jeffries as Wilson
 * Cyril Chamberlain as Harper
 * Michael Brennan as prison warder
 * Eddie Leslie as Max
 * Bernard Bresslaw as Williams, Norman's cell-mate

Box office
According to Kinematograph Weekly the film was "in the money" at the British box office in 1957.

Critical
The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "The absurd, neatly-constructed story is a satisfactory comic vehicle, and the comic incident is well integrated to it. Though there are no really outstanding comic scenes, at least there are none of the distressingly unfunny ones which marred Man of the Moment (1955). The comedian still seems unfortunately obsessed by incidents whose fun lies in acute social embarrassment."

The Radio Times wrote, "for his fourth starring vehicle, Norman Wisdom teamed up once more with director John Paddy Carstairs. However, this tacky comedy gave notice that the winning formula was already beginning to wear thin ... The worst aspect of this maudlin mishmash is the fact that Wisdom gets to warble so often. No wonder he ends up in prison".

TV Guide called the film a "routine British comedy".