THE WRONG ARM OF THE LAW

THE WRONG ARM OF THE LAW [1963 / 2022] [Vintage Classics] [Blu-ray] [UK Release]
Meet The Mastermind Who Pulls The Strings In The Underworld!

This 1963 British Comedy was Directed by Cliff Owen and scripted by the incomparable British comedy writers Ray Galton and Alan Simpson (BBC Radio “Hancock’s Half Hour,” “Steptoe and Son”) with John Antrobus. ‘THE WRONG ARM OF THE LAW’ brings together a Who’s Who of familiar faces from British film and television of the 1960’s and 1970’s, not least the legendary Peter Sellers for the film ‘I’m Alright Jack’ and ‘The Ladykillers,’ and also starring Lionel Jeffries, Bernard Cribbins, Davy Kaye, Nanette Newman, Bill Kerr and Ed Devereaux. In London, Australian gangsters, disguised as Bobbies rob the local criminals, making the panicked British mobsters seek an alliance with Scotland Yard in order to eliminate the foreign competition and return things to “normal.”

FILM FACT: The film ‘THE WRONG ARM OF THE LAW’ opened at the Warner Theatre in London's West End on the 14th March 1963. Many of the robbery scenes were filmed around Beaconsfield and Uxbridge. 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. The film features an Aston Martin DB4 GT car. Peter Sellers loved the 1961 Aston Marton DB4GT so much that he bought the car after shooting the film — contingent on the engine being replaced with a 4.0-litre Lagonda Rapide. In a positive review in The New York Times, Bosley Crowther concluded, “Of course, it is strictly lightweight clowning, longer on plot than on wit and wholly dependent on the archness of Mr. Peter Sellers to give it a cachet. Others in the cast are amusing; especially Mr. Lionel Jeffries as the cop, but the enterprise stands by the stiffening of Mr. Peter Sellers's cunning roguishness.”

Cast: Peter Sellers, Lionel Jeffries, Bernard Cribbins, Davy Kaye, Nanette Newman, Bill Kerr, Ed Devereaux, Reg Lye, John Le Mesurier, Graham Stark, Martin Boddey, Irene Browne, Arthur Mullard, Dermot Kelly, Vanda Godsell, Tutte Lemkow, Barry Keegan, Jim Brady (uncredited), Michael Caine (uncredited), George Lane Cooper (uncredited), Maxwell Craig (uncredited), Reggie de Beer (uncredited), Dick Emery (uncredited), Mario Fabrizi (uncredited), Patrick Halpin (uncredited), John Harvey (uncredited), Walter Henry (uncredited), John Junkin (uncredited), Martin Lyder (uncredited), Billy Murray (uncredited), Dennis Price (uncredited), Bill Rayment (uncredited), Ernie Rice (uncredited), Cardew Robinson (uncredited), Harold Siddons (uncredited), Jack Silk (uncredited), Jeff Silk (uncredited), Gerald Sim (uncredited), Marianne Stone (uncredited), Davina Taylor (uncredited) and Joe Wadham (uncredited)

Director: Cliff Owen

Producers: Aubrey Baring, Cecil F. Ford, E.M. Smedley-Aston and Robert Velaise

Screenplay: Ray Galton (written), Alan Simpson (written), John Antrobus (written), John Warren (screenplay), Len Heath (screenplay), Ivor Jay (original story) and William Whistance Smith original story)

Composer: Richard Rodney Bennett

Make-up Department: Stuart Freeborn (Make-up Artist) and Eileen Bates (Hair stylist)

Cinematography: Ernest Steward, B.S.C. (Director of Photography)

Titles Designer: Robert Ellis

Image Resolution: 1080p (Black-and-White)

Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1

Audio: English: 2.0 LPCM Digital Stereo Audio
English: 2.0 Dolby Digital Stereo Audio

Subtitles: English

Running Time: 95 minutes

Region: Region B/2

Number of discs: 1

Studio: ROMULOS Films Ltd / British Lion Films / StudioCanal

Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: With this film ‘THE WRONG ARM OF THE LAW’ [1963] we get to find out that honour amongst thieves may end up being sorely tested in this newly-restored release by StudioCanal of this riotous British classic 1963 comedy film starring Peter Sellers, Bernard Cribbins and Lionel Jeffries and other well know classic British comedy actors.

We get to find out a longstanding peaceful accord between rival criminal gangs in London threatens to break down, when a group of rogues dressing themselves up as police start to muscle in and take the ill-gotten gains from various robberies and misdeeds for themselves. Tensions start to fray in the criminal fraternity, with rival gang leaders "Pearly" Gates [Peter Sellers] and "Nervous" O'Toole [Bernard Cribbins] each becoming increasingly suspicious of the other, threatening to cause real strife.

The culprits behind the sting are the Australian “I.P.O. Mob” (Impersonating a Police Officer), who somehow seem to be getting inside information on all of the jobs which are being pulled. With little alternative, "Nervous" O'Toole and "Pearly"  Gates team up to join an uneasy alliance with Police  Inspector Fred "Nosey" Parker [Lionel Jeffries], as setting a thief to catch a thief may not be quite enough. But will the truce hold out, or do double crosses lie ahead?

For star Peter Sellers, ‘THE WRONG ARM OF THE LAW’ came out the same year that he made his debut as the comical French sleuth Inspector Clouseau in ‘The Pink Panther.’ A year earlier had marked his first collaboration with Stanley Kubrick in ‘Lolita’, and ‘Dr. Strangelove’ lay in his near future. In playing the leader of a crime syndicate who masquerades as a French fashion designer, Peter Sellers offers something of a close parody of his most famous role – the one that would dog him for the rest of his career. Watching Peter Sellers slip effortlessly between playing a cool and debonair Frenchman and "Pearly" Gates, a cockney crime boss, is to witness a genius performer of remarkable and often breath-taking technical ability.

Although certainly the star attraction, Peter Sellers is aided and abetted by the loveable cream of the British crop. Loveable Bernard Cribbins plays "Nervous" O'Toole, the leader of a rival criminal gang. I’ve seen many actors adopt an Irish accent and affect a nervous twitch over the years, but never with the total naturalistic conviction of Bernard Cribbins, who matches Peter Sellers for technical ability and offers a stunningly crafted comedy performance. As if that wasn’t enough, Lionel Jeffries who of course later went on to direct the wonderful nostalgic film ‘The Railway Children’ and completes the triumvirate as the hapless Police Inspector Fred "Nosey" Parker. All three of them are, put simply, a wonderful joy to watch.

While not as familiar to audiences as other well-loved ‘60s comedies, this is every-inch a classic. Peter Sellers and Bernard Cribbins are on top-form — with Berbard Cribbins especially notable as the twitchy, paranoid Irish gangster, with not a shred of his usual trademark cheeky-chappy persona present. The comedy is well-judged and keenly-observed and the restoration ensures that the visuals are as sharp as the classic British comedy humour.

There are other great performances too. Nanette Newman as Valerie is electric as Peter Sellers’ double-crossing girlfriend, John Le Mesurier plays the Assistant Commissioner, and Dennis Price who appeared in the film ‘Kind Hearts and Coronets’ has a notable but uncredited cameo as an “Educated Ernest” criminal. Look out also for a young Michael Caine who fleetingly plays one of the police officers. The excellent Bill Kerr, known as Tony Hancock’s sidekick, provides a delightfully straight performance as Jack Coombes, the leader of an Australian criminal gang whose modus operandi is to impersonate police officers. With their Australian rival always one step ahead, the rest of the film revolves around Peter Sellers, Bernard Cribbins and Lionel Jeffries forming a temporary truce and uniting against their common enemy.

In order for the fantastic performances to grab your attention, a good script is always required, and of course the brilliant Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, in collaboration with John Antrobus, deliver an absolute belter, including the punning names for the leading characters. The film is packed with wonderful witty one-liners and beautifully-crafted supporting characters, and also offering audiences plenty of laughs per minute. Ray Galton and Alan Simpson would go on  to be one of Britain’s finest comedy-writing duos, and at this time they had already created their masterpiece, the enduringly popular and hilarious situation BBC TV comedy series “Steptoe and Son.”

With a running time of little over an hour and a half, ‘THE WRONG ARM OF THE LAW’ doesn’t mess about. Instead, it delivers as a fast-paced and farcical comedy crime caper. The  ultimate decent moral message is that crime doesn’t pay. The only downside of the film is that the inevitable car chase ending doesn’t quite come together in the edit. Director Cliff Owen has a much better grasp of the comedy in the studio-based scenes. Nevertheless, this innocent, fun and charming British classic has much to recommend it. ‘THE WRONG ARM OF THE LAW’ is something of a gem of early 1960’s British cinema.

In order for fantastic performances to grab your attention, a good script is required. Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, in collaboration with John Antrobus, deliver an absolute belter, including the punning names for the leading characters. The film is packed with witty one-liners and beautifully-crafted supporting characters, offering audiences plenty of laughs per minute. Ray Galton and Alan Simpson would go on to be one of Britain’s finest comedy-writing duos, and at this time they had already created their masterpiece, the enduringly popular situation BBC Television classic comedy series “Steptoe and Son.”

The phrase “old-fashioned” is sometimes deployed in rather a pejorative sense, suggesting something is quite passé and out-of-style. Here, however, it would feel most apposite as ‘THE WRONG ARM OF THE LAW’ is a feature which, while visibly dated by the visual aspects, including being shot in black and white, still feels somehow timeless thanks to the sharpness of its script, and easily attracts as many laughs now as it did on its original release almost 60 years ago, really being such innocent, charming fun. So enjoy folks!

Finally, we are informed that all characters and events in this film are fictitious. Any similarity to actual events or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. Also, please note that this film reflects historical attitudes which audiences may find outdated and offensive.

THE WRONG ARM OF THE LAW MUSIC TRACK LIST

OH, CHARLEY, TAKE IT AWAY (uncredited) (Written by Arthur Le Clerq, Frederick Malcolm and Elvin Hedges)

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Blu-ray Image Quality – ROMULOS Films Ltd, British Lion Films and StudioCanal is presented to you with the film ‘THE WRONG ARM OF THE LAW’ and has been digitally remastered and looks quite wonderful now. Also the film has great 1080p Black-and-White image clarity, and depth ranges from very good to excellent. The density levels are very nice and is of course shown in the wonderful 1.66:1 aspect ratio. While a few small bumps can be noticed here and there, bur despite this, the visuals are consistently very good. The different ranges of greys and whites are very nicely balanced to look really great and there are no traces of problematic digital corrections. The restoration work here is immaculate, and the film stands up very well on this Blu-ray release. In fact, you get a chance to note the difference for yourselves, as one of the extras is the original trailer, which has been left untouched, and you can see how clear the restored feature film has been transformed, compared to that scratchy, crackly horrible original trailer print which is shown in the 1.37:1 aspect ratio, totally shameful. So all in all, StudioCanal has done a totally brilliant job with the marvellous and immaculate upgraded black-and-white image presentation of the film ‘THE WRONG ARM OF THE LAW.’ Please Note: Playback Region B/2: This will not play on most Blu-ray players sold in North America, Central America, South America, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. Learn more about Blu-ray region specifications.

Blu-ray Audio Quality – ROMULOS Films Ltd, British Lion Films and StudioCanal brings you the film ‘THE WRONG ARM OF THE LAW’ with a really nice 2.0 LPCM Digital Stereo Audio experience. The dialogue is very clear and easy to follow and especially the fact that the film ‘THE WRONG ARM OF THE LAW’ came out in 1963. I thought that the dynamic orchestration composed by Richard Rodney Bennett was really outstanding and you hear all the instruments which I think really enhances this wonderful classic British comedy film so well. So once again StudioCanal, has done a really brilliant job with the audio presentation.

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Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:

Special Feature: The Long Arm of the Screenwriter, and John Antrobus remembers the ‘THE WRONG ARM OF THE LAW’ [2022] [1080p] [1.78:1] [19:43] With this featurette, Co-screenwriter John Antrobus discusses his career, work on the screenplay for ‘THE WRONG ARM OF THE LAW’ and how the actors of the film behaved during the production process and before we meet John Antrobus screenwriter and playwright we get to view a clip from ‘THE WRONG ARM OF THE LAW,’ but also we get to view a plethora of clips from the film throughout this featurette. Then suddenly we finally meet John Antrobus is speaking to us via a video link and informs us that he was originally earlier on his life trained at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and commonly known simply as Sandhurst, and is one of several military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial officer training centre. It is located in the town of Sandhurst, Berkshire, England and fell out with them with the thought that eventually the thought of killing strangers in combat as a soldier and also being sent abroad, and John Antrobus found this scenario abhorrent and did not want the prospect of becoming a killing machine and especially not taking orders, so Royal Military Academy Sandhurst felt they had to let him go, so instead John Antrobus decided for a career change to either becoming a famous comedian or alternative a famous writer and there and then decided to become a writer, as he tried a short time being a comedian and it was a complete failure, and then informs us that at the same time he was living in a boarding house in the Cromwell Road in London where actor Bill Kerr’s mother was in charge of the establishment and eventually the and Bill Kerr’s mother  introduced John Antrobus to the actor Bill Kerr because John Antrobus informed her that he wanted to be a writer and through Bill Kerr was John Antrobus got introduced to Ray Galton and Alan Simpson the comedy scriptwriters whose partnership lasted over 50 years and so Ray Galton and Alan Simpson invited John Antrobus to a recording of “Hancock's Half Hour” on BBC radio and so John Antrobus went to recording of radio programme and after the radio programme had finished John Antrobus informed Ray Galton and Alan Simpson told them he was a wonderful script writer and Ray Galton and Alan Simpson asked John Antrobus to send them a couple of samples of his script writing of how he would to a script for two episodes of “Hancock's Half Hour”  for BBC radio so to see what he can do and so eventually John Antrobus sent them two sample scripts and Ray Galton and Alan Simpson were very impressed and immediately hired John Antrobus to work in collaboration with Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. Then John Antrobus was introduced to television comedy scriptwriter Johnny Speight and after a few months John Antrobus was working with Johnny Speight on scripts for a BBC radio programme for the comedian Frankie Howerd entitled “The Frankie Howerd Show” and started to earn good money and one day John Antrobus was working with Johnny Speight in his office and in walked comedian Spike Milligan and then John Antrobus worked with Johnny Speight to write a couple of scripts for the BBC radio show “The Goon Show” which starred Spike Milligan, who performed the series alongside Harry Secombe and  Peter Sellers and John Antrobus found the whole experience magical and John Antrobus was amongst some really wonderful talented people, and then John Antrobus did a couple of scripts for the BBC radio programme “The Arthur Haynes Show” and found that everything was coming together and everything was on a roll for a career he had really always wanted to pursue and now was really earning some really good money. But on the other hand, John Antrobus admits he was relying on an excessive amount of alcohol. But now John Antrobus was branching out in doing film screenplays and his first one was for an Anthony Newley film entitled ‘Idol on Parade’ in 1959 and also starred the actor Lionel Jeffries and John Antrobus also did a screenplay for another Anthony Newley film entitled ‘Jazz Boat’ for Columbia Pictures in 1960 and again John Antrobus felt life was getting really good and was also getting lots of phone calls with job offers and once again he did not realise that he was getting heavily involved relying on an excessive amount of alcohol. Then suddenly out of the blue he heard a rumour about a film they were soon about to start shooting, which of course ‘THE WRONG ARM OF THE LAW,’ and heard that screenwriters John Warren and Len Heath had done their first draft of a screenplay for that film, and John Antrobus had read it and felt it was quite a good basic outline for the film, and then Ray Galton and Alan Simpson asked John Antrobus to join them to get together and decide to create their own unique screenplay for the film ‘THE WRONG ARM OF THE LAW,’ and create their own scenario situations, our own characters, and all three of them did some very hard work in one room and that is how eventually they were able come up with their very own unique screenplay that became a reality, and now and again the executive producer Robert Velaise would turn up now and again to give some helpful input and also loved having a couple of Campari Liqueurs and John Antrobus felt he was a very charming person, and all three of them had a great deal of fun and also had a big laugh. Eventually, the actual screenplay was finally finished and typed and they gave copies to all the producers and especially Peter Sellers and everyone loved the screenplay and what they had read and of course Peter Sellers was the essential “kingpin” and they realised that if Peter Sellers did not like something what he had read in the screenplay, Peter Sellers would certainly let them know of his disapproval and what part of the screenplay he did not like, but of course Peter Sellers instead loved the screenplay 100% and again everyone and especially Ray Galton, Alan Simpson and John Antrobus got the thumbs up, and of course now they went ahead and signed up all the actors and of course this got the green light to go ahead and start shooting the film and from then on it was a frantic go, go, go, and they did not have to do a re-write of the screenplay, and John Antrobus felt it was a totally magical experience. John Antrobus says that the film ‘THE WRONG ARM OF THE LAW’ was informed that Peter Sellers had put up the majority of the money for the film and of course was the star of the film and Ray Galton, Alan Simpson and John Antrobus that his dual character was totally perfect in the film, and they also thought the other actors were all so perfect for the film and Ray Galton, Alan Simpson and John Antrobus also had great admiration for them all. But when John Antrobus finished working on the screenplay for that film, decided to go his own separate way and never worked for Ray Galton and Alan Simpson again on film screenplays. Eventually, through certain events, John Antrobus was asked out of the blue by Ray Galton to work with him again and again had a good working partnership with Ray Galton and at the same time Alan Simpson went into retirement. On the opening night of the film ‘THE WRONG ARM OF THE LAW,’ which opened at the Warner Theatre in London's West End on the 14th March, 1963 and John Antrobus said it was a totally magical moment in time and everyone was there to experience the event. But sadly for John Antrobus the excessive alcohol problem was getting really serious and in 1968 John Antrobus finally got some much needed help and eventually got finally alcohol free and totally re-invented his career and also got his life given back to him and started working on his own and became a serious playwright and his plays have been performed on the stage at The Royal Court Theatre, which is a non-commercial West End theatre in Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England and John Antrobus said it was a wonderful dream come true. Now John Antrobus talks about Peter Sellers and working with the actor in the film ‘THE WRONG ARM OF THE LAW,’ and said it was like being in a total whirlwind, and it was total constant madness and especially go, go, go throughout making the film, and later on Peter Seller asked John Antrobus to work with him on another project, but out of the blue and mysteriously Peter Seller vanished and disappeared into thin air, and was about a one off play for the BBC television and so John Antrobus sent the script to the BBC and totally rejected it, and eventually Peter Sellers contacted John Antrobus, so sent Peter Sellers that same script for his approval, and Peter Sellers finally contacted John Antrobus and said he loved the script, and so out of the blue BBC television eventually bought the script and paid John Antrobus an upfront fee and the project was all set to go, but again Peter Sellers totally vanished into thin air and John Antrobus finally found out that Peter Sellers had flown off to Hollywood to appear in some films, so instead the BBC asked Peter Cook, Dudley Moore and Spike Milligan to appear in the one off BBC television play and of course it all went ahead, and it really worked out beautiful. But what John Antrobus did not like one bit about Peter Sellers, is that at one moment he is madly enthusiastic about a project at that moment in time, but then when it comes the actual crunch time, Peter Sellers would again vanish into thin air. But at a certain time in John Antrobus life, he ended up unemployed and on the dole, and was living in a block of flats with his children, then suddenly out of the blue got a phone call from Peter Sellers who was in Paris making the film ‘The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu’ and it had all come to a halt and they also sacked the director and this one was the fifth director and Peter Sellers wanted John Antrobus to fly over to Paris first class to come and sort out the whole crazy mess and try and somehow rescue the screenplay and of course the film and so John Antrobus flew over to Paris and did help Peter Sellers out, and in fact it was the last ever film for Peter Sellers to appear in and also Peter Seller was constantly on oxygen in his room and John Antrobus said despite the problem with Peter Sellers physical health, said it all came together really nice and really beautiful and eventually got the film made and sadly John Antrobus was not allowed to have any credit featured in the film and despite this, had a really nice time, and Peter Sellers wanted John Antrobus to work on his next film project, which was ‘The Pink Panther,’ but sadly Peter Sellers a few months later passed away, and also John Antrobus sadly was not able to work on the screenplay for that film. Eventually John Antrobus moved to Cornwall and had his nice family with him and was still keen to write plays for The Royal Court Theatre. But John Antrobus now summed up his life, by saying this part of his life was now very successful, but another part of his life was not so successful, but decides to just get on with his life despite what he has said, we just go on and it is just beautiful and had started writing children books like “RONNIE & THE HIGH RISE,” “The Boy with Illuminated Measles,” “RONNIE & THE HAUNTED ROLLS ROYCE,” “HELP! I AM A PRISONER IN A TOOTHPASTE FACTORY” and “RONNIE & THE GREAT KNITTED ROBERY” and says that I am now really enjoying life and just letting go and believing in myself and I am also a believer and he smiles at the camera and has a good chuckle to himself of total happiness. Then suddenly shows us the cover of his latest book he has written and it is entitled “Goon But Not Forgotten” (hardback) by John Antrobus and says that book is essentially about me - me midst the Goons! Me! Me! Me! ( How disgusting! What's this fellow going on about? ) It is an unashamed celebration of MY life not in the past but TODAY and in that it becomes a celebration of YOUR lives TODAY, but also in the book it includes sketches he wrote for Peter Sellers and also for Spike Milligan and also wrote the book when COVID happened and of course being isolated was able to complete the book and John Antrobus says you can find this book on Amazon UK and it also has some really mad stories that he experienced working with Peter Sellers and Spike Milligan and at that point the John Antrobus featurette ends.

Special Feature: Behind the Scenes Still Gallery: With this featurette, we get to view a collection of 12 wonderful 1080p black-and-white vintage production stills related to the film ‘THE WRONG ARM OF THE LAW,’ and especially behind-the-scene on location shoot. But being a rolling gallery with no manual advance option, you’ll have to use the pause button if you want to examine any of them in detail. Running time: 0:59

Special Feature: Original Trailer [1963] [480i] [1.37:1] [3:11] With this featurette, we get to view the Original Theatrical Trailer for the film ‘THE WRONG ARM OF THE LAW’ and is presented here as a remastered vintage trailer. This is a rather jolly film trailer that does a fair job of selling the film’s many virtues, including its nicely drawn animated opening titles. But it also informs us “It’s The Right Side of Laughter!” and also “See What Happens When Too Many Crooks Spoil The Broth, It’s Cops and Crooks in a crazy stew, and no one knows just who is who!”

Finally, ‘THE WRONG ARM OF THE LAW’ [1963] has a terrific script that gives a fine set of performers some of their best roles in an old favourite from the tail end of a golden period of British film comedy, which has been handsomely restored for this Blu-ray release. Not much in the way of special features, but the interview with John Antrobus is most welcome. ‘THE WRONG ARM OF THE LAW’ promises much as a comic caper movie can be, with big stars, and a script by British comedy writing royalty, but does it deliver? The verdict: “Guilty as charged M'lud.” Definitely a long stretch of watching and re-watching the film ‘THE WRONG ARM OF THE LAW’ appears to be on the cards. Very Highly Recommended!

Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado 
Le Cinema Paradiso 
United Kingdom