One Good Turn

Norman lives at Greenwood children's home and acts as carer and general dogsbody. He regards the staff and the children as his family and tends to do whatever is needed for them. He becomes determined to help Jimmy raise the money to buy the model car.

Jimmy sets his heart on a model car in a shop window, triggering Norman's resolve to raise the money himself. With his meagre wages and Matron refusing to fund the toy, Norman cannot simply buy it. He decides to pursue a plan to earn the money by any means.

Norman joins the schoolchildren on a train excursion to Brighton because he has never seen the sea. He loses his trousers before boarding the train. After leaving the train, he is chased by the police, adding to the day’s embarrassment.

To avoid capture, Norman enters the final stage of the London to Brighton walking race. Being late to join gives him an edge, and he ultimately wins the race. His triumph is memorable, but it leads to further complications later that day.

After the race, Norman tries to pawn the silver cup but is mistaken for a thief by the pawnbroker. He secures a top hat and tails, and is seen by others eating candy floss by a stage door. The mistaken identity triggers a chain of comic events.

The theatre manager comes out searching for the orchestra conductor and mistakes Norman as the missing man. Norman delivers a disjointed performance that makes the audience laugh, contagious laughter spreading through the theater. After a short section of normality where the orchestra plays Lohengrin, Norman decides to move to big band music.

The real conductor arrives and Norman tries to hide. As the orchestra plays the William Tell Overture, Norman runs around the stage, causing chaos. The performance spirals into chaos as the audience roars with laughter.

At a local fair, Norman tests his luck by hoping to last three rounds in a boxing tent to win £10. He is hypnotised to be a good boxer, but both boxing and hypnotism are scams designed to cheat him. The audience detects the ruse and whips round to raise fifteen shillings for him.

Norman bursts into song beside a cupie-doll game, drawing sympathy from the crowd. The money gathered is enough to buy the pedal car he wants. A misunderstanding at a shop window triggers another police chase.

Norman returns to the Home only to find it surrounded by a siege of tension as a crooked trustee plots eviction so a factory can be built on the site. The children defend their home and the plan is foiled, saving the home.

Little Jimmy reveals he no longer wants the car because he has been given a model plane instead. The moment highlights the community’s generosity and the shift in priorities the day has produced. The home remains secure and the kids stay together.