While his quality control may have gone out the window from the late 60’s onwards, Peter Sellers remains a British comedy institution; after his siccess with the highly esteemed Goon Show, his comic voices where aimed at all kinds of targets, from French detectives to British military figures, trade-union leaders to party-guests. 1963’s The Wrong Arm of the Law sees a talent under development, somewhere between the acidic pen-portraits of Dr Strangelove and the internationally accessible pratfalls of the Pink Panther films.
One of the twelve most popular films in the UK circa 63, The Wrong Arm of the Law’s stark black and white, no-nonsense comedy harks back to Sellers’ successes like I’m All Right Jack, light-on-sight gags but with a satiric undertow. Graham Stark makes for familiar company, but there’s also a who’s who of British comedy, including Lionel Jeffries, Arthur Mullard, Derek Guyler, Dennis Price, Dick Emery, John Junkin and a tiny role for a young Michael Caine during a Richard Lester-ish sequence shot at Battersea Park funfair.
The notion of leading the British police in a merry dance via quick costume changes is a dated one, but experienced screenwriters Galton and Simpson, with a bit of help from John Antrobus, an eminence grise of Goon comedy and interviewed in a fresh featurette here, do a neat job of making the crooks a sympathetic bunch.
The point of Cliff Owen’s light-hearted film is that the constant malaise of British government and social interaction is as present in the underworld as elsewhere; any moral judgements are put aside to enjoy the fun of the caper. For fans of Sellers, it’s a rich work; his entrepreneurial character shows how well Sellers could stick to a script, before his mania for control led him to some far less disciplined performances. Music from Richard Rodney Bennett and an early role for Nanette Newman seals the deal on a nice slice of comedy nostalgia.
FULLY RESTORED AND RELEASED FOR THE FIRST TIME ON BLU-RAY and DIGITAL from 2nd MAY 2022. Thanks to Studio Canal for access to this title.
Proof the British could still do comedy in the early 60s. always unfairly dismissed because theu weren’t Ealing. Sellers was at the top of his game until he decided he was too big a star to have to make much effort. Heavens Above another classic.
That’s a good shout, not seen Heavens Above for a while. Sellers puts in a good shift here, but he’s a strongly featured player rather than a star who pulls the whole project in different directions. Used to see this kind of stuff in BBC sat mornings in the summer…
BBC’s equivalent of ABC Minors?
Kind of.
I generally find that if something is 50+ years old and someone is taking the time to restore it and sell it as a DVD is 2022, there’s something worth watching.
Is the correct answer, and this is quite a neat little film, not for everyone, I guess, but one of cinema and comedy fans.
I enjoyed one or two of the Pink Panther movies, but I’ve seen Sellers in something else (I can’t even remember what now) and his character/acting left a bad taste in my mouth. I guess I’m not a fan of his style of screen comedy.
Pink Panther Strikes Again is the best one, recommended!
Sounds like a bit of fun. But how am I going to see it in ten seconds? I haven’t much time . . .
Wut? How come you only have ten seconds?
Too late. I’m on to the next big thing.
Wut? Is there anything bigger than this?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biggar,_Saskatchewan
Is that you?
Not for me this nostalgia lark, but glad you enjoyed it.
None of these names appeal to you?
Not now, they were of a time.