Whisky Galore! (1949)

Director:

Alexander Mackendrick

Writers:

Compton MacKenzie (novel)
Compton MacKenzie (screenplay)

Release Date:

25 December 1949 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

A Highland fling on a tight little island

Plot:

Scottish islanders try to plunder 50,000 cases of whisky from a stranded ship.

Plot Keywords:

Hebrides | Scotland | Home Guard | WWII | Ealing

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award.

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Basil Radford	...	Captain Paul Waggett
Catherine Lacey	...	Mrs Waggett
Bruce Seton	...	Sergeant Odd
Joan Greenwood	...	Peggy Macroon
Wylie Watson	...	Joseph Macroon
Gabrielle Blunt	...	Catriona Macroon
Gordon Jackson	...	George Campbell
Jean Cadell	...	Mrs Campbell
James Robertson Justice	...	Dr Maclaren
Morland Graham	...	The Biffer
John Gregson	...	Sammy MacCodrun
James Woodburn	...	Roderick MacRurie
James Anderson	...	Old Hector
Jameson Clark	...	Constable Macrae
Duncan Macrae	...	Angus McCormac

Also Known As:

"Tight Little Island" - USA

Runtime:

82 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | Scottish Gaelic

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Iceland:L | UK:Approved (British Film Censors) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:A

Filming Locations:

Allasdale, Barra, Western Isles, Scotland, UK

Company:

Ealing Studios

Trivia:

Shot on the island of Barra, which boasts Britain's most unique airport - the runway is the beach.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Had there really been whisky (or really about anything except air) in those wooden crates piled as high as a person on the rowboats the villagers use to loot the cargo ship, those boats would have capsized or sunk by the sheer weight of the crates.

Quotes:

Captain Paul Waggett: I want to speak to your son George.
Mrs Campbell: George is in his bedroom.
Captain Paul Waggett: Oh, not ill, I hope.
Mrs Campbell: He's locked in his bedroom with his Bible and some bread and cheese, and he'll not be out until tomorra' mornin'.
Captain Paul Waggett: I never heard of anything so preposterous!
Mrs Campbell: Did you ever hear of the Fourth Commandment?
Captain Paul Waggett: Of course, I have!
Mrs Campbell: Remember the...
Captain Paul Waggett: You needn't repeat it. I learned the Commandment years ago.
Mrs Campbell: More shame to you then that yeh should lead my son away from righteousness.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Best of British: Ealing Comedies (#5.12)" (1993)

Charming, heartwarming, hilarious

A lovely bit of nostalgia here, one of the greats of British comedy. The isle of Toddy becomes for a while at least a true paradise when the islanders find themselves rescuing part of the cargo of a wrecked ship carrying precious whisky, despite the efforts of the sassenach jobsworth running the local home guard. A wealth of wonderful moments, a softly-spoken gentleness that has always characterised this kind of movie (and lives on in such modern works as Hear My Song and Waking Ned), and a kind but firm lack of respect for bureaucratic authority soaked throughout the entire film make this a delight and a joy every time.