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. .....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!

"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.

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.

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.

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.