The Long Arm (1957)

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

Very solid brit crime drama. Fine performance from Jack Hawkins. Thankfully, not so much stiff upper lip as we were used, the humour between Hawkins and his sidekick the John Stratton bubbles along and the mechanics of the plot is nicely constructed and presented. A veritable glut of fine British actors both future stars like Ian Bannon and Stratford Johns and small part favourites like Sam Kydd and Harold Goodwin. Also keep an eye out for a young Nicholas Parsons playing a copper. If you're a resident of London it will be fascinating looking at the sites of our capital and seeing how much it has changed. An undiscovered gem worth digging out

This is a superb police detection drama, with Jack Hawkins as the warm-hearted focus of a rather complex crime saga. The best supporting performance is by Ursula Howells, who brilliantly conveys neurotic menace and desperation in just a few scenes. The young Ian Bannen is killed off very quickly, but already in this early appearance we can see his superior qualities working on screen. This 1956 British film is clearly an attempt to emulate the 1940s and 1950s Hollywood films such as 'The House on 92nd Street', directed by Henry Hathaway, since it also portrays stolid and patient police work, shown in loving detail. There are no 'noir' elements to this drama, and the crime is just crime, with no psychology or angst. The plot has some intriguing novelties. In the first safe robbery at the beginning of the film, the thief remains at the scene of the crime and pretends to be a night watchman, lets the police in, shows sympathy and bewilderment, and then makes his escape after they have gone. The whole case really is a brain-teaser, and well worth viewing by any chess player or detective enthusiast. It is a superior British film of its genre.

I echo Mike Wilson's views on this film, it is the classic British crime drama. Jack Hawkins is superb (and I feel that John Gregson's TV portrayal of Gideon was based on this). It even has little touches of humour which succeed in making the movie real. I would also agree with Mike that the later Gideon of Scotland Yard is poor in comparison, if Jack Hawkins had played the character in the same manner as he played Supt. Halliday, it could have been perfect. The movie has just been re-issued in the UK (Feb. 2003) on VHS.

Apart from the unique acting style of Jack Hawkins (before his so sad illness), one thing which marks this film out from modern detective yarns is that the detective work follows logical sequences - little depends on chance and nothing on fantastic coincidences.It is a rattling good yarn - I only wish the same could be said of todays films.And the supporting cast!!! Ian Bannen gets run over and killed and (Sir) Alec McCowan is an unimportant doctor. But everyone has to start somewhere.Those were the daysGerald (aged 72)