Rent The Wrong Arm of the Law (1963)
3.7 of 5 from 92 ratings
1h 31min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
- In London, a gang of criminals from Australia led by Jack Coombes (Bill Kerr) impersonate policemen to carry out robberies. Local gang leader "Pearly" Gates (Peter Sellers), who operates from the cover of a French couturier, finds his takings cut severely, and blames rival crook "Nervous" O'Toole (Bernard Cribbins). When it emerges they are both being scammed by the same gang, they join forces, along with Lionel Jeffries' Police Inspector "Nosey" Parker, to bring the so-called "I.P.O. mob" (I.P.O. - Impersonating a Police Officer) to justice.
- Actors:
- Peter Sellers, Lionel Jeffries, Bernard Cribbins, Davy Kaye, Nanette Newman, Bill Kerr, Ed Devereaux, Reg Lye, John Le Mesurier, Graham Stark, Martin Boddey, Irene Browne, Arthur Mullard, Dermot Kelly, Vanda Godsell, Tutte Lemkow, Barry Keegan, Michael Caine, George Lane Cooper, Maxwell Craig
- Directors:
- Cliff Owen
- Producers:
- Aubrey Baring
- Writers:
- Ray Galton, Alan Simpson, John Antrobus, John Warren, Len Heath, Ivor Jay, William Whistance Smith
- Studio:
- Carlton Video
- Genres:
- Classics, Comedy
- Collections:
- Getting to Know..., Heist Movies: A 20-Year Stretch, Introducing a British Film Family, People of the Pictures, Remembering Bernard Cribbins, A Brief History of Film...
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 02/05/2022
- Run Time:
- 95 minutes
- Languages:
- English LPCM Mono
- Subtitles:
- English Hard of Hearing
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Widescreen 1.66:1
- Colour:
- B & W
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- B
- Bonus:
- The Long Arm of the Screenwriter - John Antrobus Remembers 'The Wrong Arm of the Law'
- Behind the Scenes Stills Gallery
- Original Trailer
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Reviews (2) of The Wrong Arm of the Law
British Comedy. - The Wrong Arm of the Law review by Steve
Knockabout cops and robbers caper which maintains a broad appeal while clearly a class above contemporary Carry On films. The star is Peter Sellers, trying out his French accent months before his debut as Inspector Clouseau. This time he's a Cockney mob boss with a front in haute couture. But the lead is Lionel Jeffries as a clueless copper.
A gang of Aussie villains is impersonating police officers and snatching the swag from every job in London. So Scotland Yard and the underworld come together to fight back. This doesn't reinvent the wheel. Parts of it can be traced back to the Keystone Kops, particularly a climactic chase sequence. And it sends up contemporary heist films.
Some of the humour is lost in time. When the gangs form a syndicate, they pastiche popular impressions of bumptious trade unions. But it mostly creates absurd situations which the actors navigate in earnest stone face. Like when the alliance meets in a funfair and negotiate on the rides. It's still funny in places, but mostly a charming entertainment.
The familiar cast considerably elevates the droll script, especially a peak period Peter Sellers. Jeffries makes a fine stooge. The location shoot around residential London lends some authenticity. This is the best of many British crime film comedies of the sixties, triggered by the success of The Lavender Hill Mob a decade earlier.
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Hilarious 'Ealing Comedy Adjacent' film, Peter Sellers on top form but let down by the ending - The Wrong Arm of the Law review by PV
I loved this, especially acts 1 and 2 - the farce then takes over for the pile-on ending and epilogue. Maybe in a location they wanted to end the Lavender Hill Mob 1951 film in...
I smelt the whiff of influence of Some Like it Hot (1959) too incl the same song...
Anyway, just go with it. The easily-offended wokie-dokies of Gen Z may well be as traumatised by some of the jokes of this as in many comedies of the time, THAT IS WHY THER ARE FUNNY, snowflakes!
Sellers steals the show, but the frustrated copper Lionel Jeffries is cartoon character stuff but deeply satisfying to watch. Nanette Newman (she of Fairy Liquid ads) is the posh totty. Bernard Cribbins is paired with Michael Caine, which is fun.
4 stars
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