Oct 4, 2023
Law and Disorder (1958)
"Right, now listen boys, it's all lined up: we're getting rid of the judge."
"What?"
"Knock off a judge? You must be raving, we'll spend the rest of our lives in clink."
"Here, let me out!"
"We don't have to touch him. Police are gonna arrest him."
"Oh, that's better. Thought we'd turned nasty."
#law and disorder#1958#british cinema#charles crichton#t.e.b. clarke#michael redgrave#robert morley#ronald squire#joan hickson#lionel jeffries#elizabeth sellars#brenda bruce#jeremy burnham#george coulouris#meredith edwards#harold goodwin#john le mesurier#allan cuthbertson#michael trubshawe#sam kydd#john paul#minor brit comedy whose irreverence and slightness is really a strength; there isn't a lot to this‚ but it's honestly#so charming and so feather light that you can't help but be kind of swept along with it. a lot of what works rests on Redgrave's shoulders#in a beautifully measured turn as an unrepentant con artist who views increasingly long stretches in prison as a fair trade for the money#he can make and put away for the betterment of his son (who of course‚ knowing nothing of his father's 'work'‚ chooses to pursue a#career in the law). Morley at first appears to be playing the same kind of larger than life cartoonish buffoon he so often did but to the#credit of the film his character is revealed to have more nuance and more depth than expected in the final act. the supporting cast is wall#to wall brit character acting legends and that was the main appeal for me; nearly every speaking role is taken by someone of note‚ even if#(as in the case of permafave Alfie Burke) it's literally just 30 seconds of screentime. disposable fluff at the end of the day‚ but a#delightful kind of fluff‚ and a moreish kind‚ like cotton candy.
