Inspector Hornleigh on Holiday (1939)

It comes as no surprise when Inspector Hornleigh and his assistant, Sergeant Bingham, go to enjoy the winds and rains on their annual seaside vacation, when they run into a "busman's ... See full summary »

Director:

Walter Forde

Writers:

Sidney Gilliat, Leonard Reginald Gribble (novel) (as Leo Grex)

Stars:

Gordon Harker, Alastair Sim, Linden Travers

Cast

Cast overview:
Gordon Harker	...	Inspector Hornleigh
Alastair Sim	...	Sergeant Bingham
Linden Travers	...	Miss Angela Meadows
Wally Patch	...	Police Sergeant
Edward Chapman	...	Captain Edwin Fraser
Philip Leaver	...	Bradfield
Kynaston Reeves	...	Dr. Manners
John Turnbull	...	Chief Constable
Wyndham Goldie	...	Sir George Winbeck
Cyril Conway	...	Minor Role

Storyline

It comes as no surprise when Inspector Hornleigh and his assistant, Sergeant Bingham, go to enjoy the winds and rains on their annual seaside vacation, when they run into a "busman's holiday." One of their fellow boarders at Balmoral Guest House, Captain Fraser of the Royal Navy, goes out one dismal night, with his pet terrier, and is found crushed and burned to death, in his wrecked roadster at the foot of a cliff. Hornleigh and Bingham, residing at Brighthaven incognito and the last people to see Fraser,are taken into custody by the local police. It was impossible to identify the charred body and the dog is missing. Hornleigh, suspecting murder, identifies himself and goes to work on the case. Hornleigh proves that the crash was neither suicide nor accident, and that the body is not Fraser, despite an identifying tattoo on the back of the hand.

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Plot Keywords:

crushed to death | burned alive | sequel | based on novel | character name in title | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Mystery

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Did You Know?

Trivia

The first feature of Michael Denison

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Goofs

When Bingham and Hornleigh think they are talking to the villain 'Spider Joe' on the telephone Hornleigh doesn't disguise his voice. Surely Bingham would have worked out who was at the other end of the line.

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Quotes

Inspector Hornleigh: Now I'm the sort of bloke who's seasick when he looks at the Serpentine, but I know the difference between port and starboard and Captain Fraser, late of the Royal Navy, does not!

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Connections

Follows Inspector Hornleigh (1939)

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Soundtracks

Half and Half
(uncredited)
Written by Al Goodhart Al Hoffman and Maurice Sigler

User Reviews

The best of the three

My wife and I are on a mega B&W "screen in" at the moment (mostly British - the preferred genre) and Saturday nights are like the old cinema used to be! Without the usherette.

However, the two previous reviewers have said just about everything you need to know about this film - Harker and, especially, Sim are superb.

Look out for the very subtle and much underplayed joke with the billiard cue - classic! Had me bursting out with laughter when I noticed it, and I'm sure this was the deft touch of Alastair Sim.

Minimum of ten lines of text it said! So, what more can be said apart from looking out for actors like Kynaston Reeves (the 'beak' in the BBC television's 1950s Billy Bunter) and many much loved uncredited character actors such as Irene Handl, Peter Bull, Megs Jenkins, Derek Farr et al. I wouldn't put the duo of Harker and Sim quite in the Laurel and Hardy league but it is a great shame that there were only three made.

Is that enough to post?

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 December 1939 (USA)

Also Known As:

Inspector Hornleigh on Vacation

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century-Fox Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

B.A.F. Sound System

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1