User Reviews

Amusing comedy has a peculiar trio of Aussie swindlers being chased by Scotland Yard , and they are also thieves because having been posing as policemen and confiscating pillage from apprehended robbers . The Australian bunch being informed by Valerie (Nanette Newman) , Pearly's fiancée (Peter Sellers) , the leader of a group of inept crooks . Then , the criminal band organize a convention among the main robbers (Peter Sellers , Bernard Cribbins) and scheme a twisted plan . After that , there happens a meeting between robbing chiefs and cops (Lionel Jeffries , John Le Musurier) which takes place at a merry-go-round . Later on , they set up a trap to track them down.

Agreeable spoof comedy in ¨Ealing¨ style , it packs some very funny and wacky moments . This is a classic British comedy of the 60s in the wake of ¨Lavender hill mob¨ that is clearly its inspiration . Enjoyable script divides his satirical jibes between the underworld crooks and police . It contains sympathetic performances from Peter Sellers , Bernard Cribbins and special mention for Lionel Jeffries as an unfortunate cop . Secondary intervention by Dennis Price as an educated crook and cameo role by Michael Caine at the Police Station. Furthermore , Graham Stark as a likable thief , formerly becoming himself into usual ¨Pink Panther¨ series . Atmospheric score by Richard Rodney Bennett with jazzy sound on the main titles . Appropriate cinematography in black and white by Ernest Steward. The picture was well and originally directed by Cliff Owen . He is a habitual director for television and an expert on comedy as he proved in ¨ No sex please : we're British¨, ¨The bawdy adventures of Tom Jones¨ , ¨A man could get killed¨ and several others. The flick will appeal to Peter Sellers fans and Brit comedy enthusiasts . Rating : Good and better than average English comedy . This is one of the few enduringly funny films in British cinema of the Sixties . Essential and indispensable seeing .

The Wrong Arm of the Law:A charming evocation of a kind of reassuring never-neverland, populated by loveable rogues and dimwitted but honest cops. Of course the crime underworld was never like this, but when the horrors of the modern world seem to crowd in on me, this is just the kind of amusing escapist whimsy I love to take solace in.

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

. .....and clever! A band of crooks are dressing up as police and stealing the booty from other crooks who are on the job. The criminal underground are outraged and of course the real police are none too happy that there are crooks out there impersonating them. So together they plot to capture these uncouth brigands. Practically every scene is hilarious, and there's lots of fun movie references (such as an instructional movie viewing session for the criminals that includes such caper classics as RIFIFI and THE LEAGUE OF GENTLEMEN).

It would be difficult to pick one Peter Sellers film as my favourite but this one would most likely get my first vote!

I have mixed feelings about Peter Sellers. I usually like the comedies in which he's part of a good ensemble, but really don't like much ofThe Pink Panther series. This is the former and probably the funniest of the bunch. Sellers leads a double life--a cultured retailer of ladies' fashion, and the head of a local gang (with appropriate accents for each). A new gang of Aussie's enter the scene, dressed as policemen, which enables them to steal from the stealers, and Sellers is furious that someone is leaking info to these outsiders (we learn very early who that is.).

He calls a gang meeting, in which they chat and watch 'instructional videos to become better crooks (their favorite is the film Rififi). Other local gangs are hit, so there is a group gang meeting (these meetings are hilarious, all very proper, there's even a booklet outlining 'gang laws') in which they decide to actually tell the police that there are phoney cops about - enter Lionel Jefferies. Jefferies is terrific as the bobby who's always passed over, and he sees his big chance to make a splash by joining forces with Sellers.

They do clash over gang-staffing (when Sellers wants to add a German to the gang, Jefferies bemoans the fact that it would look so much better if they used only 'local lads'). A big robbery is carefully worked out, and of course, nothing goes as planned as even the gang they're after has problems, but Sellers has an idea that he'll leave his gang buddies behind and keep all the cash in the heist for himself and his new partner-in-crime - does Jefferies want in on this? A funny, satisfying ending ties it all up neatly. Along with Sellers and Jeffries, Bernard Cribbins and Dennis Price are standout 'gang members'; the film is satirical, wacky, and just plain funny all the way through..a must for fans of British comedy.

This isn't one of Peter Sellers' best films, though it still is worth a look. It's a crime spoof about a gang that dresses up like the police and robs the crooks once they've committed their jobs. This aspect of the film is okay, but what I really liked was how the police and organized crime worked together to stop this masquerading gang! They didn't seem to like how this gang upset the unwritten rules between the cops and the robbers so they combined resources to find and stop them! The best part of this was the role played by Lionel Jeffries as the Inspector. While he was a supporting actor in the film, his performance really overshadowed Sellers'. That isn't to say that Sellers did a bad job--he was wonderful as the criminal mastermind. But Jeffries played the stupid policeman so well that you couldn't help but look forward to when he was in the film.

This is a decent movie with a very good ending, but the film falls far short of the wonderful and near-perfect Ealing crime comedies (THE LAVENDER HILL MOB and THE LADYKILLERS). About the only serious negatives are that there are some real lulls in the film--it just didn't sustain the humor throughout.

This film is full of many wonderful characters from the mainstream 50's British cinematic comedy era. The film centres on the criminal gangs of London being double crossed in their criminal activities by a bunch of foreign criminal gang members who impersonate Metropolitan Police Officers.

They turn up at the scene of the crime and then disappear with the stolen goods leaving the criminals in limbo waiting to be arrested by the real police.

Arthur Mullard, Peter Sellers, Lionel Jeffries, Bernard Cribbens and many more make this a gem of a title to watch. Some of the film was produced around Teddington, South West London, the scene of the mass arrest at the railroad level crossing was filmed in a Teddington street called Fairfax Road.

The crossing was taken out of use many years ago but the building on which Peter Sellers and his cohorts sat observing the proceedings is still in place adjacent to the point where the crossing was.

The area where the Jaguar car driven by Mullard screams over the bridge is the railway road bridge at Strawberry Hill (not far from Teddington).

I humbly give this film 9 out of 10, but then maybe I'm biased as I just love old British comedies such as this. Produced by Romulus Films and distributed by British Lion Films, what could be better?

Put on the kettle and settle back for a very British cat n mouse, extravaganza. Peter Sellers is fantastic, as Pearly Gates. As well as, so many other familiar faces. ie..General Pots from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and the whole lot from The Italian Job. Tail end chase scene worth the entire price of admission. Cheerio

Peter Sellers is, unusually, the quiet at the center of the storm that makes up the plot of this wonderfully funny film. He plays Pearly Gates, a criminal (and women's wear salesman), who learns that an Australian gang is dressing up as policemen, intercepting Pearly's mob in mid-theft and making off with the goods. He joins forces not only with the leader of a rival gang, who are also suffering from the Australian competition, but also with the police, who don't want their reputation besmirched.

Sellers is very good, but top acting honors go to Lionel Jefferies as the hopelessly idiotic policeman trying to prove himself by catching the criminals. Jefferies and Bernard Cribbins, as Nervous (the rival gang's leader), give expertly larger-than-life performances while getting their biggest laughs with throwaway lines and subtle bits of business (like Nervous finishing up his negotiations with Pearly by pulling out some family snaps). Cliff Owen's direction is very sharp and very fast, and allows a cast of experienced character actors to do their best work. Dennis Price displays flawless timing and delivery in a small, unbilled cameo. This film might just be a hidden classic.

"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."

This is a film based upon a clever idea, but despite throwing Peter Sellers, Bernard Cribbins, Arthur Mullard, and Lionel Jeffries at it, and despite having a script by Galton and Simpson and no less than five other writers tweaking the script, it is a failure. Surprisingly, Nanette Newman, whose purpose is unrelated to the comedy of the film, is the most effective performer, and manages some meaningful menace and allure. Cliff Owen directed. He was a pal of Ray Galton and Alan Simpson (two wonderful guys whom I knew well for a time) and directed their 1972 feature film of STEPTOE AND SON. The idea behind this film is that there is a gang of crooks in police uniforms who rob the crooks who have just done their own robberies. They get tip-offs from Nanette Newman. The real cops can't figure it out at all. So that is all very jolly. But someone needed to pull it off. No, I don't mean the heist, I mean the film. Peter Sellers is not funny at all. But then, he often wasn't. And so there you are.

This is one of my favourite films - although I agree Peter Sellers does not steal the show (for once), its the whole cast and their interaction which makes this film so special.

Lionel Jeffries gives a brilliant performance as an inept policeman and Bernard Cribbins role as 'Pearly Gates' gang-lord rival is superb. The plot is well covered on this site, but I would like to add that the robbery on the security van was filmed in Mill Rd, Uxbridge (by the canal bridge - the shop&pub are still there) and I think the airfield was Denham (again nr. Uxbridge).

A brilliant film - They just don't make 'em like that anymore!

On a similar thread I would recommend Norman Wisdom in 'On the Beat'- one of his best performances in my opinion, and Sellers again in 'Two-way stretch' if you're looking for a good laugh.

Australian confidence tricksters pose as London policemen in order to steal from known hardcore criminals out on the job.

Peter Sellers -- like Elvis, Prince and Jimi Hendrix -- came along with exactly the right talent at exactly the right time. His acting here exposes the truth about him: He was a brilliant comedy actor at a time when the best others could manage was either one note characters or lame camera mugging.

(Lionel Jeffries and Bernard Cribbins -- here playing a dutiful, but dim police officer and an Irish hood respectively are good examples!)

Sellers (Pearly Gates) outclasses the rest of the cast put together in a kind of double roll as a London criminal mastermind and (when the mood takes him) a "French" dress designer.

The whole thing is dated as hell, and features that well known standby of British crime films of the villains having the "its a fair cop, guv" attitude to the law. Indeed this has both sides of the law working together to solve their mutual problem!

They put this on a compilation DVD and you can see why: It is not really good enough to stand on its own two feet, but it is not really bad enough not to have some video value.

Sellers was a genius and a comedy legend. Without being the slightest bit funny himself (look at his performances on chat shows) he could take quality material in to outer space. Here he only has mediocre material to work with, but he carries you through without a glance at your watch.

P.S The scenes at Battersea Amusement Park remind you what the place look liked -- if you ever went there -- before it was closed. Probably due to a fatal accident on the roller-coaster you can actually see in the background.

This is a perfect example of the cliche ridden films British studios turned out for domestic markets. The story line is ludicrous and every actor was one of the regulars of the day. It's films like this that made the rest of the world think the British are xenophobes. Watch it for the scene of uncluttered roads and intersting 50/60's cars.

Peter sellers is nervous o'toole, right around the same time as making "pink panther". Usually, it's the cops and locals thieves carrying on in london. But when aussie thugs move in, dressed up as bobbies, the local brIt gangs team up with the coppers to put a stop to it. A funny bit where the gangs check their rulebook to see how many days notice they need to have a meeting of the mob bosses. Lionel jeffries was the steadfast inspector, working with o'toole, but jeffries is probably best known as grandpa in chitty chitty bang bang. It's pretty good! Some twists and turns along the way. Every now and then i missed a couple lines due to a very thick cockney accent. It's all a bit dated, at this point. Has a fun ending. Directed by cliff owen. He was best known for "the avengers" and "steptoe and son". Steptoe was the film on which the u.s. Seris "sanford and son" was based!

Peter Sellers comedies from before 1964 often come off to me as dingy, dated, and a bit twee. So "The Wrong Arm Of The Law" surprised me. I wasn't expecting to enjoy it as easily as I did.

The movie's title comes from a predicament mob boss Pearly Gates (Sellers) calls the "oldest bleeding con in the business": Dress up like coppers, catch other criminals in the act, steal their loot, and get away. After being stung eight times, Gates' own gang call on the real law for help.

It's easy to confuse this with "Two-Way Stretch", another caper comedy Sellers made three years before, with both Bernard Cribbins and Lionel Jeffries in key support roles. "Two-Way Stretch" is amusing but stale; this holds up both as a story and large-scale character piece.

By day, Gates sells high-end women's clothing with the help of a fake French accent, using his knowledge of the well-to-do to mastermind burglaries. Cribbins is a rival crime boss so non-threatening he shows off his family photos; Jeffries is inept police inspector "Nosey Parker", who suspects a buy-off attempt when Gates first appears in his office.

"I'm not trying to bribe you, mate," Gates replies. "I don't carry loose change."

Also on hand to bring considerably sex appeal is cat-eyed, slinky Nanette Newman, Pearly's girl. Watching her make out with Sellers' stomach in one scene is pretty erotic stuff; she is also cleverly integrated into the rest of the story.

Director Cliff Owen did mostly British TV work. He shows himself here an accomplished cinematic stylist. An opening credit sequence recalls "Catch Me If You Can". The ending is remarkably satisfying; all the story elements come together with surprising grace. You wish Sellers' later, bigger-budget comedies were as well crafted.

One caveat: There are no big laughs in "Wrong Arm", just many small ones and amusing asides that keep coming. There's a gentleness reminiscent of an Ealing comedy. When the different gangs discover they're all being had by the same outside interest, they call a meeting where parliamentary rules of order are carefully observed. A pickpocket demands to be heard as the "voice of the small man".

Jeffries is the best thing in the film. You know he's a wally, but you like him anyway, and feel a bit when he makes a mess of things with his superiors. "Why do they always pick on me?" he whines, not at all like the hard-case he played in "Two-Way Stretch". Sellers is very good as well, sliding effortlessly between his London and French accents.

People who generally avoid Sellers films before "Strangelove" are well advised to make at least this one exception. "Wrong Arm" is a smooth treat that still stands up well, right up there with "The Ladykillers" and "I'm All Right, Jack" in quality and lighter than either.

I did not really find this wonderful but is interesting in that it has Bernard Cribbins, Bill Kerr, John Le Mesurier, Graham Stark, Arthur Mullard and a young Nanette Newman and a glimpse of Michael Caine, uncredited, at a Police Station. I am not, for some reason, so very keen about Lionel Jeffries but I have to say that Peter Sellers is fantastic. It is just a shame that we only get the great scenes of him in the earlier on. There is a lot of location filming with many splendid streets of Beaconsfield and also in Uxbridge and a splendid gasometer. There are also many great shots in Teddington including the railway and level crossing and another gasometer. There also more great shots of day and night round London including Old Compton Street in Soho and also an unusual scene at Denham Aerodrome. There are also fantastic scenes on the Battersea Park Funfair and even a shot of the Battersea Power Station. So even if the film doesn't seem as funny there are some 60's locations to have some fun.

Watch the movie. There's this one bit I like best....no - there's this other bit....no, no....my favourite bit.... JUST WATCH THE MOVIE!!!! Just to see the look on 'Siggy Schmoltz' (a professional thief bought in to help and who's not in on the 'caper) face as they line up a (broken down)police van to ram the bank delivery van - miss, and the driver of the bank van helps them back it up for a second go. I had to stop the movie so I could stop laughing long enough to breathe! 10/10!

Ostensibly, "Pearly Gates" (Peter Sellers) is a French couturier selling posh frocks, but we know in reality he's a crook. Imagine his chagrin when his latest crime falls foul of the police! Imagine how much worse it gets when he discovers that it wasn't the police at all, but a gang who "IPO" (Impersonate Police Officers). That's below the belt! Meantime, the rather supercilious police inspector "Parker" (Lionel Jeffries) starts to get embroiled in this too as his bosses don't much like the idea that there are fake officers out there robbing with impunity. The most unlikely of truces now ensues as both have to bury the hatchet and concoct a plan to entrap their rather shrewd, and well briefed, protagonists. The enormous sum of £500,000 is to be used as bait but what's the betting the plan goes pear-shaped? There's a good dynamic between Sellers and Jeffries here with a well paced and engagingly daft story unravelling over a quickly paced ninety minutes. Some familiar faces make up the supporting cast and the denouement - well I quite liked that! The humour is simple and uncomplicated, relying on some characterful performances and some spirited efforts on screen, and I did quite enjoy this.