Watch The Wrong Arm of the Law For Free

Simply Perfect

Redundant and unnecessary.

Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

"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."

"The Wrong Arm of the Law" is a sort of comic British take on the famous German crime film, "M". In that Fritz Lang classic, the criminals and the police are both out to stop a murderer whose activities are making things difficult for both of them. However, where "M" was a serious crime thriller, "The Wrong Arm of the Law" is pure comedy. And what a comedy it is, with a clever script and a first-rate cast, headed up by the superlative Peter Sellers. Known for the astounding range of the characters he could play, in this film Sellers slips effortlessly between portraying effete French couturier Charles Jules and cockney crime-boss "Pearly" Gates. In fact, Sellars slips between the two characters so effortlessly that it is easy to take for granted just how brilliant an actor he actually was. Sellers is an absolute treat to watch, and his performance should be required viewing by all aspiring actors as a lesson in how it should be done.

Great little film! It screened here in Oz once again last night.Sellers as a gangster reminded me of another English film he did called Never Let Go, apart from Being There - this film was his only dramatic role. Anyway I note that a couple of reviews describe the airborne sportscar as a Jaguar but surely its an Aston Martin? Sure looks like one. The car appears to fly about a metre off the ground!Given that AM's were always expensive it amazes me that they did that,if it was privately owned the owner would have a major case of the Brad Pitts- if it was hired from a car hire company then that company would have thought twice about hiring out their cars again to anyone associated with the film.

I will admit that I didn't pay full attention, and I did doze off somewhere in the middle, but I suppose it's worth a go. Basically cockney Pearly Gates (Peter Sellers) is the leader of a gang of crooks, with no-one carrying guns or resisting arrest. Then along comes another gang, led by Irish Nervous O'Toole (Bernard Cribbins) that can apparently do better than them. With the help of turned Insp. Parker (Lionel Jeffries) they plan to set a trap for the biggest car robbery with £50,000 to be had. Also starring Davy Kaye as Trainer King, Nanette Newman as Valerie, Bill Kerr as Jack Coombes, Ed Devereaux as Bluey May, Reg Lye as Reg Denton, Dad's Army's John Le Mesurier as Assistant Commissioner, Graham Stark as Sid Cooper, Martin Boddey as Supt. Forest, Irene Browne as Dowager, Arthur Mullard as Brassknuckles, Dermot Kelly as Misery Martin and Vanda Godsell as Annette. I think it's because I dozed off and didn't pay full attention that I can't say I laughed a lot, but the ending robbery is quite good viewing. Worth watching!