In this witty British courtroom comedy, a junior barrister named Tony Stevens [Michael Craig] is tired of a life filled with routine briefs about sewers and petty fees. When a high-paying brief lands on his desk—one that concerns the restitution of conjugal rights for Frances Pilbright [Mary Peach]—his world tilts. Frances is the niece of the senior barrister Sir John Pilbright [Roland Culver], and the god-daughter of the instructing solicitor, which makes the case all the more tempting for Stevens to seize for the opposite side. With a mix of scheming and sly cunning, he manages to maneuver himself onto the opposing brief, setting in motion a tangled legal drama.
Stevens’ new assignment sits alongside Sir John in a case centered on a house of ill-repute run by Gale Tornado [Joan Sims], who employs a troupe of exotic dancers. The courtroom atmosphere is charged with misdirection and distraction as Stevens tries to pull focus from the proceedings—at one point even disguising marmalade on his collar to deflect attention—while the opposing side’s arguments begin to take shape. The film uses these moments to sketch a portrait of legal wrangling that is as much about personal maneuvering as it is about the law.
Pilbright fights fiercely for her client, a woman whose wartime marriage was disrupted when the registration office’s records were destroyed in the blitz. The narrative details how the woman claims that, after another bombing raid, she lost her memory and moved away, only to recover it later and rekindle the belief that she was married. The complexity intensifies as Stevens assigns his room-mate Hubert to relay the opposing brief, leading to a clash of strategies as Stevens defends Sid Pudney [Ron Moody]—the man she claims is her husband—who denies the marriage ever took place in the first place. The two barristers spar both in their offices and in the courtroom, trading barbs and wits as the case unfolds.
As the pressure mounts and Pilbright, facing a potential loss, delivers a furious declaration in court. She shouts that “the Law is an Ass!” which Stevens, moved by her passion, blurts into solidarity. The presiding judge, Mr Justice Haddon [James Robertson Justice], warns that such zeal will be disciplined, tempering the courtroom’s tempers with a stern reminder of procedure and propriety.
Outside the chamber, Stevens overhears an exchange between the parties and witnesses Sid burn their wedding certificate, a moment that signals a dramatic turn. The couple, it seems, had indeed been married, but the wife had bigamously wed another affluent man who now stands to gain considerably from her wealth. Her legal maneuver had been designed to derail any bigger claims and to shield herself from bigamy charges while preserving access to newfound riches. The revelation reframes the entire case, exposing the depths of deception at play.
As the truth comes to light, both barristers realize that their clients have manipulated them—and, in a twist of mutual fate, Stevens and Pilbright discover that they have fallen in love. The conclusion fuses sharp legal farce with tender romantic irony, leaving the audience with a smile at the way truth, vanity, and affection collide in a courtroom comedy where the pursuit of justice is colored by personal motives and unexpected affection.
> the Law is an Ass!
- Tony Stevens [Michael Craig]
- Frances Pilbright [Mary Peach]
- Sir John Pilbright [Roland Culver]
- Sid Pudney [Ron Moody]
- Gale Tornado [Joan Sims]
- Mr Justice Haddon [James Robertson Justice]
- Gale Tornado’s troupe includes exotic dancers [Amanda Barrie], [Judy Carne]
