As a longstanding fan of the late great Glen Campbell, I have numerous CDs, albums, and singles by him, plus two movies on DVD in which he appeared as a major character. One of these is very famous – the 1969 western True Grit, based upon a novel by Charles Portis, in which he co-starred alongside John Wayne and a young Kim Darby. The other, again based upon a Charles Portis novel (and which I also own and have read), is a gentle comedy/musical and is much less famous, but it just so happens to be one of my all-time favourite movies, which is why I am publicising it here. Its title? Norwood.
Directed by Jack Haley Jr, and released in
1970, Norwood features several songs all variously sung off-screen or on-screen by Glen (most of which were written by
fellow musician Mac Davis), and sees him receive
top billing this time, as this movie's eponymous character – one Norwood Pratt,
a young U.S. Marine having newly completed his four-year military service in
Vietnam during the ongoing war there, and now happy to be returning to his home
town of Ralph in Texas. His journey back there in the movie's opening scenes is shared for part of the way by his fellow Marine and longstanding buddy Joe William Reese (more about Joe later), and is jauntily
accompanied all of the way by Glen singing off-screen the catchy upbeat song 'Ol' Norwood's Comin' Home'.
When Norwood arrives home, however, he is far from impressed to discover that his sister Vernell (played by Leigh Francis) has married an irritating workshy layabout named Bill Bird (acclaimed American comedy actor Dom DeLuise) who has moved in during his absence and whom Vernell inexplicably idolizes. So it is not long before, in the all too familiar 'two's company, three's a crowd' scenario, Norwood decides to seek out a new life for himself elsewhere, with his belongings rolled up in a pack slung over one shoulder, and his faithful guitar slung over the other one. Norwood has long held on to a dream of becoming a singing star on radio and beyond, and decides that now is as good a time as any to do something about making that dream come true. The only problem is that he is by no means sure of how to go about doing that.
Much of the movie sees Norwood wandering restlessly and somewhat aimlessly from one place to another (his roaming beginning in New York, with the wistful Glen-sung title track 'Norwood (Me And My Guitar)' playing in the background), meeting a wide range of people and making some friends along the way. These collectively include a somewhat fractious East Village beatnik named Marie (played by Tisha Sterling), midget Edmund B. Ratner whose small stature c0ntains a very big personality (Billy Curtis), slick conman Grady Fling (Pat Hingle) moving stolen cars across the country, petulant hooker Yvonne (Carol Lynley), and a fortune-telling chicken named Joann (truly!).
Most notable of all, however, is a young unwed but pregnant ingénue named Rita Lee, played
by none other than Glen's True Grit
co-star Kim Darby. She is betrothed to a soldier she doesn't truly love, and finds herself romantically attracted to Norwood, for whom the attraction is mutual, all of which is played out to the tender strains
of 'I'll Paint You a Song' and 'Down Home', both being actively sung on-screen this time by Glen as Norwood.
At one stage, Norwood also meets up with his Marine buddy Joe again, played by real-life American football star 'Super Joe' Namath who went on to be nominated for a Golden Globe for his performance. Norwood later pays another visit to his home in Ralph too, only to lock horns once more with wastrel Bill. Finally, however, his lucky star shines down upon him and the movie ends on a high note, literally, as Norwood makes his longed-for debut on the famous real-life Louisiana Hayride radio station at KWKH Studio. Performing before an audience that includes a very proud and happy Rita Lee, he sings the movie's one smash-hit song, 'Everything a Man Could Ever Need', which gave Glen chart success on both sides of the Atlantic during 1970.
Norwood is one of those easy-going, feel-good movies in which not much of real substance actually happens, but its inherent cheeriness, uplifting vista of wide-open spaces, and breezy optimism even when things do not look so good, coupled with the pleasant laid-back charm of its lead character and the upbeat ending that such movies invariably contain, means that it is the perfect movie to chill out and relax to if you feel the need to unwind and unembrace the madness of the world outside for a while.
I first saw Norwood on TV here in England many many years ago, when I had only recently discovered Glen's music, but I loved it straight away. Back then, I didn't own a video recorder, as they were still very new and hideously expensive, but once their prices dropped and I did buy one, I hoped that it would be rescreened one day so that I could then record it for my own personal rewatching whenever I so chose in the future, but I never did chance upon it again on TV.
What I did chance upon, however, was a paperback copy of the 1966 Portis novel Norwood in a secondhand bookshop, which I swiftly bought and greatly enjoyed reading (even though Norwood comes across in the novel as rather more gullible than he does in the film). Much later, moreover, I also saw the Norwood soundtrack LP album for sale on the American version of ebay (officially constituting Glen's 18th album, it contains all 8 songs sung by him in the movie as well as its 6 instrumental themes). Taking the great risk of this vinyl album being damaged during its transatlantic shipping journey, I bought it too, but, happily, it arrived safe and sound, and I've played it many times since. Then, finally, several years ago, again on America's ebay, I completed the Norwood jigsaw puzzle, as it were, by purchasing the movie itself on DVD, as I own a multi-region DVD player that will play American (Region 1) DVDs, and I've watched it several times.
If you want to forget the cares of the day, watch a sunny, satisfying film, and listen to some tuneful songs sung melodiously by one of the best country singers ever, I heartily recommend Norwood as your go-to movie, which is why I viewed it yet again yesterday on my birthday.
I've always thought that Glen had the makings of a very fine actor, certainly as judged from his performances in True Grit and Norwood (he also featured briefly in several others, including The Cool Ones and Any Which Way You Can). However, his choosing singing over acting meant that the big screen's loss was the music world's immeasurable gain, as I'm sure his countless other fans worldwide would agree.
If you'd like to see a trailer for Norwood, please click here (but be aware that its colour is somewhat washed-out). In addition, at least at the time of my posting this review, the entire movie can be watched for free and in superb quality on YouTube, so click here if you'd like to do so. Finally, if you'd like to listen to the five songs from this movie that I've highlighted in red within my review above, and in some cases also view the scenes containing them in the movie, be sure to click their titles.
And to view a complete listing of all of my
Shuker In MovieLand blog's other film reviews and articles (each one instantly
accessible via a direct clickable link), please click HERE!
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