On the Beat (1963) Norman Pitkin just wants to be a policeman like his late father - the only trouble is, he is half a man physically and a quarter of a man mentally. All you need to know about Norman Pitkin is explained in the photo below. Luckily it is discovered that he looks exactly like an effeminate Italian hairdresser who runs a beauty parlor as a front for a ring of jewel thieves, assuring him a position on the force, and requiring him to have to learn how to swan around like a flaming nellie. This seemed so much better than The Square Peg, with genuine wit and recognizably outstanding comedic timing. In a notable sequence he attempts to bluff his way through a medical exam while on stilts. One of the best of his films in my estimation. No song but it ends with a wedding. 8/10
The Man Called Flintstone (1966) Spy farce in which Fred Flintstone finds he looks just like Rock Slag, secret agent and man of action. Inconsequential chasing around interrupted by occasional and mostly irrelevant songs, including one by Louis Prima. I liked it a lot better in 1966, though a couple of the songs get pretty tripped out. Not bad, but not great either. 5/10
Norman... Is That You? (1976) Though there is a Norman in this movie, nobody looks exactly like someone else. Redd Foxx's wife (Pearl Bailey) ran off to mexico with his brother/business partner, and now he learns his son is gay. Overall a witty and intelligent story, based on a stage play, and the first to my knowledge to favorably depict an interracial gay couple on the screen. In fact, the race card is never overtly played, and I wonder if it was a factor in the original play. Not a very well-structured story, with a number of scenes that appear to have been stuck in for padding, but in general quite funny and entertaining. The show is stolen by Dennis Dugan as Norman's unflappable cute little boyfriend. Wayland Flowers and Madam also appear. 8/10
