Inspector Hornleigh on Holiday (1939)

On December 1, 1939, Twentieth Century-Fox released Inspector Hornleigh on Holiday (1939), the second film in the three film series. Gordon Harker starred as Scotland Yard Inspector Hornleigh. The film opens in Brighton-on-the-Sea, where a storm has kept Inspector Hornleigh and his assistant Sergeant Bingham, played by Alastair Sim, inside for their first few vacation days.

Following the rule in all 1930s detective films, when the detective is on vacation, a mysterious death soon occurs. The detective must leave his vacation to help the local authorities solve the crime. In this case, Inspector Hornleigh is happy to end the soggy vacation, while Sergeant Bingham is drug into the case.

gordon-harker-standing-in-boat

Gordon Harker and Peggy Ashcroft being directed in a 1940 public information film Harker is standing in the boat.

Inspector Hornleigh’s investigation leads them to a local club and a clear case of murder. Can Inspector Hornleigh solve the case before another murder occurs?

Alastair Sim provided most of the comic relief in this series. Between stints as a lecturer and then Rector of Edinburgh University, Sim remained active on stage, television and film. His film career began in 1931 and ended with his death in 1976.

Because Twentieth Century – Fox only made three of these films and were able to keep Harker and Sim together for all three episodes, the quality of the films remains consistent through Inspector Hornleigh (1939), Inspector Hornleigh on Vacation and Inspector Hornleigh Goest To It (1941).

The films all run about 83 minutes. I would recommend all three films.

Which film was your favorite and why? You can leave a comment or ask a question about this or any post in the comment section below, on my Facebook page and Twitter profile.

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