Whisky Galore (1949)

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

Director:

Alexander Mackendrick

Writers:

Compton MacKenzie (novel) (as Compton Mackenzie), Compton MacKenzie (screenplay) (as Compton Mackenzie)

Stars:

Basil Radford, Joan Greenwood, Catherine Lacey

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 1 win.

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 MacCormac

Storyline

Based on a true story. The name of the real ship, that sunk Feb 5 1941 - during WWII - was S/S Politician. Having left Liverpool two days earlier, heading for Jamaica, it sank outside Eriskay, The Outer Hebrides, Scotland, in bad weather, containing 250,000 bottles of whisky. The locals gathered as many bottles as they could, before the proper authorities arrived, and even today, bottles are found in the sand or in the sea every other year.

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Plot Keywords:

home guard | hebrides | scotland | cave | barbed wire | 

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Taglines:

A Highland fling on a tight little island

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English Scottish Gaelic

Release Date:

25 December 1949 (USA)

Also Known As:

Tight Little Island

Filming Locations:

Allasdale, Barra, Western Isles, Scotland, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Ealing Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

80 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The author of the original novel, Compton MacKenzie, plays the captain of the ship that runs aground on the island. In reality, Mackenzie took great exception to the number of takes that director Alexander Mackendrick made him do.

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Goofs

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.

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Quotes

Narrator: To the west, there is nothing. Except America.

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Crazy Credits

Opening credits prologue: By a strange coincidence the S.S. Cabinet Minister was wrecked off the Island of Todday [in the movie] two years after the S.S. Politician, with a similar cargo, was wrecked [in real life] off the Island of Eriskay. But the coincidence stops there, for our story and the characters in it are pure fiction.

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Connections

Followed by Mad Little Island (1958)

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Soundtracks

The MacaPhee song
(uncredited)
Traditional
Played at the engagement party

User Reviews

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.