In 1750, England is beset by rising crime and a wave of highway robberies, and King George II responds by authorizing a new, professional police force—the Bow Street Runners. At the helm is the loud and formidable Sir Roger Daley, [Bernard Bresslaw], with Captain Desmond Fancey, [Kenneth Williams], and Sergeant Jock Strapp, [Sam Kelly], backing him up. Together they vow to stamp out crime with a mix of clever traps, bold chases, and sharp wit, turning the streets into a proving ground for law and order.
The Runners’ most notorious target is Richard Turpin, [Sid James], a highwayman who has already outsmarted them and even robbed Sir Roger Daley and his wife, Lady Daley, [Margaret Nolan], of money and clothes. Turpin isn’t alone in his mischief: he counts Harriet, [Barbara Windsor], and Tom, [Peter Butterworth], as partners in crime, and the trio pull off a daring coach heist that targets a carriage bearing the faux-French showwoman Madame Desirée, [Joan Sims], and her troupe, the Birds of Paradise.
To close the net, Captain Fancey and Sergeant Strapp head to Upper Dencher, near Turpin’s recent exploits, where they come face to face with Turpin in disguise as the Reverend Flasher. With Turpin are his allies—Tom and Harriet—who have decided how far they’ll go to keep their loot and their identities safe. The plan is to draw Turpin out by conspiring to trap him at the seedy Old Cock Inn, a magnet for criminals and the venue where Madame Desirée and her showgirls perform their provocative routine.
As the sting unfolds, Fancey and Strapp pretend to be crooks on the run, hoping to bait Turpin into a visible misstep. They receive a crucial tip from Maggie, the midwife, [Marianne Stone], who has an eye for the telltale signs of Turpin’s raids and a birthmark that could serve as a dangerous clue. Strapp’s attempt to spy on the suspects leads to a humiliating tumble into a horse trough, a small but memorable setback in a night of misdirection and farce.
Meanwhile, a growing tangle of suspicions begins to close in. Mrs Giles, [Patsy Rowlands], is used as a cover for Turpin’s daytime raids, while the rector’s housekeeper, Martha Hoggett, [Hattie Jacques], starts to piece together the inconsistencies in the alibis surrounding the church jumble sale keeping the gang fed and mobile. The tension rises as Harriet is confronted during the Old Cock Inn scheme, and Fancey recognizes her as the very “man” who had hoodwinked them. A bracelet stolen from Lady Daley surfaces, tying Harriet to Turpin’s string of thefts and tightening the chase.
With the net closing in, the Reverend Flasher pulls off one last, long sermon in a bid to outwit his would-be captors. In a deft escape, he—along with Harriet and Tom—slips across the border, leaving Sir Roger and his men momentarily foiled but not defeated. The caper preserves Turpin’s legend and throws the Bow Street Runners into a comedy of errors that nevertheless advances the pursuit of justice, all told with a wink and a swagger that marks the era’s audacious, satirical humor.
