L'inspecteur Hornleigh

I wonder how many people have been fooled, over the years, that Alastair Sim stars in this movie as the title character; in fact, he plays Inspector Hornleigh's dimwitted sidekick (imagine a dumber Doctor Watson), and the role is largely a waste of his considerable talents. The film itself is stuffy and creaky, with a mystery plot that's uninteresting and murky. *1/2 out of 4.

Firstly, Miki Hood - what a beautiful young lady! I wonder why she never made it big because she's absolutely lovely. She looks like a Disney princess who could be another sister of Loretta Young.

This film is based on a long running popular radio show, with professional cockney Gordon Harker as the personable sleuth. With a long track record of good scriptwriting, the story used for this is intelligent and intriguing. Eugene Forde - never heard of him - directs this adequately and ensures the tension ramps up at a good pace.

Like another other forgotten detective series: Philo Vance, it's the plot rather than the characters which the Horleigh stories rely on. Harker does however give his grumpy old copper a bit of personality which makes this a hundred times better and engaging than the tiresome Vance movies. It's hardly Hitchcock or Holmes, Poirot or even THIN MAN but although it's not super-original, it is professionally made, well acted and well written.

The first in the Inspector Hornleigh series starring Gordon Harker in the title role with humour supplied by his partner Sergeant Bingham, played by the Scottish actor Alastair Sim, later to star as Scrooge in A Christmas Carol.

Average film watchable particularly for fans of Mr Sim but some of the anti-Scottish comments by Hornleigh now make the viewer feel rather uncomfortable.

This is the first of the three Inspector Hornleigh films that Fox produced in England from 1939 to 1941. Gordon Harker plays the Inspector who is a keen collector of rare postage stamps. He is disturbed while he is bidding for a rarity at an auction to be given the news that there's been a stabbing at Hendon boarding house in North London. Hornleigh discovers that the stabbed man called Hendry like to keep his room locked for most of the time. The Inspector has to find out what Hendry was keeping secret.

The case develops when it is discovered that the Chancellor of the Exchequer's budget plans have been leaked. This would cause some individual or organization to make a killing on the Stock Market and make a huge dent in Britain's economy. The Chancellor'scase containing the budget plans must have been switched with an imitation case while he was having a meeting at the Pheasant Inn. Hornleigh has to retrace the Chancellor's movements there and to detect who was in the best position to make that switch.

I can't say that any of the characters really took my interest. When the action moves to a leather shop it gets a bit more intriguing. The attack on Sergeant Bingham (Alastair Sim) in an alleyway is another good scene in the film. I didn't guess the murderer and I think it will surprise most people. But I have to say I prefer Gordon Harker's Inspector Elk character in the 'Return of the Frog' mystery.

I am a sucker for a good whodunit, and "Inspector Hornleigh" was an excellent one. It had an elaborate plot and I could not guess the murderer until... come to think of it, I didn't guess the murderer until it was revealed at the end of the picture, so well-written was the screenplay. And, brother, it was written, and written, and...

This picture was loaded with dialogue, enough for 2 or 3 pictures, but in the end I felt it was all worth it. I enjoy Gordon Harker more each time I see him and he is very convincing when playing a police inspector. Here he is Insp. Hornleigh of the title, and he was every bit as good as he was as Insp. Elk in "The Frog" (1937). He is aided by Alastair Sim, playing his weak-minded sidekick police sergeant. Speaking for myself, I did not mind his antics, as films of the 30's and early 40's often tried to blend comedy and mystery, more often than not a futile effort, I have found. But it worked here.

The rest of the cast was competent, although two of the suspects looked very much alike, causing occasional confusion. Another reviewer mentioned that the sets looked cheap - that may be, but I gave it a pass and was not conscious of an effort to pinch pennies in any phase of the production.

All in all, a worthy effort and worth your while, because I always feel that, ultimately, the play's the thing, don't you?