The Wrong Arm of the Law

Romulus Films

Industry	Film production
Headquarters	United Kingdom
Products	Motion pictures

The Wrong Arm of the Law is a British comedy motion picture from 1963, helmed by director Cliff Owen and featuring performances by Peter Sellers, Bernard Cribbins, Lionel Jeffries, John Le Mesurier, Bill Kerr, and Nanette Newman. The script was crafted by John Antrobus, Ray Galton, and Alan Simpson, originating from an initial draft by John Warren and Len Heath, which itself was adapted from a narrative conceived by Ivor Jay and William Whistance Smith. Production was managed by Romulus Films. This film brought together Sellers, Jeffries, and Cribbins once again after their collaboration in the 1960 comedy Two-Way Stretch, also written by Warren and Heath, where Sellers and Cribbins portrayed criminals opposing Jeffries’s law enforcement character.

Plot

Set in London, the story revolves around a trio of Australian criminals led by Jack Coombes who masquerade as police officers to rob fellow offenders, targeting cash and precious jewels. The local crime boss "Pearly" Gates runs a lucrative front as French designer Charles Jules at Maison Jules on Old Bond Street, though his income experiences a significant drop. Pearly’s partner and model, Valerie, covertly assists the Australian gang by divulging information about Pearly’s upcoming criminal activities.

At first, Pearly suspects rival felon "Nervous" O'Toole amid tensions within their London criminal syndicate—a closed arrangement dividing territories—but they soon realize both are victims of the same police impersonators. Pearly, Nervous, and Police Inspector Fred "Nosy" Parker join forces to unmask and capture the "I.P.O. Mob" (Impersonating a Police Officer).

After London's underworld declares a 24-hour ceasefire for an intensive search, the IPO Mob escapes capture narrowly. Inspector Parker suggests to Scotland Yard’s assistant commissioner that they stage a major heist to lure the gang into a trap. To safeguard the stolen money, the commissioner demands Parker infiltrate Pearly’s crew during a daytime bullion robbery; however, Pearly is reluctant to relinquish the loot afterward.

Production

Filming took place at Beaconsfield Studios, with principal robbery sequences shot in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, and around Uxbridge in then-Middlesex. Notable locations include the early Post Office heist at Burkes Parade/Post Office Lane in Beaconsfield, the gang assembly at Havens Court in Ealing, the Bullion Transport robbery along Cowley Mill Road/Waterloo Road in Uxbridge combined with Bushy Park Road in Teddington, as well as the getaway flight from Denham Aerodrome.

The 1961 Aston Martin DB4 GT used during the high-speed escape was purchased by Peter Sellers after production wrapped; he later enhanced its engine with a 4.0-litre Lagonda Rapide unit.

Release

The movie debuted at London's West End Warner Theatre (now known as Vue West End) on 14 March 1963.

Box office

It secured a position among the top twelve most successful films at the British box office in 1963.

Critical reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin commended director Cliff Owen for his adept blending of comedic elements with effective pacing, emphasizing notable performances from Lionel Jeffries, John Le Mesurier, and Peter Sellers.

Variety labeled it a "briskly amusing farce," praising its skilled direction, strong acting ensemble, and polished technical execution.

In The New York Times, Bosley Crowther described it as "lightweight clowning," heavily reliant on Sellers’s charisma, while also highlighting Jeffries for his entertaining role.

The Radio Times Guide to Films awarded four out of five stars, lauding Sellers’s depiction of a Cockney criminal mastermind alongside Owen’s precise direction of an imaginative script centered on cooperation between Scotland Yard and Sellers to apprehend Australian criminals posing as policemen.

External links

• The Wrong Arm of the Law on Memorable TV