It's always quite interesting to me to watch an actor in a role that almost no one knows he/she for. Just like in "Bridge On The River Kwai" (the late) Sir Alec Guinness,surprised me with his diverse acting ability. "Obi Wan" was a memorable role for him but hardly the highest point of his many levels of acting. Here,he is a cranky & crusty artist,fresh out of jail. Loking to retrieve 19 of his paintings from the gentleman that he continuously crank calls! He's also looking to make the ultimate artistic statement on someone's wall somewhere in London.Alec is hilarious in this movie and the entire picture itself seems to be ahead of it's time. It sort of reminds me of the kind of "anti-establishment/anarchy" comedies made in the 1970s. One point is when the old man has called the police on him and his female friend and they make a one of the looniest attempts at a getaway and/or "making a break for it".Another crazy scene is painting a mural on the wall of a rich couple who go on holiday. He's doing okay when another artist,a sculptor horns in on his living arrangement and makes an absolute shambles of the place. Watch what happens when the couple & friend return,too funny! Lastly,the scenes between him and a former "nude model" are funny as well,mainly the physical fight between them over a painting she's kept from him.To put it simply,if you know Guinness for other roles,you almost wont believe that's really him. His voice has a Harvey Kietel scratchiness,his comedic timing is wonderful and he puts himself 100% into this character,that in some ways is to be pitied but at the same time rooted for.9 out of 10,only 1 off for a moment or two that didn't really add anything to the film. (END)

I am a firm believer in the notion that actors are rare people. They have a set of challenges and concerns that are themselves interesting. Filmmakers have a different, often conflicting set of concerns and challenges. It is usually a disaster to put an actor in charge when all he knows is acting.My favorite example is Al Pacino's "Looking for Richard," but there are tons and tons of examples. Most are like this which consists entirely of defining and displaying an interesting character. Real movielovers will find all such projects unsatisfying.Plus, I'm not one who thinks this man is a great actor.But there is something a bit interesting. The character here is a great artist who cannot seem to pull off the big picture, to make things slide smoothly. The actor is too, in precisely the same ways we see, as if we are watching two layers at the same time.Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.

I love this movie; it's on my all-time (ever-growing) list of the ones I love to see again and again. Not very surprising, I also loved reading Joyce Cary's wonderful book. However fine a film version of a work of literature, there is always more in the text. One of the glories of this film is how much of Cary's book it brings to full life. I didn't know, until seeing it in someone else's comment here, that "The Horse's Mouth" is only one book of a trilogy about Gulley Jimson. I will seek out the others as soon as possible. To the person whose name i didn't think to write down when reading your comment: Thank you very much.

Although most Americans have little knowledge of his work other than Star Wars, Alec Guinness produced an amazing body of work--particularly in the 1940s-1950s--ranging from dramas to quirky comedies. I particularly love his comedies, as they are so well-done and seem so natural and real on the screen--far different from the usual fare from Hollywood.I first saw this movie when I was about 13 or so, and didn't appreciate it very much. Years later, when I became fascinated with Guinness' comedies, I decided to give it another chance. And boy am I glad I did!! The movie concerns the life of an extremely edgy and rather nasty artist. Guinness really plays this up and creates one of the quirkiest and funniest characters I have ever seen. In essence, the man is a rascal that is driven to create his art regardless of what it takes to get it done! What I missed the first time I saw the film were the extremely catchy music and the amazing art created for this movie. I am not the biggest fan of modern art, but the second time i saw the movie I really liked most of the works done for the movie--it just was a darn shame that much of it was destroyed in the course of the movie! In addition to music and art, the performances throughout of all the actors was nearly perfect.Finally, the version of the movie I saw last was from the Criterion Collection. Get this version!!!! It had so much wonderful background information about the actual art, the making of the movie, and interesting background information--such as how they got the musical score WITHOUT having to pay royalties and the incredibly sad tale of a magnificent performance by a young supporting actor that did not live to see the finished product.