The Wrong Arm of the Law

The Wrong Arm of the Law
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Cliff Owen
Written by	John Antrobus Ray Galton Alan Simpson John Warren Len Heath
Produced by	E.M. Smedley Aston Aubrey Baring
Starring	Peter Sellers Lionel Jeffries Bernard Cribbins John Le Mesurier Bill Kerr
Cinematography	Ernest Steward
Edited by	Tristam Cones
Music by	Richard Rodney Bennett
Production company	Romulus Films
Distributed by	British Lion Films (UK)
Release date	14 March 1963 (1963-03-14) (UK)
Running time	94 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Budget	£233,570[1]

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.^[2] 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 Cribbens who appeared together in the 1960 film comedy Two-Way Stretch – also written by John Warren and Len Heath – where similarly Sellers and Cribbens played crooks (incarcerated) against Jeffries as on officer of the law, in that case as their chief prison officer.

In London, a gang of three criminals from Australia led by Jack Coombes impersonate policemen to carry out robberies: stealing stolen cash and jewels from the crooks who had taken it. Meanwhile, 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, on Old Bond Street, Westminster, which is much more profitable line of work for him – finds his criminal takings cut severely. It quickly transpires that Pearly's girlfriend and model, Valerie, is secretly in cahoots with the Australians, feeding them details of the crimes being arranged by Pearly and his associates.

Initially, Pearly blames rival crook "Nervous" O'Toole in a breakdown of their syndicate, a closed shop arrangement to the criminal underworld of London, which they have recently set up to divide up the areas and protect each others interests. However, when it emerges that they are both being scammed by the same interloping gang, they join forces, along with Police, using Inspector Fred "Nosy" Parker as their liaison, to flush the so-called "I.P.O. Mob" (Impersonating a Police Officer) out the shadows to be arrested.

After the London criminal underworld call a 24-hour no-crime truce to allow for a full search, the IPO Mob almost literally slip through Parker's fingers on their first attempt, so Parker 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 Asst Commissioner insists that Parker join Pearly's gang to be committing this daylight robbery, but after the bullion robbery, Pearly is unwilling to forego the proceeds.

The film was made at Beaconsfield Studios^[3] 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.^{[citation needed]}

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.^[4]

The film opened at the Warner Theatre in London's West End on 14 March 1963.^[5]

It was one of the 12 most popular films at the British box office in 1963.^[6]

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."^[7]

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."^[8]

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."^[9]

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."^[10]

• The Wrong Arm of the Law at IMDb
• The Wrong Arm of the Law at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Wrong Arm of the Law at Memorable TV
• The Wrong Arm of the Law at the BFI's Screenonline