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:

Home Guard | Scottish Island | Scotland | WWII | Hebrides

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award.

Cast

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:

In the US, the novel and film were titled "Tight Little Island" as there was a ban at the time on using names of alcoholic drinks in titles.

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:

Dr Maclaren: It's a well known fact that some men were born two drinks below par.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Scotland on Screen (2009) (TV)

cute little film

When I saw this film was made by Ealing Studios, I jumped at the chance to see it. That's because following WWII, this small studio made a long string of cute little gems--all with exquisite writing, acting and direction--and on shoestring budgets. Their Alec Guinness films and PASSPORT TO PIMLICO are some of the very best films of the era. So I wasn't surprised when I found I also enjoyed this slight little film about a town that ran out of whisky (the Scottish spelling) and their attempts to smuggle in a new supply of drink. Once again, the very simple story was deftly handled and it was quite entertaining. There were only two drawbacks--neither one might affect you personally. The first was the language. While I watch tons of British television and movies, I, like most Americans have a much harder time understanding Scottish accents than English accents. I really would have loved subtitles or closed captioning, but the videotape I saw had neither. Secondly, the quality of the print was really lousy. Both these problems can be blamed on Critic's Choice Videos. I've seen other films from them and must say they produce among the WORST quality videotapes--try to find ANY other brand.