Law and Disorder

Michael Redgrave - Percy Brand
Robert Morley - Judge Crichton
Joan Hickson - Aunt Florence
Lionel Jeffries - Major Proudfoot
Ronald Squire - Colonel Masters
Elizabeth Sellars - Gina Laselle
Jeremy Burnham - Colin Brand
John Le Mesurier - Sir Humphrey Pomfret

Sub-Ealing comedy based on the novel Smuggler's Circuit by Denys Roberts. Habitual crook Percy Brand (Michael Redgrave) has spent most of his adult life in and out of jail for a catalogue of fraudulent crimes and cons. His son Colin (Jeremy Burnham), has always been led to believe his fathers frequent absences were due to missionary work, but when Colin becomes a barrister and takes a position on the bench as an aide to Percy’s arch-nemesis Judge Crichton (Robert Morley), Percy decides to retire from crime and move to a small fishing village in the hope of going straight.

The temptation of easy money becomes too much for Percy too resist, and he begins using shark-fishing trips as a method of smuggling brandy from France. Word of his successful fishing trips soon reaches criminal colleague Major Proudfoot (Lionel Jeffries), who approaches Percy with a plan to smuggle emeralds into the country through customs. The plan goes awry and Percy is arrested - and faces the prospect of meeting his own son in the courtroom when his case is heard. Percy, his wife (Joan Hickson), and the gang spring into action to save him the embarrassment by organising an elaborate scheme to frame Judge Crichton for smuggling by planting goods in his car. The Judge is later arrested and finally ends up sharing a ride to court in a police van with Percy, Percy tells his story to the Judge who arranges that father and son don’t meet in the court – and Percy returns to jail for another stretch.