Just My Luck

1957

1h 26m

Comedy

List

Reviews

48%

Audience Score

1,000+ Ratings

Jewelry store assistant Norman Hackett (Norman Wisdom) is attracted to Anne (Jill Dixon), who works across the street, but he doesn't earn enough to feel comfortable courting her. After he learns about an unusual bet that pays a thousand to one if a jockey wins six races in a row, Norman invests a pound with small-time bookie Lumb (Leslie Phillips). As his chosen racer, Eddie (Vic Wise), racks up victories, Lumb and his partner worry they may have to pay Norman 16,000 pounds they don't have.

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Clyde Gilmour

Maclean's Magazine

Norman Wisdom in a strained and noisy racetrack farce from Britain.

Jan 29, 2020

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MFB Critics

Monthly Film Bulletin

This... is a rather thin "yes-it-is-no-it-isn't" affair, which shows little real appreciation of Wisdom's characteristic qualities.

Feb 5, 2018

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Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

Pleasant but unimportant film.

Rated: C+

May 26, 2009

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Urban Cinefile Critics

Urban Cinefile

totally predictable and competently made feelgood fantasy flick for females under 30. If you want an escape and rest your brain, try your luck.

Jun 13, 2006

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Audience Member

Just My Luck (John Paddy Carstairs, 1957) I know I'm messing with timeframes here, but I enjoy doing that sort of thing. Think of Just My Luck as a British version of Let It Ride, the wonderful 1989 Richard Dreyfuss comedy, save that Norman Wisdom ain't no Richard Dreyfuss (and he doesn't have a straight man at all, let alone one as funny as David Johansen). But that aside, if you're a fan of Wisdom's particular brand of comedy, this one will do the trick for you as well as anything. Plot: Wisdom, who passed away in 2010 at the age of ninety-five, plays Norman Hackett, a jewelry-store apprentice with a crush on a window dresser (Witchcraft's Jill Dixon) who works in the shop across the street, an overbearing mother (Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines' Marjorie Rhodes), who keeps trying to set him up with obnoxious girl-next-door Phoebe (Joan Sims from the Carry On franchise), and a boss (Murder!'s Edward Chapman) who could be her twin, but male. He's saving up to buy a pendant for the window dresser, when it's bought by Richard Lumb (Empire of the Sun's Leslie Phillips), a flush bookmaker, for his secretary Miss Daviot (Bunny Lake Is Missing's Delphi Lawrence). Norman is tasked to deliver the pendant, and when he gets there, gets to talking to Miss Daviot about her job; like most first-time punters, he's drawn to the idea of the accumulator (in America, if you're a horseplayer, think of it as a version of the Pick Six), where you start with one bet and let it ride. He ends up planning to throw a pound on an accumulator covering every horse star jockey Eddie Diamond rides for the last three days of the Goodwood meet. We then launch into about a twenty-minute extended skit of Norman trying to scare up a pound... I gotta say, I have a hard time believing some of this stuff was funny even in 1957 ("I was hoping to buy it for someone." "Your girlfriend?" "Well, I haven't met her yet..."), but it has its moments, and the comedy is of the gentle kind, rather than the mean-spirited, which kicks it up a couple of notches in my book. Not something I would rush to watch again, but I don't regret having spent the time. ** 1/2

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/11/23

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Audience Member

Usual Wisdom nonsense. As usual there are a couple of scenes in a Wisdom film which makes them standout - here it's a cinema scene with Joan Sims and wisdom trying to make a phone call to his turf accountant via a switchboard. Otherwise it's Wisdom playing a down on his luck kinda guy trying to woo the girl of his dreams, guess what, he does!

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/10/23

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Audience Member

The plot is very simple, but is a fun story with a lot of heart. Norman plays his normal role of playing the fool, but his childness antics are very charming throughout. Margaret Rutherford plays a small but brilliant role, as a strange old lady who loves animal's, she is so off the wall is just joyous. I also love the seen in the cinema where Norman just can not sit still, a classic bit of comedy. This is a film everyone can enjoy, it's not perfect by far, but just good fun.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/17/23

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Audience Member

Not the best of the Norman Wisdom movies but there are still plenty of laughs with regular Edward Chapman in attendance as well as roles for the great Leslie Phillips and Margaret Rutherford.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/22/23

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Audience Member

gud movie love it...

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/15/23

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Audience Member

People who have been rating this may be crazy did they mix up that they had seen it or were they half asleep when this movie was on. Seriously counting all the other films I have seen in this genre this is an insult to its genre I don't think the people who did this movie new what genre it was suppose to be. The actors in this were incredible pathetic and they were not funny infact they were plain stupid. Yes this is like a movie watching someone saying Norman swollowed a bottle ambaluence coming and trying to get a bottle out of his mouth and then a gas mask accidently going into someone elses mouth. This movie had several actors playing themselves far to many playing themselves really. The actors were incredible weak and really didn't know how to act they were all stupid. The story started off slow and boring and it ended with it being slow and boring this movie didn't really have a begining. This film started off really slow and I was thinking its going to kick in but this film just didn't this film was very bad and stupid in its genre the actors didn't seem to be enjoying themselves fully nor was any emotion or anything like it shown. The story ended just like the begining it ended with a slow storyline. Basically the begining and end didn't have enough detail nor did it have a twist it was done very slow and a faster storyline was needed for this film the acting got weak constantly aswell. Overall this film was extremly bad so I will not be reccomending this to you.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

02/08/23

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John Paddy Carstairs

Director

Norman Wisdom

Norman Hackett

Margaret Rutherford

Mrs. Dooley

Jill Dixon

Anne

Leslie Phillips

Hon. Richard Lumb

Delphi Lawrence

Miss Daviot

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Synopsis

Jewelry store assistant Norman Hackett (Norman Wisdom) is attracted to Anne (Jill Dixon), who works across the street, but he doesn't earn enough to feel comfortable courting her. After he learns about an unusual bet that pays a thousand to one if a jockey wins six races in a row, Norman invests a pound with small-time bookie Lumb (Leslie Phillips). As his chosen racer, Eddie (Vic Wise), racks up victories, Lumb and his partner worry they may have to pay Norman 16,000 pounds they don't have.

Director: John Paddy Carstairs
Producer: Earl St. John
Screenwriter: Peter Blackmore, Alfred Shaughnessy
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Runtime: 1h 26m

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