The Horse’s Mouth (1958): Cast & Plot
The Horse’s Mouth is a 1958 comedy directed by Ronald Neame, starring Alec Guinness as Gulley Jimson, Michael Gough and Veronica Turleigh. It runs 1 hour 35 minutes.
- Released
- Runtime
- 1h 35m (95 min)
- Director
- Ronald Neame
- Genre
- Comedy
- Original language
-
English - Studio
- Knightsbridge Films
- After the credits
- No No extra scene
What Is The Horse’s Mouth About?
The premise of The Horse’s Mouth without spoilers. The whole story is in the plot summary further down.
Gulley Jimson, a boorish aging artist freshly out of prison, seeks a new art project. He squats in the Beeder family’s penthouse while they vacation, paints a mural, pawns their valuables, and with sculptor Abel accidentally blasts a hole in the floor. His next ambition is a massive wall in an abandoned church.
The Horse’s Mouth Themes & Keywords
· 50 tags- troubled artist
- london england
- house boat
- screwball comedy
- eccentricity
- black cat
- money
- nude female model
- luxury apartment
- butler
- imposture
- sculptor
+38 more Show fewer
- art gallery
- charwoman
- drunkenness
- incarceration
- artist's model
- wealth
- art patronage
- constable
- debt
- pub
- ex husband ex wife relationship
- artistic integrity
- kitchen sink surrealism
- barmaid
- william blake quotation
- podophilia
- foot fetish
- aspiring painter
- female nudity
- roll of toilet paper
- mural painting
- art student
- building demolition
- bulldozer
- wealthy patron
- sculpture
- comedy of manners
- satire comedy
- patron of the arts
- quest
- paint by numbers
- riot
- abstract expressionism
- eccentric artist
- art class
- farce comedy
- expressionism
- river thames
The Horse’s Mouth Cast & Characters
Alec Guinness leads the cast as Gulley Jimson, with Michael Gough as Abel and Veronica Turleigh as Lday Beeder. Directed by Ronald Neame; 41 actors are credited in all.
- Director Ronald Neame
-
Alec Guinness as Gulley Jimson -
Michael Gough as Abel - Veronica Turleigh as Lday Beeder
- Ernest Thesiger as Hickson
Also Starring in The Horse’s Mouth
· 37 more- Mike Morgan Nosey
- Kay Walsh Dee Coker
- Robert Coote Sir William Beeder
- Arthur Macrae A.W. Alabaster
- Renée Houston Sara Monday
- Joan Hickson Lady in Gallery Queue (uncredited)
- John Lynn Man in Queue at Tate Gallery (uncredited)
- Clive Revill Art Student (uncredited)
- Peter Bull Man in Taxi (uncredited)
- May Hallatt Charwoman (uncredited)
- Reginald Beckwith Capt. Jones
- Timothy Bateson Clerk to Borough Surveyor (uncredited)
- Fred Griffiths Man Delivering Sculpture Block (uncredited)
- Jim Brady Workman (uncredited)
- Richard Leech Hodges (uncredited)
- Victor Brooks Foreman (uncredited)
Show all 41 cast members Show fewer cast members
- John Adams Police Officer (uncredited)
- Rosalind Knight Art Student (uncredited)
- David Robinson Bit Role (uncredited)
- Ernie Rice Onlooker at Demolition of Wall (uncredited)
- Richard Caldicot Roberts (uncredited)
- Chris Adcock Workman (uncredited)
- Hugh Latimer Photographer (uncredited)
- John Kidd Pawnbroker (uncredited)
- Rose Howlett Cook (uncredited)
- Jack Chissick Bit Role (uncredited)
- John Norman Bit Role (uncredited)
- Gillian Vaughan Lollie
- Andy Alston Workman (uncredited)
- Tony Spears Man in Queue at Tate Gallery (uncredited)
- Jeremy Judge Dickie (uncredited)
- Terry Cashfield Bit Role (uncredited)
- Mary Davies Pretty Girl (uncredited)
- Garry Leeman Bit Role (uncredited)
- Jackie Martin Bit Role (uncredited)
- Sally Muggeridge Bit Role (uncredited)
- Elton Ollivierre Black Model (uncredited)
More from Ronald Neame
More films directed by Ronald Neame, best-rated first: The Poseidon Adventure, The Chalk Garden, Scrooge and Meteor.
The Horse’s Mouth Plot Summary
What happens in The Horse’s Mouth from start to finish, spoilers included, with a timeline of 14 key events. The opening is below; the full summary is a 3-minute read.
Spoilers ahead
Gulley Jimson, an eccentric painter, is released from a one-month jail sentence for telephone harassment of his sponsor, Mr. Hickson, and is greeted at HM Prison Wormwood Scrubs by Nosey Barbon, who hopes to become his protégé. Jimson, wary of mentorship and the headaches of the art world, makes his way to his houseboat where his older lady friend Dee Coker has kept things running in his absence, a quiet orbit around his restless talent.
Desperate for funds, Jimson and Dee visit Hickson to secure payment for Jimson’s artwork. They also attempt to retrieve some works from Hickson’s place, but Dee intervenes and halts the theft. When Hickson phones the police, the two manage a narrow escape, slipping back into the margins of their precarious lives as artists.
Full summary
The whole story of The Horse’s Mouth, scene by scene
The Horse’s Mouth Trailers & Videos
The trailer of The Horse’s Mouth.
How Well Do You Know The Horse’s Mouth?
10 questions about the story, each with a hint if you get stuck. Pick an answer to see whether you were right.
Question 1 of 10
- Question 1: not answered
- Question 2: not answered
- Question 3: not answered
- Question 4: not answered
- Question 5: not answered
- Question 6: not answered
- Question 7: not answered
- Question 8: not answered
- Question 9: not answered
- Question 10: not answered
What is the profession of the main character, Gulley Jimson?
Cars in The Horse’s Mouth
42 cars on screen, including the 1953 AEC Regent III and the 1951 Austin FX3 Taxi.
-
1953 AEC Regent III Minor role -
1951 Austin FX3 Taxi Minor role -
International Harvester TD-Series Minor role -
Rolls-Royce 25/30 h.p. Hearse Minor role
The Horse’s Mouth Also Known As
11 alternative titles, including “Un genio anda suelto” and “Maluco Genial”.
- Also known as
-
- Un genio anda suelto
- Maluco Genial
- De la bouche du cheval
- La bocca della verità
- Des Pudels Kern
- 马嘴
- 财星拱照
- 马口
- המקור
- Из первых рук
- 财星高照
Seen The Horse’s Mouth?
Movies Like The Horse’s Mouth
Films with a similar story, tone or audience, including I’ve Gotta Horse, Crazy Over Horses and A Day at the Races.
The Horse’s Mouth FAQ: Cast, Runtime & Release Date
Runtime, release date, director, cast and post-credit scenes of The Horse’s Mouth, each answered in a sentence.
How long is The Horse’s Mouth?
The Horse’s Mouth runs 1 hour 35 minutes (95 minutes).
When was The Horse’s Mouth released?
The Horse’s Mouth was released on November 11, 1958.
Who directed The Horse’s Mouth?
The Horse’s Mouth was directed by Ronald Neame.
More films by Ronald Neame Who is in the cast of The Horse’s Mouth?
The Horse’s Mouth stars Alec Guinness as Gulley Jimson, Michael Gough as Abel and Veronica Turleigh as Lday Beeder, among 41 credited actors.
Does The Horse’s Mouth have a post-credit scene?
No. The Horse’s Mouth has no extra scene during or after the credits.
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