I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

Your blood may run cold, but you now find yourself pinioned to the story.

It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

"Trouble in Store" is one of the first films in which British actor Norman Wisdom starred. The versatile and talented Wisdom went on to a distinguished comedy career in England. He received a knighthood and retired from entertaining at the age of 90, living another five years beyond that. Wisdom came from a poor beginning and broken family background. He learned to forage and scrounge early for survival and struck out on his own in his early teens. With such a background, the irrepressible Wisdom devoted a lifetime to trying to make people laugh. He especially liked to entertain children outside of films. Besides his acting and athleticism that he used in his comedic roles, Wisdom had a very good singing voice. He learned to play several instruments – clarinet, sax, trumpet, French horn, drums and piano. He was also an accomplished songwriter. In this early comedy film, he shows much of the slapstick, falling down, tripping and mishap behavior that became his trademark in many more films and in live performances. The supporting cast, plot and other aspects of the film are all good. But, this is a Norman Wisdom showcase all around. In reading about this beloved English entertainer, I came across some of his clever quotes and cute sayings. Here's one that might describe the basis for his playful attitude and fun-filled approach to life: "Such is life and life is such and after all it isn't much. First a cradle. Then a hearse. It might have been better, but it could have been worse."

Norman Wisdom and Margaret Rutherford together: movie heaven! Unfortunately the lovable Mr. Wisdom and the delightful Ms. Rutherford share little screen time in "Trouble in Store," Wisdom's first screen outing as his bumbling on-screen persona, Norman. Humble department-store stock clerk with ambitions to become a window dresser encounters the new store manager and hilarious complications pile on even more hilarious complications. Like a classic Laurel & Hardy routine, Norman competes with another window dresser and manages to destroy a china display to the delight of passing onlookers on the street. Margaret Rutherford is a congenital scene-stealer and, as Miss Bacon, a dotty shoplifter, her delivery and facial expressions are hysterically funny. When Norman helps her from the store laden with stolen suitcases stuffed with the store's goods, the store manager thanks her for her business, and so do we."Trouble in Store" also features Jerry Desmonde as the store manager and Lana Morris as Norman's love interest; both later worked with Wisdom in "Man of the Moment." Wisdom is in fine voice on a couple songs, one of which he penned himself; he was obviously a man of endless talents. Norman's effortless pratfalls and slapstick are wonderful. Although less sentimental and more upbeat, Wisdom likely owed much to such great clowns of the silent era as Charlie Chaplin. The always-endearing Norman delivers the comedy goods as usual, and "Trouble in Store" was a good vehicle for him.

Over the past few months, I've gotten into Norman Wisdom (I'd literally never heard of him before some people lent me a DVD containing some of his movies). Well, after I nearly laughed myself to death watching "Up in the World", "The Square Peg" and "A Stitch in Time", "Trouble in Store" actually seems weaker. Maybe it's that there are some scenes where he breaks into song, or that the whole movie is rather hokey, but it just can't equal the quality reached by its successors.Still, I will say that the movie is good for a few laughs. Playing his usual clumsy character Norman, he works in a London department store and hopes to get promoted, but his idiocy keeps working against him...until he and a female co-worker discover a plot to rob the store. I guess that what I really like about Norman Wisdom's movies is how he pokes fun at the class system, as the underdog messing up the stuffy rich people's lives; certainly he does that here. But they really could have done without the songs.Overall, I get the feeling that maybe Wisdom was still trying to figure out his version of comedy, so I can forgive him if this flick isn't as funny as his later ones. I would recommend watching his later movies first, so as not to get put off by this one.

When I was aged 6 or 7 our local school used to hold a Saturday morning matinée . We'd get to see crap westerns or those really patronising crap movies made by the Children's Film Foundation . I don't know about you but I was really dying to see some movies featuring hardcore battle scenes between soldiers and monsters like I would see on DOCTOR WHO during the same period . As a child I would have happily have watched ALIENS , DOG SOLDIERS and 28 DAYS LATER in the morning followed by Jon Pertwee era DOCTOR WHO in the early evening I'm mentioning this because one of the movies shown was TROUBLE IN STORE . I didn't like it as a child and I liked it even less as an adult . As with all of Wisdom's other movies it's frivolous and unsophisticated . Norman gets invited to his boss's office not realising that he's talking to his boss and pours drinks and helps himself to cigars . This of course leads him to being sacked which he deserves to be , I mean smoking cigars what a crime that is nowadays . Norman then gets mixed up with a bunch of gangsters who decide they're going to rob the store and want him out of the way . I can then perhaps understand why Bob and the others who have stated what a good comedy TROUBLE IN STORE is - It's from a truly bygone era , an era that perhaps never existed in the first place , where instead of bumping off people who know too much , villains would make witnesses swallow a sleeping pill while they carried out their criminal work . There might be a small amount of naive charm to all this but unless you're a fan of Wisdom's slapstick brand of humour you certainly won't go out of your way to watch this