John Paddy Carstairs
1910 - 1970Missing, Believed Married
John Paddy Carstairs
Hazel Terry
This long-lost British comedy features a wealthy heiress rescued from the clutches of a scheming foreigner by a pair of bumbling market traders. But the plot plays second fiddle to the comedic performances of stalwarts Wally Patch (one of Britain’s most prolific character actors) and the much-loved Margaret Rutherford. Patch and Vedey make a dynamic double-act whose clowning keeps the film zipping along, while Rutherford’s imperious proclamations on etiquette are priceless. Irene Handl adds some ooh-la-la to the role of a French maid, and director Carstairs ably keeps them all under control.
Missing, Believed Married
The Square Peg
John Paddy Carstairs
Norman Wisdom, Edward Chapman
Norman Pitkin and Mr Grimsdale are council workmen mending the road outside an Army base when they come into conflict with the military. Shortly afterwards, they get drafted and fall into the clutches of the Sergeant they have just bested. They are sent to France to repair roads in front of the Allied advance but get captured. Pitkin takes advantage of a useful similarity to impersonate General Schreiber and manages to return a hero
The Square Peg
Trouble in Store
John Paddy Carstairs
Norman Wisdom, Moira Lister
Norman is working in the stock room of a large London department store, but he has ambition (doesn't he always !!), he wants to be a window dresser making up the public displays. Whilst trying to fulfill his ambition, he falls in love (doesn't he always !!), with one of the shopgirls. Together they discover a plot to rob the store and, somehow, manage to foil the robbers.
Trouble in Store
Dancing with Crime
John Paddy Carstairs
Richard Attenborough, Sheila Sim
When his best friend is murdered inside a London dancehall, a cab driver and his girlfriend involve themselves in the investigation and discover a major criminal operation hiding behind the club's friendly facade.
Dancing with Crime
Up in the World
John Paddy Carstairs
Norman Wisdom, Maureen Swanson
Norman is a window cleaner who has to clean a manor house with hundreds of windows. He is distracted by the son of the house who persuades him to go into town. When some villains try and kidnap the young heir Norman fights them off but the heir has banged his head and can't remember Norman's heroic stand
Up in the World
One Good Turn
John Paddy Carstairs
Norman Wisdom, Joan Rice
Norman is the oldest orphan at Greenwood Children's Home and now acts as their caretaker. All the orphans are very happy and well cared for. The adventures start when a nasty property developer (boo hiss) who is also the chairman of the orphanage board wants to close the orphanage and build a factory on the site. The children are sent to Brighton for the day and Norman is very excited because he's "Never seen the Sea". When they get back they discover the plan to close the orphanage and have to decide what to do
One Good Turn
The Saint in London
John Paddy Carstairs
George Sanders, Sally Gray
Suave soldier of fortune Simon Templer gets mixed up with a gang of counterfeiters who've murdered and robbed an European count of 1,000,000 pounds. He is aided reluctantly by Scotland Yard inspector Teal, who's convinced that Templar himself pulled off the heist, and less reluctantly by light-fingered Dugan and dizzy socialite Penny Parker.
The Saint in London
Lassie from Lancashire
John Paddy Carstairs
Marjorie Browne, Hal Thompson
Struggling young actress Jenny (Marjorie Browne) joins her dad (Mark Daly) when he moves into Aunt Hetty's (Elsie Wagstaff) boarding house. Aunt Hetty overworks them, but Jenny is lucky enough to find love in the form of aspiring songwriter Tom (Hal Thompson). But their romance is threatened and nearly destroyed by the jealous star actress of the local pantomime company. However, the young lovers move on to bigger and better things after winning a London West End theatre contract.
Lassie from Lancashire
Man of the Moment
John Paddy Carstairs
Norman Wisdom, Lana Morris
Norman is a file clerk who accidentally becomes a British delegate to a diplomatic conference, befriends the queen of a remote island, and winds up a knight. Norman leaves rooms in shambles, tailors in shreds, and diplomats in bandages. Chased by gunmen and assassins of foreign powers, Norman finds himself running through active TV studio sets and interrupts various programs and performances in progress
Man of the Moment
Fools Rush In
John Paddy Carstairs
Sally Ann Howes, Guy Rolfe
Howes plays Pamela Dickson, an impulsive young bride-to-be, while Guy Rolfe portrays her long-lost father Paul. Ostensibly a cad and bounder, Paul turns out to be just the opposite when he arrives for Pamela's wedding.
Fools Rush In
Spare a Copper
John Paddy Carstairs
George Formby, Dorothy Hyson
George is an inept reserve policeman working in wartime Liverpool, who is chosen by a gang of Nazi saboteurs as the stooge for their planned destruction of the British battleship HMS Hercules. Framed by the villains and forced to go on the run, George sets out to clear his name with the aid of new girlfriend, Jane.
Spare a Copper
All Hands
John Paddy Carstairs
John Mills, Leueen MacGrath
From a series of propaganda films made to raise awareness of the risks of idle gossip providing vital information to enemy spies and collaborators. This Ealing Studios production features well-known 1940s actor John Mills, playing a sailor whose girlfriend thoughtlessly blunders away vital wartime secrets. The consequences prove disastrous when his boat next leaves to cross the English Channel.
All Hands
The Chiltern Hundreds
John Paddy Carstairs
David Tomlinson, Lana Morris
Young Viscount Tony Pym wangles National Service leave on the pretext of standing as a Tory candidate for a local seat held by his family for generations. The request is a ruse to enable Pym to marry his wealthy American fiancee while she's still in England, but his masterplan backfires when he finds himself swept into an election campaign and beaten by Labour's Mr Cleghorn – who is then made a peer. In an attempt to save face, Pym decides to stand again – as a socialist. It all proves too much for the Pyms' loyal, true-blue butler, Mr Beecham...
The Chiltern Hundreds
Just My Luck
John Paddy Carstairs
Norman Wisdom, Margaret Rutherford
Norman works in a jewellers workshop and fantasises (in the nicest way) about meeting the window dresser across the road from his workshop. He wants to buy her a diamond pendant but calculates it will take him over 100 years to save up for it. He is talked into betting a pound on a six horse accumulator at the Goodwood races with a slightly shady bookmaker. When he has won on the first five races, the bookie owes him over 16,000 pounds and everyone begins to worry. Everyone's future depends on a single race ... what can be done ?
Just My Luck
