This is an absolutely delightful comedy crime flick that will have one smiling throughout. It's not loaded or even peppered with funny lines, or clever quips and witty dialog. Rather, it's a situational comedy - one in which the happenings are the humor. And, this isn't antics either, until near the very end. It's just plain ordinary goings-on, but in a story in which the goings-on are often a hoax or a cover-up or a disguise.
And, what makes "Law and Disorder" such a pleasant, feel-good film to watch, besides the plot and excellent screenplay, is the cast. More than a handful of actors from some of the funniest and best British comedy films of the mid-20th century are here. Robert Morley, Lionel Jeffries, George Coulouris, John Le Mesurier, Meredith Edwards and more are joined by wonder actresses Joan Hickson and Brenda Bruce.
But Michael Redgrave has the main role and is perfect as Percy Brand, who always pleads guilty to some scam or crime he has attempted. From the opening in 1938 when he is released from "one of His Majesty's prisons," Brand goes to his underground friends for an appropriate makeover with clothing, appearance, and souvenirs, etc., to reappear at the home of his sister who is raising his son. So, he serves three years, and then five, etc. Up until the late -1950s. He has returned as a clergyman, as a British officer, and more. Indeed, Percy's quite at home when away from home. Yet, he's never far from home, even when he's halfway around the world.
As of the last trip, his son, now grown, has completed law school and is being assigned as marshal to a prominent judge, Sir Edward Crichton. Robert Morely was never more ostentatious in any other role than he is here as the perfect upholder of the law and the justice system. The one hitch that drives the bulk of this film after Percy's last long trip away from home, is that each time Percy was sentenced to prison in the past, it was by Judge Crichton.
Not wanting his son, Colin Brand (played very well by Jeremy Burnham) to know the truth of his past. Percy must rely on the large cohort of friends from lowly places (i.e., the crime caper underground) to keep son Colin from finding out the truth. And what a frantic, hilarious, last round of goings-on this turns into. It's all much fun and very funny.
Joan Hickson is in her early film years playing Aunt Florence, Percy's sister and Colin's aunt. She's a real card in this role, and a little cards with the help of some marking are her main form of entertainment. Percy's accomplices bring his last arrest to a head by diverting the court proceedings to get Colin out of the way. John Le Mesurier appears as a known misogynistic barrister and judge in a case before Morley's court The bad-mouth parrot case is so obliquely played by Mary and Freddie Cooper (Brenda Bruce and David Hutcheson), that one can't help but laugh, especially as Morley's Chrichton becomes more and more impatient with the whole show.
This is a most delightful and entertaining comedy farce that most movie buffs should enjoy.
