Inspector Hornleigh (film)

Inspector Hornleigh is a 1938 British detective film directed by Eugene Forde, starring Gordon Harker and Alastair Sim, with Miki Hood, Wally Patch, Steven Geray and Edward Underdown. The film was shot at Pinewood Studios in England. The screenplay was co-written by Bryan Edgar Wallace.

Inspector Hornleigh
Directed byEugene Forde
Produced byRobert Kane
Written byBryan Edgar Wallace (Screenplay), Gerald Elliott (Dialogue), Richard Llewellyn
Based onThe character 'Inspector Hornleigh' created by Hans Wolfgang Priwin
StarringGordon Harker
Alastair Sim
Narrated by-
CinematographyPhilip Tannura, Derick Williams
Edited byJames B. Clark (Supervising Editor), Douglas Robertson (Film Editor)
Production
company
Argyle Television Films, Inc.
Distributed byTwentieth Century Fox
Release date
7 March 1939 (UK)
14 June 1939 (USA)
Running time
87 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Plot

Inspector Hornleigh of Scotland Yard stumbles upon the theft of the Chancellor of the Exchequer's budget secrets, a crime which he ties to a murder he is investigating.[1]

Cast

Production

The film is a spin-off from a popular BBC radio series of the 1930s, Inspector Hornleigh Investigates,[2] created and written by Hans Wolfgang Priwin, which ran on the BBC from 1937 to 1940.

For the purposes of the film, the leading characters are somewhat modified (and, significantly, the screenplay is not written by Priwin): the actor who played Inspector Hornleigh on the BBC, S.J. Warmington, is here replaced by comedian Gordon Harker, and is given a bumbling comedic sidekick, played by Scottish comedy actor, Alastair Sim.

The BBC series was a serious detective drama. However, in this film the two leading characters play the script for laughs, and the casting of two well known comedy stars in the parts indicates that this was the director's intention. Furthermore, the pair's dialogue includes frequent jokes, and Sgt. Bingham's character is included solely as comic relief. Although the rest of the cast behave as if they are in a straight drama, this simply highlights the behaviour of Harker and Sim.

To emphasise that this was a comedy film series, and to enhance the comedy double-act between Harker and Sim, the subsequent films in the series would be written by the noted comedy screenwriting partnership of Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat.

Although released in 1939, the film carries a copyright notice dated 1938. It was made by Argyle Television Films, but was given a cinema release in the UK.

Reception

The film was sufficiently well-received by audiences to justify two sequels: Inspector Hornleigh on Holiday (1939), and Inspector Hornleigh Goes To It (1940).

  • The New York Times called the film "a neat bit of British detective fictionizing, as tailor-made as a Bond Street jacket, now on view at the Rialto."[3]
  • TV Guide wrote, "though the film is well-plotted and well-acted (Sim is hilarious), the thick English and Scottish accents were often incomprehensible to American audiences. Aside from that, the suspense is nicely built towards a good denouement."[4]
  • Vintage 45 wrote, "this works as a mystery and the occasional snide remarks between Hornleigh and Bingham work to lighten things up a bit. The movie is fun and clever."[5]

References

  1. "BFI | Film & TV Database | INSPECTOR HORNLEIGH (1938)". Ftvdb.bfi.org.uk. 16 April 2009. Archived from the original on 14 January 2009. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
  2. "Search Results - BBC Genome". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  3. Nugent, Frank S. (15 June 1939). "Movie Review - Inspector Hornleigh - THE SCREEN IN REVIEW; Elisabeth Bergner Plays a Dual Role in 'Stolen Life' at the Rivoli-Tarzan Returns to Cauitol-'Inspector Hornleigh' Offered at the Rialto". NYTimes.com. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
  4. "Inspector Hornleigh Review". Movies.tvguide.com. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
  5. "Inspector Hornleigh (1938) | Vintage45's Blog". Vintage45.wordpress.com. 27 June 2013. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
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