Le paradis des monte-en-l'air

Describing a film as 'lightweight' shouldn't always be seen as a criticism. Two Way Stretch deserves the description, but it should be seen as praise rather than a put-down.

Back in the 50s and 60s, the British film industry seemed able to churn out these comedy films at the drop of a hat. The Ealing Comedies are the best known, but there are also any number starring Norman Wisdom, and also a few gems with Peter Sellers in them.

Sellers takes the leading role here, that of a criminal in the last weeks of his sentence. He and his three cell mates are drawn into a daring robbery - one that involves them breaking out the night before their release, then breaking back in again, thereby ensuring they have a watertight alibi. Just about every character in the film is a caricature - the kind-hearted chief warder, the bumbling prison governor intent on seeing only the best in everyone, the army chief in charge of moving the jewels. Yet it all works, so long as you don't go in expecting some significant piece of cinema.

An excellent cast, with Sellers on top form. Maurice Denham, as the governor, Lionel Jeffries, as the control-freak warder, and Wilfred Hyde-White, as the crook planning the robbery, are worth singling out.

This effort may not have been all that taxing on the considerable talents of the great Peter Sellers, but the character of Dodger Lane is an original, and the star gives a sly, confident performance as an unreformed "model prisoner" and untrustworthy trustee.

TWO-WAY STRETCH involves a trio of prison cell-mates who help to devise a crime with a twist. All they have to do is sneak out on the night before they're due to be released, pull off their latest heist, and then return before being missed, thereby providing themselves with a foolproof alibi in addition to their ill-gotten gains.

Huntleigh Prison is a very liberal institution, and Dodger (Sellers) takes full advantage of this, making his cell a home away from home. With the assistance of his two partners, Lennie Price (Bernard Cribbins) and Jelly Knight (David Lodge), he's practically running the place, and the three of them make a great comic team.

They don't plan on having any trouble sneaking out of Huntleigh, but that was before the appointment of the new head guard, Sidney "Sour" Crout (played by Lionel Jeffries), a tough disciplinarian, who barks rather than speaks. Why, he even expects the inmates to actually do some work in the rock quarry . . .before the arrival of their morning newspaper. Although Crout's presence disrupts their escape plans, the intrepid Dodger refuses to give up.

Also on hand is old reliable Wilfrid Hyde-White as Soapy Stevens, a crony who enlists Dodger for the heist; Maurice Denham as the hopelessly well-meaning warden; Irene Handl as crooked Ma Price; and the indispensable Liz Fraser as Ethel, Dodger's shapely girlfriend.

Everything clicks and there is never a dull moment in this hilarious comedy. There's nothing profound or insightful about it but that's one of the reasons why it's good. My rating of TWO-WAY STRETCH is a definite four stars out of five.

This 1960 M. Smedley Aston production has everything lovers of classic British comedy could hope for.Sellers plays Dodger Lane,a lag who is having such a cushy time in the clink he couldn't care less whether he gets out or not.'Rooming' with two old chums they plan an unlikely heist of priceless diamonds while still inside. This is probably my favourite Sellers comedy of all time with marvellous performances from all concerned.Star of the show, hands down,has to be Lionel Jeffries as the hard-boiled prison officer 'Crouty' who is hell-bent on making the lads last few days of incarceration as miserable as possible. If you haven't seen this movie you're in for a treat.Forget Inspector Clouseau,this is the definitive Peter Sellers.

This is a not particularly famous comedy starring Peter Sellers. It's rather sad that all Sellers is known for today, for the most part, are the Pink Panther movies, as he made many lovely small-time movies in the UK that are hardly ever seen in the United States. Most were made before the Panther movies and sadly, other than Panther films, most of what we do seem to see here are his lesser films from the 60s and 70s. Thankfully, THE FIENDISH PLOT OF FU MANCHU is seldom seen on American television (uggh).

Unlike so many of these little films, however, Sellers plays a role that is relatively "normal"--without the odd accents or flamboyant acting. Instead, while a comedy, he plays his part of a prisoner rather straight. This isn't bad, however, as the film is a very low-key comedy and many of the supporting actors help out quite a bit with the comedy--particularly Lionel Jeffries, who plays a rather uptight guard.

The film begins with Sellers and his buddies incarcerated in one of the worst prisons in the UK. Colonel Klink of "Hogan's Heroes" did a much better job of running a tight prison compared to the Governor (Maurice Denham)! Despite being a con-man and habitual crook, Sellers is made a trustee and practically every sort of vice occurs right under the guards' noses. In fact, it's so lax there that when an old partner (Wilfrid Hyde-White) of Sellers arrives (disguised as a minister), Sellers and his friends agree to sneak out of prison a day before their discharge to commit a crime and then sneak back--guaranteeing them the perfect alibi. All looks like it will go like clockwork until the head guard is replaced by a martinet played by Lionel Jeffries. They are ready to abandon their plans when they realize that they can get past Jeffries--it will just take a lot more patience and planning.

There's a lot more to the film than this, but I don't want to spoil it. The bottom line is that the script is just lovely and it's no wonder that the film works so well. A nice little almost forgotten gem.

An excellent film with well acted parts by all the actors, especially the supporting cast. Also an original ending to get around the UK Censor requirements of the day, that criminals can't be seen to profit from their crimes. Lionel Jeffries is excellent as the hard disciplined prison officer, who is eventually caught out by the criminals.