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The Horse's Mouth (film)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| The Horse's Mouth | |
|---|---|
 The Horse's Mouth US Theatrical Poster |
|
| Directed by | Ronald Neame |
| Produced by | John Bryan |
| Written by | Joyce Cary (novel) Alec Guinness (screenplay) |
| Starring | Alec Guinness Kay Walsh Renee Houston Mike Morgan Robert Coote |
| Music by | Adapted from Sergei Prokofiev's "Lieutenant Kije" |
| Cinematography | Arthur Ibbetson |
| Editing by | Anne V. Coates |
| Distributed by | General Film Distributors (1958) (UK) United Artists (1958) (USA) |
| Release date(s) | 1958 |
| Running time | 97 minutes |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Budget | ? |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
The Horse's Mouth is a 1958 film about a London artist trying to paint his grand vision. The film was directed by Ronald Neame, and starred Alec Guinness. It was based on a 1944 novel The Horse's Mouth by Joyce Cary.
Contents |
Gulley Jimson (Alec Guinness) is an unscrupulous, scheming painter living in a dilapidated London houseboat. He lives a very unconventional life, sacrificing comfort and security in the single-minded pursuit of his artistic vision. Throughout the film, Jimson exploits his friends, patrons and acquaintances without the slightest qualm, as he searches for the perfect wall on which to paint. Jimson finds himself followed by an aspiring young artist named "Nosey" who Jimson continually berates to keep him from becoming an artist with such lines as "But why go and live in an asylum before you're sent for?"
The film featured an Academy Award-nominated screenplay by actor Alec Guinness. Guinness' screenplay generally follows the book it was based on, but Guinness focused on Jimson's character and what it means to be an artist, rather than the social and political themes the book explored. The expressionistic "Jimson" paintings featured in the film were actually painted by John Bratby, a member of the English provincial realists artist known as the Kitchen Sink school.
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Alec Guinness | Gulley Jimson |
| Kay Walsh | Miss D. 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 |
This film has been characterized as "one of the best films ever about an artist"[1]. Scott Weinberg of the "Apollo Guide" describes Guinness’ performance as "a devilishly enjoyable character study" that "ranges from ‘mildly dishevelled’ to ‘tragically exhausted’" and also praises Ronald Neame's direction[2].