The Wrong Arm of the Law

1963

Directed By

Cliff Owen

Synopsis

Directed by Cliff Owen and scripted by the incomparable British comedy writers Ray Galton and Alan Simpson (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 60s and 70s, not least the legendary Peter Sellars (I’m Alright Jack, The Ladykillers).

In London, a group of Australian gangsters disguised as “Bobbies”, led by Jack Coombes (Bill Kerr, The Dam Busters), are diverting the ill-gotten gains of the local criminal gangs. Gang leader “Pearly” Gates (Sellers), who operates from the cover of a French couturier, finds his takings severely cut. Initially he blames rival crook “Nervous” O’Toole (Bernard Cribbins, The Railway Children) but when it emerges that they are both being scammed by the same gang, they form an unlikely alliance with Scotland Yard Police Inspector “Nosey” Parker (Lionel Jeffries, Nowhere to Go) – to eliminate the so-called “I.P.O. mob” (I.P.O. – Impersonating a Police Officer) and return things to “normal”. 

Cast
Peter Sellers, Lionel Jeffries, Bernard Cribbins, Davy Kaye, Nanette Newman, Bill Kerr, Ed Devereaux
Other Credits

Written by Ray Galton, Alan Simpson and John Antrobus

Release Date
2 May 2022
extras
  • New The Long Arm of the Screenwriter – John Antrobus Remembers The Wrong Arm of The Law
  • Behind the Scenes stills gallery
  • Original Trailer
Restoration Details

For the 2022 restoration of The Wrong Arm of the Law, STUDIOCANAL went back to the original camera negative which was scanned and restored in 4K to produce a brand new HD master

Related Titles

Gordon Parry1953
Frank Launder1954
John Boorman1965
Compton Bennett1958
Don Sharp1967
Joseph Losey1960

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