The Horse's Mouth (1958)

A somewhat vulgar but dedicated painter searches for the perfect realization of his artistic vision, much to the chagrin of others.

Director:

Ronald Neame

Writers:

Joyce Cary (novel), Alec Guinness (screenplay)

Stars:

Alec Guinness, Kay Walsh, Renee Houston

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 5 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Alec Guinness	...	Gulley Jimson
Kay Walsh	...	Dee Coker
Renee Houston	...	Sara Monday
Mike Morgan	...	Nosey
Robert Coote	...	Sir William Beeder
Arthur Macrae	...	A.W. Alabaster
Veronica Turleigh	...	Lady Beeder
Michael Gough	...	Abel
Reginald Beckwith	...	Capt. Jones
Ernest Thesiger	...	Hickson
Gillian Vaughan	...	Lollie

Storyline

Gulley Jimson is broke, difficult, conniving, uncouth, and a welcher, but an artist. The visions in his head may not really satisfy him when realized, but the quest continues, for the perfect wall. The Beeders leave for six weeks of vacation, and return to find a seven thousand pound committment, and the wall of their living room a national treasure, even though living with a wall mural of feet is not their cup of tea. Then, in a bombed out church scheduled for demolition, THE wall that can become his vision.

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Plot Keywords:

screwball comedy | painter | river thames | painter as artist | animal in title | 

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Taglines:

A Really Champion Show!

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English French Italian Spanish Cantonese Norse, Old Portuguese

Release Date:

11 November 1958 (USA)

Also Known As:

Straight from the Horse's Mouth

Filming Locations:

Wormwood Scrubs Prison, Du Cane Road, East Acton, London, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Knightsbridge Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Sir Alec Guinness felt that an educated accent for Gulley Jimson would be suited to an artist, but was not right for an eccentric. "So I tried to find a voice in which no one would be able to detect an accent of any sort, a kind of gritty, rough manner of speaking. When I found it, I felt myself free to just relax on that and say the lines as they came."

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Goofs

(at around 12 mins) Gully Jimson is served a pint of beer in the pub. The amount of beer in the glass varies inconsistently in subsequent shots.

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Quotes

Gulley Jimson: What are you doing?
Miss D. Coker: I'm saying my prayers; I forgot them.
Gulley Jimson: I thought you hated G-d.
Miss D. Coker: Maybe I do.
Gulley Jimson: Why do you pray then?
Miss D. Coker: Well, he's our Father, isn't he?
Gulley Jimson: That's a funny reason.

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Connections

Referenced in The 52nd Annual Academy Awards (1980)

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Soundtracks

Lieutenant Kije
by Sergei Prokofiev (as Prokofieff)
Arranged by Kenneth V. Jones
Conducted by Muir Mathieson

User Reviews

Ageless, clever, endearing comedy

"Horse's Mouth" certainly stands up well in it's advanced age; at 45 years old it has remained as timeless as any of the great comedic films.

One IMDb writer has tagged Gully as a "vulgar" painter, which goes to show that the sensitivities this film violated are still around. Pinching your loving ex's bum and tickling the rich lady's knee (shades of Groucho), though, are pretty tame today.

Gully Jimson is a rich character, Chaplin-like, who single-mindedly pursues painting while disillusioning aspiring young Nosey about the artist's life. All growled on tiptoes by one of film's classic great actors.

Jimson is a man who's given up all else, including health, wealth, conventional relationships, to live in a leaky houseboat with a vision. But as the story develops it, like all great literature, manages to puncture almost all of life's rationalizing balloons. Jimson is valorized as is Don Quixote, without suggesting that his hero's journey is a painless one.

All is set in a colorful environment with a delightful if conventionally unpolished cast, all the improbably gleeful turns that make the Marx movies so delightful, and a director who contrives seamlessly with Guiness to create a clever and hilarious marvel that can be enjoyed over and over.

Heck yeah, there's even a chase scene! And pull your socks up!

The DVD version includes a short by Pennebaker that feels as fresh and contemporary, accompanied by a Duke Ellington tune, which played along with "Horse's" original release.