Inspector Hornleigh Goes to It (1941)
1h 27m | PG-13
Third and final film in the 'Inspector Hornleigh’ series of comedy-thrillers. Inspector Hornleigh (Gordon Harker), disappointed at not being handed an important spy case, is assigned by Scotland Yard to an army barracks to investigate the mundane thefts of supplies from the stores. This accidentally leads Hornleigh and Sergeant Bingham (Alastair Sim) to a nest of fifth columnists when his dim-witted assistant carelessly talks to a girl in the cafeteria – and that night, news of Hornleigh and Bingham’s arrival is embarrassingly transmitted back to Germany.
Director: Walter Forde
Studio: Twentieth Century Productions
Genre: Crime
Video: 720p
Cast
Gordon Harker
as Inspector Hornleigh
Alastair Sim
as Sergeant Bingham
Phyllis Calvert
as Mrs. Wilkinson
Edward Chapman
as Mr. Blenkinsop
Charles Oliver
as Dr. Wilkinson
Raymond Huntley
as Dr. Kerbishley
Reviews
This features an entertaining cast, a speeding train and some evil Nazis - and passes 90 minutes really quite well. It's down to the eponymous policeman (Gordon Harker) and his enthusiastic but bumbling, sidekick "Bingham" (Alastair Sim) to track down some army supplies that are being sold on the black market. Quickly, though, they release there is something much more sinister going on - and a perilous investigation into fifth columnists who have an uniquely innovative way of smuggling secrets out of Britain is soon underway. Can he and "Bingham" thwart this cunning subterfuge? The story is well conceived, with both - and a rather untrustworthy "Mrs. Wiklinson" (Phyllis Calvert) keeping this cat and mouse game interesting and enjoyable to watch. Like the train, it doesn't hang about - and the ending is not quite what I was expecting.