The_Wrong_Arm_of_the_Law

<i>The Wrong Arm of the Law</i>

The Wrong Arm of the Law

1963 British film by Cliff Owen

The Wrong Arm of the Law is a 1963 British comedy film directed by Cliff Owen and starring Peter Sellers, Bernard Cribbins, Lionel Jeffries, John Le Mesurier and Bill Kerr.[2] It was written by John Antrobus, John Warren, Len Heath, Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, and made by Romulus Films.

Quick Facts The Wrong Arm of the Law, Directed by ...

Plot

In London, a gang of criminals from Australia led by Jack Coombes impersonate policemen to carry out robberies. Local gang leader "Pearly" Gates, who operates from the cover of a French couturier, finds his takings cut severely, and blames rival crook "Nervous" O'Toole. When it emerges that they are both being scammed by the same gang, they join forces, along with Police Inspector "Nosey" Parker, to bring the so-called "I.P.O. mob" (Impersonating a Police Officer) to justice.

Cast

Production and reception

Many of the robbery scenes were filmed around Beaconsfield and Uxbridge. Filming locations include: the early Post Office robbery at Burkes Parade/Post Office Lane Beaconsfield, the gang meeting at Havens Court, Ealing, the Bullion Transport robbery at Cowley Mill Road/Waterloo Road Uxbridge combined with Bushy Park Road Teddington, and the escape flight from Denham Aerodrome.[citation needed]

Peter Sellers loved the 1961 Aston Martin DB4 GT so much that he bought the car after shooting the film, contingent on the engine being replaced with a 4.0-litre Lagonda Rapide.[3]

Release

The film opened at the Warner Theatre in London's West End on 14 March 1963.[4]

Reception

Box office

It was one of the 12 most popular films at the British box office in 1963.[5]

Critical reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Cliff Owen's considerable competence shows in the way he takes good and bad jokes equably in his stride, cutting sharply as soon as a comedy point has been made, getting pretty well every ounce of value out of his script. ... Lionel Jeffries, desperately eager and despairingly confused in the pursuit of crime, John Le Mesurier, a Scotland Yard official lightly disguised as an ice-cream salesman but clinging to the dignity of his Whitehall hat, Peter Sellers, training his gang by way of home movies and pampering them with holidays on the Costa Brava, are at their accomplished best."[6]

Variety wrote: "A slightweight cops and robbers idea has been pepped up into a briskly amusing farce thanks to a combo of deft direction, thesping and writing. ... Cliff Owen has directed with verve. Locations and all technical credits help to give polish to a breezy, likeable comedy."[7]

In The New York Times, Bosley Crowther wrote: "It is strictly lightweight clowning, longer on plot than on wit and wholly dependent on the archness of Mr. Sellers to give it a cachet. Others in the cast are amusing, especially Mr. Jeffries as the cop, but the enterprise stands by the stiffening of Mr. Sellers's cunning roguishness."[8]

The Radio Times Guide to Films gave the film 4/5 stars, writing: "Peter Sellers is at his funniest as a cockney criminal mastermind who uses a West End dress salon as a front for the illegal activities of his inept gang. He's up against inspector Lionel Jeffries, whose bungling would give the future Inspector Clouseau a run for his money. Cliff Owen directs the marvellously inventive script with due care as Scotland Yard and Sellers decide to co-operate to apprehend a bunch of Australian crooks posing as policemen."[9]

References

  1. [1]
    Chapman, J. (2022). The Money Behind the Screen: A History of British Film Finance, 1945-1985. Edinburgh University Press p 360
  2. [2]
    "The Wrong Arm of the Law". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
  3. [3]
    Edsall, Larry (14 May 2018). "Movie star, movie car: Sellers' DB4GT heading to auction". The ClassicCars.com Journal. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
  4. [4]
    The Times, 14 March 1963, Page 2
  5. [5]
    "Most Popular Films Of 1963." Times [London, England] 3 Jan. 1964: 4. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 11 July 2012.
  6. [6]
    "The Wrong Arm of the Law". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 30 (348): 62. 1 January 1963 – via ProQuest.
  7. [7]
    "The Wrong Arm of the Law". Variety. 229 (12): 6. 13 February 1963 – via ProQuest.
  8. [8]
    Crowtherr, Bosley (3 April 1963). "Sellers Keeps Crime Rate Up:'Wrong Arm of Law' Opens at Coronet". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  9. [9]
    Radio Times Guide to Films (18th ed.). London: Immediate Media Company. 2017. p. 1041. ISBN 9780992936440.
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