Your blood may run cold, but you now find yourself pinioned to the story.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

This wonderful film was written by the legendary Galton and Simpson, and I invite you to watch it purely to savour the authentic Hancock dialogue throughout, even though the lad 'imself isn't in it. He's there in spirit in every scene, however. Crook Peter Sellers: "I'm planning a job so big it'll make Maigret's pipe fall out." That's slightly unconvincing coming from Sellers, but it's pure Hancock. It's like discovering a lost (extended) episode of Hancock's Half Hour.

THE WRONG ARM OF THE LAW is an ensemble British comedy courtesy of writers Galton and Simpson, the duo most famously responsible for STEPTOE AND SON. It features Peter Sellers as the leader of a gang of robbers who are being driven to distraction by the arrival of some newcomers who have been dressing up as policemen in order to carry off their too-successful raids.This is a farcical black-and-white comedy in which everybody is a rival and even your own gang members can't be trusted. Sellers holds the thing together but the one who really shines here is Lionel Jeffries as the stuffy copper who becomes an unlikely ally during an uneasy alliance. The film is chock full of famous faces like Bernard Cribbins, Nanette Newman, John Le Mesurier, Arthur Mullard and Graham Stark, and they all seem to be having a good time. You will too.

My DVD was the one that came in the 3 disc boxed set, along with Never Let Go and Soft Beds, Hard Battles - released by ITV DVD.Firstly, this is absolutely classic Sellers and British 1960s crime comedy at its peak and worthy of 8/10, except this print has washed out highlights and dark blacks, very contrasty results and which I'm sure (but cannot be certain) looked better in this respect on TV. Other times (different scenes) it looks fine, providing a distracting continuation. Anyway, to the film itself - Fast moving, cheeky and often with a real sense of 'situation', there's panda cars whizzing about in real London streets - and Jags and Triumphs careering down a surprising amount of countryside lanes, presumably just a stone's throw from London (& an airfield). We see Seller's Cor Blimey cockney crime-lord and Bernard Cribben's Irish counter gang clash. A gentleman's agreement with the constabulary, (headed by Lionel Jeffries and John Le Mesurier) and Pearly Gates' regular load of crooks allow for a violence free life for both parties. But when Nervous O'Toole's (Cribbens) lot impersonate PC's themselves, they are seen to be playing unfairly, hence the 'wrong arm of the law'. Pearly then sort of joins forces with Scotland Yard to flush out these new crims on the block...Nanette Newman, as Seller's missus adds some glamour and subject for the typical Seller's swooning, the sort we had in 1967's Casino Royale. Pearly runs a frock/gown fashion business as a front to his shadier dealings and this aspect slots in neatly. Whether one follows the ins and outs of the criminal proceedings, or not, it's the witty dialogue and situations that raise the film plus the huge plethora of British acting talent that pop up - and often unexpectedly.Sellers is himself, through and through, so no surprises there and so guarantees a high degree of watchability and entertainment. The swarms of regular cops look very ordinary and functional and contrast nicely with their more comical stars, who are all on good form. Somehow though, it's the twitchy Bernard Cribbens that makes the picture as we often associate him with more serious roles whilst Lionel Jeffries definitely takes the honours as the daftest/most comical character of all.

This isn't one of Peter Sellers' best films, though it still is worth a look. It's a crime spoof about a gang that dresses up like the police and robs the crooks once they've committed their jobs. This aspect of the film is okay, but what I really liked was how the police and organized crime worked together to stop this masquerading gang! They didn't seem to like how this gang upset the unwritten rules between the cops and the robbers so they combined resources to find and stop them! The best part of this was the role played by Lionel Jeffries as the Inspector. While he was a supporting actor in the film, his performance really overshadowed Sellers'. That isn't to say that Sellers did a bad job--he was wonderful as the criminal mastermind. But Jeffries played the stupid policeman so well that you couldn't help but look forward to when he was in the film.This is a decent movie with a very good ending, but the film falls far short of the wonderful and near-perfect Ealing crime comedies (THE LAVENDER HILL MOB and THE LADYKILLERS). About the only serious negatives are that there are some real lulls in the film--it just didn't sustain the humor throughout.