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Inspector Hornleigh

Play trailer Poster for Inspector Hornleigh 1939 1h 16m Comedy Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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Inspector Hornleigh (Gordon Harker) and his loyal assistant, Sgt. Bingham (Alastair Sim), are some of greatest sleuths Scotland Yard has to offer. So, on first glance, their latest case hardly seems worthy of their attentions: tracking down a piece of stolen luggage. However, the bag in question belonged to the chancellor of the exchequer. And, as the dead bodies pile up, the pair of detectives uncover an elaborate plot aimed at swindling the financial market.

Audience Reviews

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Russ G A light comedy disguised as a multiple murder mystery, not-so-loosely based on the Holmes and Watson formula. Alastair Sim, better known to American audiences as Ebenezer Scrooge, plays the bumbling Scottish sargeant, or the substitute for Nigel Bruce, to Gordon Harker's observant and acerbic tongued stand-in for Basil Rathbone. If you've seen any number of these various B picture franchises, you know the formula: one or more dead bodies generally dispatched without visible bloodshed - ie. victims succumb instantly to a single small calibre handgun round, a stab wound, or minute dose of a toxin known only to the scriptwriters and our detective protagonist. Suspects aplenty, but the killer is only revealed in the last two minutes. There's a love interest side story and/or a femme fatale. In general the entertainment value lies solely in the pacing, the acting talent, and the direction; whether you as a mystery fan correctly identify the perpetrator is largely immaterial. On that basis this British production featuring seasoned thespians succeeds where American Poverty Row efforts often fail. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 04/11/25 Full Review Christopher D Absolute gems. All three films are a joy to watch. The laughs are a plenty and the way Gordon Barker and Alistair Sim work together is sublime. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 05/24/24 Full Review Audience Member Great movie loved it all 3 movies of the inspector hornleigh series are brilliant and any alistair sim fan or vintage movie watcher has to watch them. Great times nostalgic Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/17/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Inspector Hornleigh

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Cast & Crew

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Eugene Forde

Director

Gordon Harker

Inspector Hornleigh

Alastair Sim

Sergeant Bingham

Miki Hood

Ann Gordon

Hugh Williams

Bill Gordon

Wally Patch

Sam Holt aka Keyhole Charlie
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Inspector Hornleigh

Inspector Hornleigh (1939) Inspector Hornleigh (1939) Inspector Hornleigh (1939) Inspector Hornleigh (1939) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Inspector Hornleigh (Gordon Harker) and his loyal assistant, Sgt. Bingham (Alastair Sim), are some of greatest sleuths Scotland Yard has to offer. So, on first glance, their latest case hardly seems worthy of their attentions: tracking down a piece of stolen luggage. However, the bag in question belonged to the chancellor of the exchequer. And, as the dead bodies pile up, the pair of detectives uncover an elaborate plot aimed at swindling the financial market.
Director
Eugene Forde
Screenwriter
Gerald Elliott, Richard Llewellyn, Bryan Edgar Wallace
Genre
Comedy, Drama
Original Language
English
Runtime
1h 16m