The Wrong Arm of the Law (1963)
1h 34m | PG-13
The crooks in London know how it works. No one carries guns and no one resists the police. Then a new gang appears that go one better. They dress as police and steal from the crooks. This upsets the natural order of the police/criminal relationship and the police and the crooks join forces to catch the IPOs (Impersonating Police Officers), including an armoured car robbery in which the police must help the gangs to set a trap.
Director: Cliff Owen
Studio: Robert Velaise Productions
Genre: Crime, Comedy
Video: 720p
Cast
Peter Sellers
as Pearly Gates
Lionel Jeffries
as Inspector Fred 'Nosey' Parker
Bernard Cribbins
as Nervous O'Toole
Nanette Newman
as Valerie
Davy Kaye
as Trainer King
Bill Kerr
as Jack Coombes
Reviews
Ostensibly, "Pearly Gates" (Peter Sellers) is a French couturier selling posh frocks, but we know in reality he's a crook. Imagine his chagrin when his latest crime falls foul of the police! Imagine how much worse it gets when he discovers that it wasn't the police at all, but a gang who "IPO" (Impersonate Police Officers). That's below the belt! Meantime, the rather supercilious police inspector "Parker" (Lionel Jeffries) starts to get embroiled in this too as his bosses don't much like the idea that there are fake officers out there robbing with impunity. The most unlikely of truces now ensues as both have to bury the hatchet and concoct a plan to entrap their rather shrewd, and well briefed, protagonists. The enormous sum of £500,000 is to be used as bait but what's the betting the plan goes pear-shaped? There's a good dynamic between Sellers and Jeffries here with a well paced and engagingly daft story unravelling over a quickly paced ninety minutes. Some familiar faces make up the supporting cast and the denouement - well I quite liked that! The humour is simple and uncomplicated, relying on some characterful performances and some spirited efforts on screen, and I did quite enjoy this.