The Wrong Arm of the Law Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

The Wrong Arm of the Law Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov December 21, 2022

Cliff Owen's "The Wrong Arm of the Law" (1963) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of StudioCanal. The supplemental features on the release include exclusive new program with co-screenwriter John Antrobus; vintage trailer; and archival production stills. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

One of Scotland Yard's best, possibly the very best.

It is easy to understand why the original poster for Cliff Owen’s comedy The Wrong Arm of the Law proudly promotes Peter Sellers’ name and face. In 1963, the great actor had already appeared in a few very successful comedies and was undoubtedly a good box office magnet. However, I think it is fair to declare that the poster, which by the way is reproduced on the cover of this recent Blu-ray release, is rather misleading. Indeed, even though Sellers does spend plenty of time in front of Owen’s camera and shines in familiar ways, he is not the undisputed star of The Wrong Arm of the Law. Lionel Jeffries goes toe-to-toe with Sellers and often easily overshadows him. Bernard Cribbins, Nanette Newman, Arthur Mullard, and John Le Mesurier have smaller but important parts, too. Even a very young Michael Caine pops up as a gas station attendant. In other words, The Wrong Arm of the Law is very much a team effort uniting various established and future stars.

A fair critic will also point out that The Wrong Arm of the Law is not a particularly impressive film. To be clear, it is not a disappointing film either. Indeed, it produces plenty of good laughs, it has admirable energy, and large parts of it are shot very, very well. So, what is the problem? It is an inconsistent film, one that ebbs and flows in some rather awkward ways, suggesting weaknesses in the screenplay or Owen’s interpretation of the material from it. However, it is hard to tell precisely how The Wrong Arm of the Law could have turned out a better film because the individual performances are either very good or excellent. It is just that their cohesiveness is not optimal, but this may have been an unavoidable development. Before I clarify why, here is a summation of the plot:

Three experienced Australian thieves arrive in London determined to get rich quickly, and discover that their local counterparts are a bunch of strikingly naïve simpletons. Shortly after, while disguised as cops, the Australian thieves begin arresting various British thieves, confiscating their loot, and setting them free. Veteran crook Pearly Gates (Sellers), who is running a fancy boutique in the center of London while pretending to be a renowned French haute couture designer, begins to suffer heavy losses after his crew of hapless thieves has repeated encounters with the Australian thieves and decides to restore the old way of doing illegal business. He reaches out to his main competitor, Nervous O’Toole (Cribbins), who has also suffered losses and suspects that Gates has been targeting his crew of thieves, and together they summon all members of The Organization to figure out a strategy to get rid of the Australian thieves. During an emotional mass event where various crime elements debate the best strategy, a decision is made to team up with Scotland Yard, whose top brass are working on their own strategy to stop being embarrassed by the Australian thieves. Gates is then authorized to establish contact, but when he does, he begins working with Inspector Parker (Jeffries), quite possibly the biggest idiot to have ever been hired by Scotland Yard.

The laughs in The Wrong Arm of the Law are almost exclusively a byproduct of the confusion and misunderstanding that emerge between different parties after the Australian thieves go to work. So, the chaos is what generates the comedy. This is a classic cinematic concept that rarely disappoints. But the quality of the laughs and the rhythm of their delivery are not as good as they should have been. As a result, instead of steady, great comedic fireworks, there are sporadic delights that are easily forgettable.

How could Owen have delivered a superior comedy? He was experienced with TV productions, and large parts of The Wrong Arm of the Law convey a familiar tendency to build up and deflate such content. This creates the impression that the stars are trying to do their best work in timed segments, rather than in a feature film that is gradually evolving. While a lot of the stars were excellent performers, in many of these segments, they are rushing and hurting the cohesiveness of their work.

Owen was assisted by cinematographer Ernest Steward, whose credits include such genre films as Deadlier Than the Male, Some Girls Do, and Percy. Steward also lensed multiple episodes of the classic TV show The Professionals.

The Wrong Arm of the Law Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.66:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, The Wrong Arm of the Law arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of StudioCanal.

This film has been digitally remastered and looks quite wonderful now. Excluding a couple of areas where I would have liked to see the blacks managed just a tad better, the visuals are easy to describe as impressive. (An example where the blacks could have been managed better can be seen in screencapture #2 where the jacket sticks out a bit). Delineation, clarity, and depth range from very good to excellent. Density levels are very nice, too. While a few small bumps can be noticed here and there, the fluidity of the visuals is consistently very good. The different ranges of grays and whites are very nicely balanced, so often times background nuances look great. There are no traces of problematic digital corrections. Unsurprisingly, the surface of the visuals looks healthy. Yes, ideally, grain exposure could be slightly better, but at present, there is nothing to be concerned about. I did not encounter any large cuts, debris, blemishes, marks, warped or torn frames to report in our review. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

The Wrong Arm of the Law Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The dialog is clear and easy to follow. However, in different areas of the film, the audio can become noticeably thin. The change is never distracting, but it makes it easy to remember that The Wrong Arm of the Law was directed many decades ago. I thought that dynamic intensity was quite good. Can a newly restored audio sound dramatically better? Well, without knowing how the original audio has aged, what are its limitations, and what type of work was done on the audio when the current remaster was prepared, it is difficult to tell. If I had to guess, I would say that the thinning that is mentioned above could be addressed during an extensive restoration, but I doubt that there would be a significant difference in quality.

The Wrong Arm of the Law Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• The Long Arm of the Screenwriter - in this exclusive new program, co-screenwriter John Antrobus discusses his career, work on the screenplay for The Wrong Arm of the Law, and how the stars of the film behaved during the production process. Mr. Antrobus has some very interesting comments about his friendship with Peter Sellers. The program was produced for StudioCanal in 2022. In English, not subtitled. (20 min).

• Trailer - presented here is a remastered vintage trailer for The Wrong Arm of the Law. In English, not subtitled. (4 min).

• Stills Gallery - a collection of vintage production stills. (1 min).

The Wrong Arm of the Law Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It is difficult to place The Wrong Arm of the Law among Peter Sellers' best films. It is not because it is a terrible film, but rather because the iconic actor's name is attached to some absolutely brilliant films. (For what it's worth, I consider The Party a brilliant film. It is one of my all-time favorite comedies and each year, right around this time, I like to revisit it with friends and relatives). Also, I must clarify that The Wrong Arm of the Law is very much a team effort, so if you approach it expecting Sellers to be its biggest star, you are likely setting yourself up for disappointment. Did I deflate your enthusiasm for The Wrong Arm of the Law? This was not my intention. I just want you to approach it with the right expectations. It has flaws but it is a pretty decent film, so if you do, you will enjoy it. This recent release from StudioCanal offers a very fine organic presentation of The Wrong Arm of the Law and has an interesting exclusive new program with one of the film's co-screenwriters, John Antrobus. RECOMMENDED.