Customer Reviews

Whisky Galore

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

While "Whisky Galore!" was the original name of this film in England, it was retitled at the time for it's American release to "Tight Little Island" and you may know it by that name. It is by far is one of the best films to ever come from the British Ealing Studio. After WWII this studio created many comedies that are true gems to this day, and this is one of the best of the bunch. With a wonderful director and ensemble group of character actors, the film has a depth of personality that comes across from the script and the acting makes you feel as if you know these people, or you will wish you did.

The story is a simple one, allowing for comic genius by the actors themselves. It is set during WWII and a remote Scottish island is banned from any liquor shipments due to war rations. Over the long period of the "dry time" the residents are beginning to crave a drink, whiskey to be exact. It is not so much that they are big drinkers, its the old mental trick that we always want something when we are told we can't have it anymore. On the other hand there are those that want it more than others - so much so they even pray about it. After another dry evening of missing the good stuff, suddenly a ship crashes on their shores and spills out fifty thousand cases of the amber liquid like manna from heaven right in front of them. The residents can't help but want some of it but the government wants to swoop in and take it away, and search the entire island for any missing cases too. The islanders decide to sock some away for themselves and so the great cat and mouse game begins. The antics of the islanders as they go to great lengths to trick the government officials is brilliantly funny. All in all a very satisfying movie and for those that have seen this movie, it becomes something they will never forget. I highly recommend!

Actually, it's all very professional. A gentle comedy about some Scottish islanders who, after weeks without whisky, suddenly find that a ship laden with the stuff, has foundered in their waters. Needless to say, there is high jinks in rescuing (and secreting) the precious cargo on the island of Todday before the Customs, or the officious Captain of the Home Guard, can do anything about it. The casting is first-class, with loads of eccentric locals proving to be more than a match for the outsiders. There are nice sub-plots to savour too. Highly recommended!

If you like classic comedies (don't mind black and white, don't mind accents), then I highly recommend this movie. Set in the Hebrides (islands off the west coast of Scotland) during the Second World War, this film, based on a Compton Mackenzie novel, tells the story of the islanders' attempt to offload whisky off a wrecked ship before it sinks. They REALLY want the whisky because there's none on the island, due to rationing, and even when there is, it's expensive, so all the free whisky is very tempting. It is a longstanding tradition to take cargo off wrecked ships and keep it -- these are very poor people, after all, trying to earn a living fishing or raising sheep. There are a couple of problems, however -- one is an Englishman who takes it upon himself to protect the cargo, and the other is the Sabbath -- which the islanders respect so greatly they will not break even for whisky. Even in black and white, the island setting is beautiful, as is the music, the accents, etc. The humor stands up very well, particularly the characterization of the islanders (one very religious and stern older woman is very funny -- an old battleaxe, but thoroughly believable as she bullies her grown son and locks him in his room as punishment!)

The sound is not great, and the picture can be quite dark in the night scenes, but this is definitely a DVD worth owning.

To my mind Whisky Galore is the best of the post war British Comedies, and even if it is not the best it is on a par with The Ladykillers, Kind Hearts and Coronets and the Lavender Hill Mob, but for some reason is not as well known.

Set on the fictional Scottish island of Toddy during the Second World War, the islanders run out of Whiskey which forms a staple of their daily diet. This causes them a great deal of distress which is lifted when a ship loaded with 50,000 cases of export whisky is wreaked off the island.

The fun starts as the islanders attempt to 'rescue' the cargo and the excise men aided by a local English resident try to find were the drink as been hidden.

There are a nunmber of sub plots, an English soldier tries to woo a local girl and the local school teacher, played by Gordon Jackson (Mr Hudson in Upstairs Downstairs) attempts to break free of his mother and marry the sister of the girl loved by the English soldier.

One of the first British films to filmed on location with many of the islanders played by the locals, Whisky Galore is a delight. Charming, funny and a reminder of a time when comedies did not have to rely on breaking wind and foul language to get a laugh.

THe film is based on the book by Comptom Mackenzie, which in turn was based on a real incident when a ship carring a cargo of whisky was wreaked on the island of Barra.

A must see for any film lover.

Tight Little Island (Alexander MacKendrick, 1949)

Tight Little Island (also known as Whisky Galore!) is one of those movies I've been hearing about for years, but never got around to seeing until recently. I instantly became a huge fan of MacKendrick's The Sweet Smell of Success, and so as soon as I saw that one, this, which landed right beside it on a number of thousand-best-movies lists I've seen, went straight to the top of the list. I found it enjoyable enough, but not nearly as brilliant as The Sweet Smell of Success.

The plot is simple: a small island off the coast of Scotland runs out of whiskey. This ranks as a national emergency to them, especially since the next shipment isn't due at the island until Tuesday. Most of the islanders consider it providence when a ship runs onto the rocks offshore carrying fifty thousand cases of whiskey. The Captain of the local Home Guard, however, is determined to stop the islanders from liberating the whiskey. Of course, this is because he's an Englishman, and doesn't understand providence.

The film is actually based on the story of the SS Politician, which sank off the coast of Eriskay in 1941. Which has nothing to do with your enjoyment of the film (I don't think), but is interesting to note. This is one of the movies from the golden age of Ealing Studios, who ruled the British film roost for quite a few years (The Man in the White Suit, Dead of Night, Kind Hearts and Coronets, and MacKendric's best-known movie, The Ladykillers, were some of Ealing's best-known films during the golden age, but the roster of Ealing flicks getting critical raves during that time would be longer than this review). It's got that dry British humor thing going for it, as well as some fine acting, but to me, it didn't have the layered, nuanced script that distinguished The Sweet Smell of Success. That doesn't mean it's not worth watching, not at all. It's good fun, and sometimes that's all you need. ***

I've only seen this film once, and I have no doubt that when I watch it again it will only improve. The previous reviewer who gave the film 5 stars may well be right.

It concerns the shortage of Whisky on a Scottish Island. Fortunately a boat containing 50,000 bottles runs aground and a plot is hatched to steal the liqeur from the boat. Opposed to this plan is a local Home Guard Captain, Waggett (wonderfully played by Basil Radford). He is somewhat officious and does everthing in his power to thwart there attempts to get the liquer. In fact I wondered if this was an influence on Captain Mainwaring in the UK TV series Dads Army. The other noteable performance is from Jean Cadell as the terrifying Mrs Campbell, who opposes her sons (Gordon Jackson) plan to marry and is reminisent of the mother in Carrie.

This is well worth buying and watching over and over as I have no doubt it will hold up to repeated viewing. Its very funny in places and like most of the best Ealing comedies, at 80 minutes it doesn't overstay its welcome.

The quintessential movie in what cynicism, kind irony and supreme good taste. You will love this movie since its first shots. Since a important of whisky appears such a miraculous gift in the beach of a quiet town, this funny incident will be the premise to make one the top comedies ever made in any age.

The rest runs for you . Please, go for this and buy it as soon as you can.

Exhilarating and delightful. One of the ten best films in this genre.

And remember this bitter and corrosive British joke : God created the whisky to avoid the Irishmen ruled the world.

"Whisky Galore," (1949), novel and film were known in the United States as Tight Little Island (Whiskey Galore) [VHS], a phrase used glancingly in the film's dialog, as there was an American ban at the time on using names of alcoholic drinks in titles. At its French release, the picture was called WHISKY A GO-GO, and we know what a popular title this became after its coinage. At any rate, WHISKY GALORE is a classic British comedy from Ealing Studios that famously produced so many of them, in the post-war 40's, the 50's, and early 60s. WHISKY was nominated for a BAFTA Film Award - that's the British Oscar--and has just been rereleased as part of a most welcome set of remastered black and white vintage comedies.

The film is based on a true story, taken from a novel of the same name by Compton Mackenzie, was directed by first timer Alexander Mackendrick, whose background until then had been in advertising, and was produced by Michael Balcon, who gave us so many wonderful comedies. It runs a tight 82 minutes - my, what Ealing could do in 82 minutes. And before I go any further, it had, to me, one major flaw: the lack of subtitles. The film is, you see, set on an isolated, insular island beyond the Scottish Hebrides, and the actors, whether of Scots background or no, have surely been encouraged to trot out their best Scottish accents, and usages, too. Accordingly, the dialog is extremely difficult for ears on this side of the Atlantic to follow. Especially no longer young ears.

During World War II, a shortage of spirits shakes up Todday, a largely teetoling, tiny Scottish isle 100 miles from the mainland, and its cinemas and dance halls, with, the narrator remarks, nothing but the Atlantic, and eventually America, on the other side. When a ship carrying 50,000 cases of whisky miraculously runs aground off the island, deprived residents conspire to salvage the precious cargo. But first they've got to get to church for the Sabbath. And then, uptight "Sassenach" (he ain't Scottish) Capt. Paul Waggett (Basil Radford), commanding officer of the local Home Guard, an organization that made itself infamous during the War as Dad's Army, will try anything to stop the islanders in their tracks.

A very young and sexy Joan Greenwood is featured as Peggy Macroon, the telephone operator who keeps well-informed listening to the calls she puts through, and that's the way it was done then, kiddies. Greenwood (Kind Hearts and Coronets), of the honeyed voice, was often named one of the world's sexiest actresses. Sources say she had trained in ballet; nevertheless, the ethnic Scottish dances defeated her, and the feet of a local were substituted for hers in the close-ups: shades of Natalie Portman in THE BLACK SWAN. A very young Gordon Jackson, with very curly hair, plays George Campbell, village school teacher who is dominated by his shrew of a religious mother--as the film opens, she's not letting him marry Catriona Macroon, Peggy's sister. Jackson was, of course, best-known for playing Hudson, the butler, in the beloved, long-running British television serial Upstairs, Downstairs: The Complete Series - 40th Anniversary Collection. He also played in various movies, such as The Ipcress File [Blu-ray] [Region-Free]. James Robertson Justice(Upstairs and Downstairs), who continued to act almost until his death not so long ago, played Dr. Maclaren, a man distinguished on the island for his common sense. James Woodburn plays a minor part, as does comic stalwart Henry Mollison, and Compton MacKenzie himself plays Captain Buncher. Finlay Currie narrated. The original score was by Ernest Lang, based on traditional Scottish folk tunes.

"Highland fling on a tight little island" is the tagline that was used to advertise the film that is, as remarked above, based on a true story. An actual ship, the S/S Politician, sunk on Feb 5 1941, after having left Liverpool two days earlier, headed for Jamaica. It went down in bad weather outside Eriskay, The Outer Hebrides, Scotland, 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 occasionally. The locals used the password "Whisky," (it means "water of life," in Gaelic) in their skullduggery; one man removes his cap as the ship goes down. And we catch glimpses of actual cases stamped Haig and Haig, Cutty Sark, Pinch, John Bell, Ballantines, and Johnnie Walker - one case is stamped "Imported From Los Angeles," as the men cart them over the island. Fourteen whisky bottles, said to be the last surviving from the wreck, were sold at auction in Glasgow in 1993 for £12,012. A bottle of Haig Dimple fetched £1,210.

By a strange coincidence, the SS Cabinet Minister was wrecked off the island of Todday [the island where the movie is supposedly set] two years after the SS Politician, with a similar cargo, was wrecked off the Island of Eriskay. The movie itself was filmed on location on the island of Barra; location filming was unusual for Ealing at the time, but every one of its studios was in use. Locals were hired as extras at a pound a day. Nevertheless, the movie ran over time, taking more than three months to make, and way over budget, infuriating producer Balcon, but it wasn't really the inexperienced director MacKendrick's fault: the summer of 1948 was one of the wettest on record.

Finally, according to official files recently released by the British Home Office, there were nearly 290,000 ten shilling notes on board the Politician as well (this would be the equivalent of several million pounds at today's prices), not all of which was ever recovered. American censors insisted on a coda being inserted at the end of the film, stating that the stolen whisky brought nothing but unhappiness to the islanders, even though the islanders reacted in quite the opposite way in real life. WHISKY is a slyly entertaining film; it would be more so if the dialog were more accessible, but there are still plenty of laughs to be had.

There are those who say that if you want to understand the Scots as a people, you should watch The Wicker Man. To those people I say Balderdash! Whiskey Galore is the film that tells the most about the nature of the Highlands. The hard drinking, the fierce Presbyterianism, the humor and the fatalism and the stubborn refusal to bend knee to mere laws of the English are all there, willing you to laugh along.

Fans of Upstairs, Downstairs will be pleased by an early performance of Gordon Jackson's, while folks acquainted with other Ealing comedies will be delighted to see such stalwarts as Joan Greenwood, Basil Radcliffe, and James Roberston Justice doing some of their finest work.

And if you've known and loved this film as long as I have (thirty years and counting!) you'll be thrilled with the clarity and crispness of the film in this rendition.

Whiskey Galore is a must for all to see if you like old gems.. I remember the first time I saw this film; it made me laugh and still does.