A penniless painter will steal, beg and scheme for one thing only: a wall big enough for his masterpiece. Alec Guinness is gloriously unstoppable as Gulley Jimson.
Released in 1958, The Horse’s Mouth stars Guinness as Gulley Jimson, an ageing artist who has just left prison and is determined to paint a vast mural, whether or not anyone wants it. Guinness also adapted the novel by Joyce Cary for the screen.
Jimson is a rogue, a charmer and a nuisance, cadging money, paint and lodging from everyone he meets, yet Guinness keeps him sympathetic because his passion is genuine. He believes in art with a fervour that is both comic and touching, and the film follows his chaotic quest through London with affection.
It is a signature performance because it lets Guinness be larger than life without losing the detail that made him great: the walk, the voice, the sudden tenderness when he finally stands before a wall and sees the painting he has been carrying in his head.