The Long Arm [DVD]

Jack Hawkins is brilliant in this film

Made at a time when Scotland Yard could have a simply frightful time catching a smash and grab raider, apart from anything else; when the old hands can remember criminals whole families and what prisons they are/were in; when an anonymous caller gives a tip off and all Scotland Yard swings immediately and earnestly into action; when crimes were recorded on index cards and a whole army of men employed to manually cross check everything; when department store sales clerks spoke with an Oxbridge accent; when everybody smoked; when kids thought it was wizard to have lemonade (with straws) at birthday parties; when your wife worried about you; and when you called your quarry 'chummy'...This is so cheesy by modern standards that it's almost a self-parody - almost, but not quite. (In fact I did burst out laughing when Jack Hawkins was speculating about 'chummy', with a anguished look on his face). Nevertheless, it still manages to tell a great story and has some glorious outdoor photography of the period, especially central London. Hawkins is great, playing his role with dogged determination and typical British resolve.Another thing that strikes me watching these old b/w films is just how brilliantly even the minor characters are played. Watch out for Meredith Edwards - the garage owner in Wales, and particularly the flawless understated acting of the woman in her only scene who offers Hawkins a cup of tea, but he declines).Great fun from a long gone era and highly recommended for many reasons including, but not limited to, the story.

I first saw this film on TV 20 years ago on a wet Sunday afternoon and loved it. I recorded it on VHS the next time it was shown on telly and bought it when it came out on commercial VHS. Great to see it now on DVD.It's a glimpse into a lost world - 1950s Britain - and all the more charming for it. A surprising amount of outdoor location shooting adds to the authenticity. Facsinating to see the Royal Festival Hall, for example, standing alone before the South Bank was developed. I went a while ago to Long Acre to check out Stone & Company Ltd - it's still there and looks exactly the same (the building that is). The detective work is logical, methodical and low-tech. Scraping some coat fibres of a car radiator is about the height of the forensic work.Some nice touches of humour too. Example: Jack Hawkins complaining that his Sergeant is running off to a telephone box to call his girlfriend. "You haven't seen her," comes the reply, "She's worth three shillings for three minutes." That must have had them blushing in the 50s.Things only slow a bit when we're dealing with the Hawkins domestic front but that's a small complaint and was no doubt intended to inject a little social realism.Find yourself a quiet afternoon, make yourself a cup of tea, crack open the custard creams and enjoy.

Very difficult to get hold of until now, but worth watching.Jack Hawkins is the over-worked Police detective, given the task of cracking the case, before the clever burglar cracks another safe. However, it isn't as easy as all that. The burglar is dead and he doesn't crack safes, he opens them with a third key (hence the American title for this film "The Third Key"). The crime of burglary becomes murder, when the deadly wife of the "dead" safe-cracker, aims the getaway car at the night watchman and runs him over, in her desperate bid to get away.A trip to Wales in a Rolls Royce, a missed trip to Farnborough airshow with his lad and the detective is now firmly on the case! The net is closing on the criminals and there's only one place to catch them: at the Royal Festival Hall.A good plot, a quality cast and the usual, polished acting of Jack Hawkins, makes this a film to watch and keep! It's good to see it out on DVD!

When I was in college - more years ago than I'm interested in revealing - I saw this movie at a theater that specialized in "imported" material - particularly French and British (I saw "Black Orpheus" there, so not just French and British). I really liked the character Jack Hawkins played. To the point I made it a point to see anything he was in after that. Kind of a double-whammy in that respect, since Jack Hawkins was a brilliant actor, and most of the things he was in were of the highest caliber. Well... this movie is no exception. I enjoyed it the first time, and I've enjoyed again several times since I've owned the DVD. A well-written story, and a couple of twists thrown in just to keep you on your toes. Even knowing the whole story doesn't keep me from re-viewing it, since the acting makes it worth the effort.

Crime busting. The film is interesting in its views of Post World War II London, its suburban houses and 1950s cars. It is also interesting to see how the Metropolitan Police worked at this time. Jack Hawkins makes a notable performance. The plot follows the story of Scotland Yard and its crime busters in 1950s London.

I prefer to watch my old black and white films, the only thing that annoys me is that they were all made to short. I started to remember that I had seen this movie when I was a child, when it was coming to the end. I thought it was brilliant! Because I was quite young, I could remember the film, but I could never recall the title, but luckily for me there is a site which specialise in classic movies, and the great thing is that they are starting to restore and remaster them. The sound quality was a bit poor, but that didn't spoill my enjoyment of this film. The picture quality on my DVD was excellent. This film is worth watching as a Sunday afternoon matinee, or on a rainy cold day. I watched Laughter in Paradise and Stage Fright, quite often, and I've already watched this DVD several times over already. This DVD is a definate much watch movie.

Great film if you like classic detective stories