''Law and Disorder'' is a 1940

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

crime film Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

directed by David MacDonald and starring

Alastair Sim Alastair George Bell Sim, CBE (9 October 1900 – 19 August 1976) was a Scottish character actor who began his theatrical career at the age of thirty and quickly became established as a popular West End performer, remaining so until his ...

Diana Churchill Diana Spencer-Churchill (11 July 1909 – 20 October 1963) was the eldest daughter of British statesman Sir Winston Churchill and Clementine Churchill, Baroness Spencer-Churchill. Personal life Diana Churchill was born at 33 Eccleston ...

and Barry K. Barnes. The screenplay concerns a young

solicitor A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...

who defends a number of petty criminals accused of

sabotage Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. One who engages in sabotage is a ''saboteur''. Saboteurs typically try to conceal their identitie ...

. The film was made at Highbury Studios, with sets designed by

art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...

James A. Carter. The film premiered at

Gaumont Haymarket The Odeon Haymarket was a cinema on Haymarket, London. Three cinemas occupied the site between 1925 and 1996, predecessors being Capitol Cinema (1925–1936) and Gaumont Haymarket (1937–1959). It became the Odeon Haymarket in 1962, before closing ...

in London on 7 June 1940.The Times, 7 June 1940; pg. 4, col. 6: ''Picture Theatres - Gaumont: Law and Disorder''
Linked 2017-02-04

Cast

as Samuel Blight *

as Janet Preston * Barry K. Barnes as Larry Preston * Edward Chapman as Inspector Bray *

Austin Trevor Claude Austin Trevor Schilsky (7 October 1897 – 22 January 1978) was an Irish actor who had a long career in film and television. He played the parson in John Galsworthy's ''Escape'' at the world premiere in London's West End in 1926 an ...

as Heinrichs * Ruby Miller as Mrs Honeycombe *

Leo Genn Leopold John Genn (9 August 190526 January 1978) was an English actor and barrister. Distinguished by his relaxed charm and smooth, "black velvet" voice, he had a lengthy career in theatre, film, television, and radio; often playing aristocr ...

Geoffrey Sumner Geoffrey Sumner (20 November 1908, Ilfracombe, Devon – 29 September 1989, Alderney, Channel Islands) was a British actor. As well as appearing in a number of films, he was also a commentator for British Movietone News., His parents were Edmund ...

Glen Alyn Glenore Jean Pointing (1913–1984), known professionally as Glen Alyn, was an Australian actress who appeared in British films from the 1930s until 1957. Originally a dancer in West End revue, she made her film debut in '' The Outsider'' (1931 ...

Torin Thatcher Torin Herbert Erskine Thatcher (15 January 1905 – 4 March 1981) was a British actor who was noted for his flashy portrayals of screen villains. Personal life Thatcher was born in Bombay, British India, to British parents, Torin James Blair T ...

Carl Jaffe Carl Jaffe (21 March 1902 – 12 April 1974) was a German actor. Jaffe trained on the stage in his native Hamburg, Kassel and Wiesbaden before moving to Berlin, where his career began to develop. In 1933 Jaffe changed his stage name to Fran ...

Cyril Smith Sir Cyril Richard Smith (28 June 1928 – 3 September 2010) was a prominent British politician who after his death was revealed to have been a prolific serial sex offender against children. A member of the Liberal Party, he was Member of ...

Critical reception

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...

'' rated the film 2 out of 4 stars, writing that "The plot is not much, but the script is packed with wisecracks and one-liners that give this picture some needed pizazz. Enjoyable on its own level."

References

External links

* 1940 films British spy comedy films British crime comedy films Films set in London 1940s crime comedy films 1940s spy comedy films Films directed by David MacDonald (director) Films shot at Highbury Studios British black-and-white films 1940 comedy films 1940s English-language films 1940s British films {{comedy-crime-film-stub