Greenes Please don't spend money on this.

Lollivan It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Gary The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

Cissy Évelyne It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Tweekums This 1950s crime drama opens with a burglar opening the safe of Stone & Company; he trips the silent alarm and the police are there before he can escape. He isn't caught though; he even opens the door to them claiming to be the night-watchman and suggests it is a false alarm. In the morning when the theft is discovered Detective-Superintendent Tom Halliday is put in charge of the case along with his new sergeant, DS Ward. At first it looks as though it must be an inside job as there burglar had a key and there were only two keys in the office but none sound like the man the police spoke to. Halliday has a hunch that the thief must have experience but had not been caught so looks into similar cases looking for a link; they learn that a string of outwardly unconnected cases elsewhere in the country share one thing in common; each involved a safe made by the same company. The urgency of the case in increased when somebody is killed as the thief and his getaway driver flee another robbery. When their damaged car is found there are few clues; just a copy of The Daily Mail with what looks like the word 'Grange' written on it; it is this one clue that will take Halliday and Ward to Manchester and North Wales before they realise the identity of the man they are after.Anybody expecting plenty of action may be a little disappointed as apart from the man being run over and the final capture of the criminals there is little in the way of action. Instead we see the police following the clues and this is the strength of the story; the way the newspaper was traced from the car to a remote area of North Wales was particularly fascinating. Jack Hawkins and John Stratton put in solid performances as Halliday and Ward; they worked well together and even injected the occasional touch of humour to the proceedings. There is some nice location work; it is clear they went to Wales rather than just filming in the countryside with a few appropriate signs added. The only real weakness was the relationship between Halliday and his son… did children really talk like that in the '50s? Overall a pretty good film and well worth watching if it is on TV.

robert-temple-1 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.

cb49 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.

MIKE WILSON In this cracking black and white police drama, Ealing comes up trumps yet again. Made in 1956, with good locations in and around London, the story concerns Jack Hawkins, as Superintendent Halliday, who has to track down, a very clever cat burglar, who is an expert in disguises.What makes this film so interesting, is that Hawkins, trying to reproduce the character, made a similar film, 2 years later, called 'Gideon of Scotland Yard', which was shot in colour by the great John Ford. Where 'Long Arm' succeeded in every way, 'Gideon' was a shambles. It just proves that the one of greatest directors in Hollywood history, and a good cast , are hamstrung, without a reasonable script. 'Long Arm' holds you in suspense right up the final scene, even when you know, that the cinema code of the day, will not allow the villain to escape. A good supporting cast from a large range of well known British actors, makes this film a must to see. 8 out of 10.