Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

Boring

Best movie ever!

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

One of Alec Guinness's movies from the days before he became widely known as Obi Wan-Kenobi, "The Horse's Mouth" has to be one of his best. Guinness plays Gulley Jimson, a sarcastic artist who goes to absurd lengths to carry out his masterpiece.The movie is about multiple topics, and knows just how to balance them. Part of what it shows is that Gulley's genius is leading to complete madness. Of course, genius and madness sometimes go hand in hand (see Beethoven, Jim Morrison, Hunter S. Thompson, etc). But also, the film looks at how Gulley's work affects the people around him.The end of the movie has one of the best examples of using images to tell the story, as opposed to dialogue. While Gulley is sailing away, he puts his hands in midair with a ship in the background. It is well established what sort of person he is, and so it is clear what his actions represent.All in all, this is definitely one that I recommend. Mostly a drama, there are some REALLY funny scenes! Ronald Neame later directed "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie" (really good) and "The Poseidon Adventure" (BA-A-A-A-AD!!!!!!!).Also starring Kay Walsh, Renee Houston, Mike Morgan, Robert Coote, Arthur Macrae, Veronica Turleigh, Michael Gough (Alfred in the 1989-97 Batman movies), Reginald Beckwith, Ernest Thesiger and Gillian Vaughan.May the force be with Alec Guinness forever!

A nice chance to see ALEC GUINNESS as a mad abstract artist with KAY WALSH as his bitterly complaining friend in THE HORSE'S MOUTH. Guinness also wrote the script which has him as a mad artist--crusty, eccentric, but sometimes lovable--who has a knack for getting into trouble whenever he decides to splash his paints on any bare wall. I must say the resulting paintings are not to my taste, so I squirmed uncomfortably at the sight of them.But the film is really a character study of the eccentric man and his close friendship with some equally weird friends. Ronald Neame uses the Technicolor camera to capture some nice scenes of London, but the story is essentially a two-character study that works because of the excellent performances of Guinness and Walsh.Summing up: Uneven results but generally amusing and entertaining with some very funny moments.

Gulley Jimson (Alec Guinness) is an eccentric, vulgar, misanthropic amateur painter who is struggling to make ends meat. When he divorced his wife (Renee Houston), she took all of his paintings to settle a debt. His former patron, A.W. Alabaster (Arthur Macrae), won't return his calls (to be fair, most of them are vulgar and threatening). Gulley finds a patron in Sir William Beeder (Robert Coote), who commissions him to make a wall mural. Aided by a cast of silly characters - his coarse but loving mistress Dee Coker (Kay Walsh), an obnoxious sculptor (Michael Gough), an air-headed model (Gillian Vaughan) and Nosey (Mike Morgan), a naive admirer of his - Gulley struggles to fulfill his artistic desires in spite of everything."The Horse's Mouth" presents Alec Guinness at the pinnacle of his career. Having built up a career as a star through the early films of David Lean and the quirky, immensely popular Ealing comedies, Guinness had become an international superstar after his Oscar-winning role in Bridge on the River Kwai. Guinness produced, co-wrote, and starred in this film, one of his finest achievements.Attempting to write a plot summary was hard work. Like many if not most great comedies, the plot is secondary to the characters, particularly Gulley. "The Horse's Mouth" continues the anarchic spirit of Guinness's Ealing films, building on and arguably surpasses it. Like Charlie Chaplin's Little Tramp, Jacques Tati's Monsieur Hulot, Peter Sellers' Inspector Clouseau, Rowan Atkinson's Mr. Bean, and other comic figures, Gulley bumbles from one situation to another; however, it is not clumsiness which produces this (for the most part), but deliberate design. Gulley flaunts societal rules and weasels his way into high society, taking advantage of societal politeness to get what he wants. Unlike most such characters, however, he has a goal - to create art. It makes him short-sighted, narrow-minded, and arrogant - as he realizes in a brief moment of clarity - but that hardly matters to him. Even when Gulley becomes recognized for his work towards the end, he remains unsatisfied. Whether Gulley is a great artist is not the point (and he's pretty obviously not) - it's something he has to do, and he'll do much anything to express himself.Alec Guinness shows his full talent as an actor and comedian here. His biggest asset as an actor is his anonymity - he can play any character, regardless of class, position, personality, time period, even race and gender. Witness his eight-way performance in "Kind Hearts and Coronets", his demented Professor Marcus ("The Ladykillers"), the mild-mannered criminal Holland ("Lavender Hill Mob"), the naive idealist Sidney Stratton ("Man in the White Suit"). And that's just his Ealing films. Guinness is an amazing actor, able to alter his appearance, voice, and the most subtle of mannerisms to create a whole new persona. Not only is Guinness a great actor, but also a fabulous comedian - able to use his abilities to create unforgettably amusing characters.Gulley Jimson is a fascinating character. Not every actor could have pulled it off, but Guinness does it brilliantly. Guinness makes full use of his abilities - the raspy voice, which he alters at appropriate moments, his gestures and movements, which range from broad slapstick flailing to subtle facial and hand gestures. The supporting cast is good, particularly Kay Walsh at her Cockney best and Michael Gough's obnoxious sculptor - but it's Alec's show the whole way."The Horse's Mouth" is a film that must be seen to be enjoyed. Its wonderful mix of anarchic, irreverent yet playful humor and one of the best performances by one of cinema's greatest actors will be a treat for any film fan.8/10

A truly great classic of film-making and faithfulness to the author's original intentions. The Guiness interpretation of Gully Jimson resonates for anyone who has ever known a slightly mad painter. The production values are splendid. The Bratby paintings are perfectly in keeping with the tone and thrust of the story. Casting for all the supporting roles was great throughout. This is a film that lives on in memory and continues to elicit smiles. I wholeheartedly recommend the film as entertainment at its best. I also applaud the choice made for the music track, it was inspired. You can never again hear that suite without it bringing to mind the running shuffle of Gully Jimson.