The Wrong Arm of the Law
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, Bill Kerr and Nanette Newman. The final screenplay was written by John Antrobus, Ray Galton, and Alan Simpson – from an original draft script by John Warren and Len Heath, based on a story by Ivor Jay and William Whistance Smith – and made by Romulus Films. It reunited Sellers, Jeffries, and Cribbins who appeared together in the 1960 film comedy Two-Way Stretch – also written by John Warren and Len Heath – where similarly Sellers and Cribbins played crooks against Jeffries as an officer of the law, in that case as their chief prison officer.
Plot
In London, a gang of three Australian criminals impersonate policemen to carry out robberies by stealing stolen cash and jewels from the crooks who had taken it. Local gang leader "Pearly" Gates – who operates with the front of an effete French couturier called Charles Jules in a London fashion house, Maison Jules – finds his criminal takings are being cut severely. Pearly does not realise his girlfriend and model, Valerie, is secretly in league with the Australians, feeding them details of the crimes being arranged by Pearly and his associates.The criminal underworld of London have recently set up a syndicate, a closed shop arrangement to divide up the areas and protect each other's interests. Initially, Pearly accuses rival crook "Nervous" O'Toole of a breakdown in their agreement. However, when it emerges that they are both being scammed by the same interloping gang they join forces, along with the police, using Inspector Fred "Nosy" Parker as their liaison, to flush the so-called "I.P.O. Mob" out of the shadows to be arrested.
After the London criminal underworld calls a 24-hour no-crime truce to allow for a full search, the IPO Mob slip through Parker's fingers. Parker then suggests a large crime to the Scotland Yard assistant commissioner in order to bring the I.P.O. Mob to justice. To ensure the safety of the cash stolen, the assistant commissioner insists that Parker join Pearly's gang. However, after the bullion robbery, Pearly is unwilling to forego the proceeds.
Production
The film was made at Beaconsfield Studios and many of the robbery scenes were filmed around Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire and the Uxbridge area of what was then Middlesex. 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.Peter Sellers loved the 1961 Aston Martin DB4 GT used in the high-speed get-away so much that he bought the car after shooting the film, contingent on the engine being replaced with a 4.0-litre Lagonda Rapide.
Release
The film opened at the Warner Theatre in London's West End on 14 March 1963.Reception
Box office
It was one of the 12 most popular films at the British box office in 1963.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."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."
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."
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."