''Just My Luck'' is a 1957 British

sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by

John Paddy Carstairs John Paddy Carstairs (born John Keys; 11 May 1910, in London – 12 December 1970, in London) was a British film director (1933–62) and television director (1962–64), usually of light-hearted subject matter. He was also a comic novelist and ...

and starring

Norman Wisdom Sir Norman Joseph Wisdom, (4 February 1915 – 4 October 2010) was an English actor, comedian, musician and singer best known for a series of comedy films produced between 1953 and 1966 featuring a hapless onscreen character often called Norman ...

as a worker in a jewellery shop. The cast also included

Margaret Rutherford Dame Margaret Taylor Rutherford, (11 May 1892 – 22 May 1972) was an English actress of stage, television and film. She came to national attention following World War II in the film adaptations of Noël Coward's ''Blithe Spirit'', and Oscar ...

Jill Dixon Jill Dixon (born 1935) is an English actress. Personal life and career Jill Dixon was born in England in 1935. She made her debut as an actress at the age of three, appearing as a water nymph at the London Hippodrome. Although she appeared in se ...

and

Leslie Phillips Leslie Samuel Phillips (20 April 1924 – 7 November 2022) was an English actor, director, producer and author. He achieved prominence in the 1950s, playing smooth, upper-class comic roles utilising his "Ding dong" and "Hello" catchphrases. ...

. It was shot at Pinewood Studios near

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

with sets designed by the art director Ernest Archer.

Plot

Norman Hackett Norman Honore Hackett (September 7, 1874 – February 12, 1958) was a prominent Canadian-born American stage actor of the early 1900s.Yonkers, N.Y. Herald-Statesman, Feb. 13, 1959 He was particularly noted for his Shakespearean roles. After he r ...

(Norman Wisdom) is employed in a jeweller's workshop and is innocently preoccupied with dreaming of meeting the window dresser in the shop across the street from his workplace. He wishes to purchase a diamond pendant for her and, after persuasion, gambles a pound on a six-horse accumulator at the Goodwood races. The bookmaker grows concerned when it appears Hackett, after winning on the first five races, could win over £16,000.

Cast

as Norman Hackett (and his own father) *

as Mrs. Dooley *

as Anne *

as the Hon. Richard Lumb *

Delphi Lawrence Delphi Lawrence (23 March 1932 – 11 April 2002) was an English actress. She was educated at Halidon House School in Slough, Berkshire, whilst living in Colnbrook. Born to Barbara Yvonne ( Enever) and Louis Holzman, who wed in 1930, she wa ...

as Miss Daviot *

Joan Sims Irene Joan Marion Sims (9 May 1930 – 27 June 2001) was an English actress, best remembered for her roles in the ''Carry On'' franchise, appearing in 24 of the films (the most for any actress). On television, she is known for playing Gran i ...

as Phoebe * Edward Chapman as Mr. Stoneway *

Peter Copley Peter Copley (20 May 1915 – 7 October 2008) was an English television, film and stage actor. Biography Copley was born in Bushey, Hertfordshire, son of the printmakers, John Copley and Ethel Gabain. After changing his mind about joining ...

as Gilbert Weaver * Vic Wise as Eddie Diamond *

Marjorie Rhodes Marjorie Rhodes (9 April 1897 – 4 July 1979) was a British actress. She was born Millicent Wise in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire. One of her better-known roles was as Lucy Fitton, the mother in Bill Naughton's play '' All in Good Time''. Sh ...

as Mrs. Hackett * Michael Ward as Cranley *

Marianne Stone Marianne Stone (23 August 1922 – 21 December 2009) was an English character actress. She performed in films from the early 1940s to the late 1980s, typically playing working class parts such as barmaids, secretaries and landladies. Stone appe ...

as Tea Bar Attendant *

Felix Felton Robert Forbes Felton (12 August 1911 – 21 October 1972), known professionally as Felix Felton, was a British film, television, stage and voice actor as well as a radio director, composer and author. Radio work In his earlier years Felton cons ...

as Man in Cinema * Michael Brennan as Masseur *

Cyril Chamberlain Cyril Chamberlain (8 March 1909 – 5 December 1974) was an English film and television actor. He appeared in a number of the early '' Carry On'', ''Doctor'' and '' St. Trinian's'' films. Chamberlain was born on 8 March 1909 in London and die ...

as Goodwood Official *

Eddie Leslie Eddie Leslie (11 October 1903, in Camberwell, Surrey, England – 27 June 1975 (age 71) in West Chiltington, Sussex, England) was a British film actor and screenwriter. He often acted alongside Norman Wisdom, on stage and in his films ' ...

as Gas Man * Freda Bamford as Mrs. Crossley *

Robin Bailey William Henry Mettam "Robin" Bailey (5 October 1919 – 14 January 1999) was an English actor. He was born in Hucknall, Nottinghamshire. Often cast in upper class and tradition-bound roles such as Mr Justice Graves in Thames Television's '' ...

as Steward * Campbell Cotts as Steward *

Sam Kydd Samuel John Kydd (15 February 1915 – 26 March 1982) was a British-Irish actor. His best-known roles were in two major British television series of the 1960s, as the smuggler Orlando O'Connor in '' Crane'' and its sequel ''Orlando''. He als ...

as Craftsman *

Raymond Francis Raymond Francis (6 October 1911- 24 October 1987) was a British actor best known for his role as Detective Chief Superintendent Tom Lockhart in the Associated-Rediffusion detective series ''Murder Bag'', ''Crime Sheet'' and ''No Hiding Place''. ...

as Ritchie * Ballard Berkeley as Starter at Goodwood (uncredited) *

Jerry Desmonde Jerry Desmonde (born James Robert Sadler; 20 July 1908 – 11 February 1967) was an English actor and presenter. He is perhaps best known for his work as a comedic foil in duos with Norman Wisdom and Sid Field. Early life Jerry Desmonde wa ...

as Racegoer (uncredited) * Hal Osmond as Hospital Visitor with Flowers (uncredited)

Critical reception

According to the BFI Screenonline website, "''Just My Luck'' is not a piece of comedic genius, nor even the best of Wisdom's films, but it's an amiable, well-constructed piece that recalls a gentler age".

Box office

''Kinematograph Weekly'' listed it as being "in the money" at the British box office in 1958.

References

External links

* * 1957 films British sports comedy films 1950s sports comedy films British black-and-white films Films directed by John Paddy Carstairs Films shot at Pinewood Studios 1957 comedy films Horse racing films 1950s English-language films 1950s British films {{sport-film-stub