A somewhat vulgar but dedicated painter searches for the perfect realization of his artistic vision, much to the chagrin of others.
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Title: The Horse's Mouth (1958)
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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 |
Edit
Plot Summary
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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. Written by Bruce Cameron <dumarest@midcoast.com>
Plot Keywords:
screwball comedy | painter | river thames | painter as artist | animal in title |Taglines:
A Really Champion Show! See more »Genres:
ComedyParents Guide:
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Details
Country:
UKLanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
11 November 1958 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Straight from the Horse's Mouth See more »Company Credits
Show more on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
Mono (Westrex Recording System)Color:
Color (Technicolor)Aspect Ratio:
1.66 : 1
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[Referring to prison]
See more »
by Sergei Prokofiev (as Prokofieff)
Arranged by Kenneth V. Jones
Conducted by Muir Mathieson
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Did You Know?
Trivia
Joyce Carey, the author of the novel which inspired this movie, based the role of the self-destructive painter on his good friend, the great Welsh poet Dylan Thomas. See more »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. See more »Quotes
Gulley Jimson: [to Nosey] Now see what you've done. Got me locked out for life.[Referring to prison]
See more »
Soundtracks
Lieutenant Kijeby Sergei Prokofiev (as Prokofieff)
Arranged by Kenneth V. Jones
Conducted by Muir Mathieson
See more »
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One of the best movies about art ever made, `The Horse's Mouth' examines the relationships between vision and creation, between art and commerce, and most importantly between art and criticism; and makes us laugh at the same time. Alec Guinness is inspired (when was he ever not inspired, come to think of it) as Gully Jimson, a painter of unlimited ideas who has met with only limited success in the art marketplace partly because he is so contemptuous of that marketplace. His search for the perfect wall on which to paint, and the subject matter he ultimately winds up painting on one of the walls found in his search, is priceless. The Joyce Cary novel, and its companions in the Jimson trilogy (`Herself Surprised' and `To Be a Pilgrim') are well worth reading, but this movie is a very British, very engaging classic. In many ways, it's the movie that `Pollack' (good though it was) should have been.