The Horse's Mouth (1958) on Netflix
Painter Gulley Jimson leaves prison after a month for being a public nuisance. He presses Mr. Hickson for paintings his ex-wife Sarah Monday sold him, and borrows money from Cookie D. Coker.
- Netflix4.0/5
- IMDb6.9/104,192 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes89%
Trailer
Plot summary
Nosey waits outside prison for Gulley Jimson, whose protégé he hopes to become, and Jimson warns him off trying to live by painting. Coker has looked after Jimson's houseboat during his month inside. Jimson, short of funds, hounds Mr. Hickson for money and for the pictures Hickson holds, and turns to Coker for a loan, explaining that he means to retrieve his paintings and sell them to Sir William Beeder. Coker lends him a little and accompanies him to his ex-wife Sarah Monday, who sold the works and writes a note confirming the sale. At the apartment of Sir William and Lady Beeder, Jimson is taken with a large bare wall.
Cast
- Mike Morganas Nosey
![Michael Gough as Abel [Bisson]](/img/avatar-f100/7b5e5dd51034b06dtm640db1.jpg)
- Veronica Turleighas Lady Beeder
- Gillian Vaughanas Lollie
![Michael Gough as Abel [Bisson]](/img/avatar-f100/7b5e5dd51034b06dtm640db1.webp)
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Horse's Mouth (1958)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Alec Guinness wrote the screenplay and sought funding from the Rank Organisation, which refused to finance it. Rank head John Davis told Guinness he was "a funny man" and that a serious film would "finish me off", so Guinness stopped working for Rank.
- The expressionistic paintings seen in the film were the work of John Bratby, a member of the English realist group known as the kitchen sink school. Alec Guinness observed Bratby at work in his home studio to prepare.
- Actor Mike Morgan, who played Nosey, fell ill with meningitis shortly before filming ended and died before the film was completed. Another actor dubbed many of his lines.
- Director Ronald Neame visited author Joyce Cary, who was dying of bone cancer, and Cary asked that his son Tristram be hired to score the film. Neame wanted "something jaunty and cocky" like Prokofiev's Lieutenant Kijé.
