Really Surprised!

Far from Perfect, Far from Terrible

It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

"The Wrong Arm of the Law" is a British caper comedy. Or, more accurately, a comedy of many capers with some satire of the London underground and law enforcement. It has a top cast of English comedy actors of the day. Peter Sellers, Lionel Jeffries, John Le Mesurier, Graham Stark, Bill Kerr, and Bernard Cribbins head the list. The film has a good plot - an Aussie gang of three men shakes down various gangs of crooks right after they pull heists in London. The foreigners wear police uniforms and pretend to be busting up the action, only to take off with the loot and leaving the actual thieves standing against a wall and then bewildered. The foreign gang finds out about these jobs through a female member, Valerie. She's a moll who somehow got to be the girlfriend of Pearly Gates (Peter Sellers). Gates has his own gang pulling jobs all around town, and he's also the head of the London underground syndicate. Gates is in the "rag" business - he owns an upscale women's dress shop and salon. He poses as a French purveyor of haute couture. This is the source of much of the laughs because Sellers is so good, believable and funny in this role. His legit front business has been making a killing, while six of his gang's heists in a row have been foiled by the fake police gang. The comedy comes mostly from Sellers and Lionel Jeffries, who plays the Scotland Yard Inspector Parker. He's in charge of the effort to stop the rash of recent robberies. Gates calls a meeting of all the underground gangs, and they decide to ask Scotland Yard to work with them to catch the IPO gang (Impersonating Police Officers). This is mostly a two-man show. It could have been much funnier with more comedy in the dialog. The script might have spread some funny or clever lines among more of the players. My seven stars may be pushing it some, but Jeffries and Sellers alone make the film worthwhile.Here's a favorite line from the film. Pearly Gates, "I made 168,000 knickers selling frocks last year - gowns, I mean." Inspector Parker, "Yeah. Well, if that isn't crooked, I'd like to know what is."

London's crooks are finding that no matter what job they pull, the London Constabulary are waiting to feel their collars. All of which comes as a great surprise to the police as they know nothing about it. It appears that a new firm of antipodean crooks are on the manor, who are not only stealing from London's finest thieves, they are also impersonating police officers in the process. There's only one thing for it, the constabulary and the villains must unite to restore the standard police/criminal workings in London!The British Crime Crooks Caper, when it comes to film, is a long and distinguished list, comprising of brilliant stuff like Ask A Policeman 1938, much loved stuff like The Italian Job 1969 and enjoyable fare like Too Many Crooks 1959. The Wrong Arm Of The Law 1963 falls into the latter category, hugely enjoyable with sharp scripting and performances to match. Boosted by the considerable writing talents of Ray Galton & Alan Simpson, the picture manages to steer well clear of being overtly twee, something that Crooks In Cloisters was guilty of the following year. The humour on show here by and large comes courtesy of the unlikely alliance between London's good and bad elements, a code and adherence to rival ethics brings about some delightful mirth. Both parties are fierce rivals but there is still unwritten rules that both sides must follow, and thankfully the astute pen scribbling from Galton & Simpson creates some smashing set pieces and quite ridiculous {in a good way} scenarios. All of which would have gone to waste if the cast did not fulfil the scripts potential, but when you got Peter Sellers, Bernard Cribbins and a quite fabulous Lionel Jeffries fronting your movie, you are definitely in good hands. The Wrong Arm Of The Law is highly recommended to anyone who loves an old fashioned British comedy. 7.5/10

I will admit that I didn't pay full attention, and I did doze off somewhere in the middle, but I suppose it's worth a go. Basically cockney Pearly Gates (Peter Sellers) is the leader of a gang of crooks, with no-one carrying guns or resisting arrest. Then along comes another gang, led by Irish Nervous O'Toole (Bernard Cribbins) that can apparently do better than them. With the help of turned Insp. Parker (Lionel Jeffries) they plan to set a trap for the biggest car robbery with £50,000 to be had. Also starring Davy Kaye as Trainer King, Nanette Newman as Valerie, Bill Kerr as Jack Coombes, Ed Devereaux as Bluey May, Reg Lye as Reg Denton, Dad's Army's John Le Mesurier as Assistant Commissioner, Graham Stark as Sid Cooper, Martin Boddey as Supt. Forest, Irene Browne as Dowager, Arthur Mullard as Brassknuckles, Dermot Kelly as Misery Martin and Vanda Godsell as Annette. I think it's because I dozed off and didn't pay full attention that I can't say I laughed a lot, but the ending robbery is quite good viewing. Worth watching!

I loved this when it was first released. 45 years later, it hasn't lost much of its charm. It boasts a great central idea, which develops into one of the most pleasurable, fast-moving loads of innocent nonsense I've seen in a long while. Peter Sellers is on good form, as are comedy co- horts, Bernard Cribbins, John Le Mesurier, Lionel Jeffries, Sam Kydd, and Dennis Price (as Educated Ernest)...even Nanette Newman does a good job. The dialogue is full of the sort of English dagginess made even more popular at the time by co-writers Galton & Simpson; it's great to hear people called 'nit' or 'berk' and the police referred to as the 'bogeys'. And it's not just nostalgia. Cliff Owen's direction seems to get the best out of everyone. Not all of it still works, but it won't detain you, and if you've a taste for British comedy of this era, it won't disappoint. There was a cheap VHS available a few years ago with inaudible sound. I saw the version broadcast by ABCTV in Australia - excellent quality.