Whisky Galore!

source: Whisky Galore!

How in the world could anybody ever really loved a stupid movie like whiskey Galore nothing happens in it nothing at all there is no story that acting thing is stupid because all you hear is that Bloody Irish of our like a pirate and it's terrible. The students stupid story and though the music is great and the cinematography near the ending is or times it's definitely okay but stool is so bad I don't like to give her one of them but this story definitely this movie I mean definitely needs or deserves that is deserves your 1010

The situation of a small island, with its own unique outlook, faced with 50,000 cases of whisky during a shortage, brings out some brilliantly-executed comedy. The lost sheep in the middle of it all, Waggett, just makes it funnier.

I was told that the star of this movie is Will Fyfe (Fyffe?). Are we talking about the same movie here? My Scottish husband tells me the film is very funny, remembering it from when he was young and still living in the Hamilton/Kilmarnock (western) area of Scotland after World War II. We would like to find a copy of the original which, he recalls, starred Will Fyfe. This listing shows Basil Radford in the starring role. Would this be a remake of the original, which he and his friends remember as: Tight Little Island? We would appreciate any clarification one might have on this title/actor confusion to be confident of searching for a copy of the original, wonderful movie. Thank you.

Out of Ealing Studios, Whisky Galore! is directed by Alexander Mackendrick and adapted to screenplay by Compton Mackenzie (novel also) and Angus MacPhail. It stars Basil Radford, Wylie Watson, Catherine Lacey, Bruce Seton, Joan Greenwood and Gabrielle Blunt. Music is by Ernest Irving and cinematography by Gerald Gibbs. When a ship with a cargo of 50,000 bottles of whisky is shipwrecked near the Outer Hebrides island of Todday, the villagers, out of their whisky rations, set about pillaging as much of it as they can before the authorities take control. Of the many thematic successes that Ealing Studios worked from, one of the highlights was the theme of a community rallying together to thwart an oppressive force. Reference Passport to Pimlico, The Titfield Thunderbolt and Whisky Galore! The latter of which was worked from a true story. In 1941 the cargo ship SS Politician was shipwrecked near the island of Eriskay in the Outer Hebrides, its main cargo of whisky and Jamaican shilling notes was mostly salvaged by the islanders. Ealing's take on the general story is condensed down to being an ode to anti authoritarianism and drink! With joyous results. Filmed on location close to Eriskay at Barra, the production had to overcome creative differences and awful weather to become the wonderful finished product. In fact the production went well over budget, a big no no on Ealing terms. Creative difference came between co-producer Monja Danischewsky and rookie director Mackendrick, where the former was firmly on the side of the islanders' pillage tactics, and the latter siding with Home Guard Captain Waggett's (Radford) feeble attempt to keep order. Danischewsky won out, where in spite of a code enforced epilogue, film plays out rooting for the islanders, gaining much humour from Waggett being an Englishman who is completely at odds with what he sees as the Scottish islanders anarchic behaviour. The Water Of Life. The community of Todday is bound by its love of whisky, makers extract quality mirth by presenting the sorrow brought about by the whisky running dry, only to then have the islanders lives perked up by the stricken fate of the ship carrying "the water of life". How the people react to the news of the ships cargo, how they set about purloining said cargo and how they hide said cargo from the authorities, is what brings the joy to Whisky Galore! Rarely has a cinematic treatment to larceny been so sweet and deftly handled as it is here. There's even an aside to class distinction, a nod to religious conformity and two lightly (unobtrusive) portrayed romances within the story. And with a cast bang on form, notably Radford, Watson and the gorgeous Greenwood, it rounds out as one of Ealing's most smartest and joyous comedies. It gladdened the hearts of many back on release as Britain continued to rebuild after the war, that it still entertains new observers even today is testament to Whisky Galore's lasting appeal. 9.5/10

(55%) A super cosy little British comedy that has grown to become a national favourite mainly owing to its bags of charm and almost time capsule likened look at Britain's wartime past. For me this is more quaint than funny, but watching it is like being wrapped in a winter warming blanket. The performances are fine with the almost ever present in films from this ere Gordon Jackson, while Joan Greenwood is almost hypnotic in her memorable performance as the love interest. After the ship is plundered the movie becomes much more fun and entertaining to watch, with its two fingered salute to the rules and the people who make them. Fans of classic British comedy that haven't already seen this should without doubt track it down.

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.

"Whisky Galore!" concerns a Scottish island in which everyone is apparently addicted to whisky. They are unconcerned with the war effort in 1943, until they run out of their favourite spirit, and torpor descends on the land. Pretty bleak, to assume that whisky is all that sustains them. You could easily make it heroin, or crystal meth, but that wouldn't be as charming. One of the islanders is a mild-mannered school teacher who wants to get married to one of the women on his island but his nasty old mother won't let him. Then an English soldier proposes to another one of the island women. The accents in the movie are weird. They don't sound like Scottish people sound in real life. Has the accent changed, or, did the actors adopt or alter their accents to be more intelligible for the audience? If you are reading this, then you probably already know that the basic plot of the film concerns a boat running aground with a shipment of whisky on board, and the islanders scheming to rob it. There is a disturbing scene in which the islanders all drink whisky while humming and warbling tunelessly, the sound like the brainless murmuring of flying insects. The pathetic school teacher gets Dutch - or should that be Scotch - courage when he gets drunk and stands up to his domineering mother. There is an impressive shot where it looks like the shipwrecked boat is tipping over. The movie is allegedly a comedy, but I certainly didn't laugh. It's also not very interesting.

I have seen Whisky Galore so many times I lost count during the 'eighties. Most films so viewed tend to lose their sparkle somewhat. Not with this little gem - I laugh every time. I have been promised that these strange happenings were based in fact, but I cannot believe that such a concatenation of hilarious happenstance could possibly have occurred, here in the British Isles, where the ridiculous is commonplace, or anywhere else. This film is full of the finest British character actors of the era, and a few acting 'non-entities' as well, who all give marvellous performances. The laughter doesn't stop, and the whisky keeps on flowing - I love it. I hope you get half as much out of Whisky Galore as I have - you'll be well pleased.

This charming little postcard of a comedy is pleasant enough to spend time with; amiable, diverting, and offering nice streaks of ambiance here and there. Yet it achieves its goal of being a light comedy almost too well, becoming margarine-soft and forgettable. This British comedy from legendary Ealing Studios features an island in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, Todday, that enjoys its relative isolation from modern life until World War II supply cutbacks deprive them of their whisky shipments. Salvation arrives in the form of a freighter that gets wrecked just offshore, carrying 7,000 cases of the blessed "uisge beatha" just waiting to be plucked to safety. "Whisky Galore!" gives us a chance to see recognizable actors such as Basil Radford of "The Lady Vanishes," James Robertson Justice from "The Guns of Navarone," and especially the sultry Joan Greenwood from "Kind Hearts And Coronets" in the sort of film that paid their rents while they awaited more significant work. Also on offer are impressive, on-location shots by director Alexander Mackendrick and cinematographer Gerald Gibbs that foreshadow "The Quiet Man" and "Local Hero" in the way they boldly present the windswept beauty of gorse and fescue against a rocky shore. It's really Radford's film in that he has the main role, that of a martinet British Home Guard officer named Waggett who takes his work way too seriously. When he learns of the foundered ship, he realizes its cargo will be the target of pilfering from the thirsty islanders, and decides to make it his business the whisky either is lost with the ship or is taken away by proper authorities so as not to cost the Crown any lost excise tax revenue. "Would it be so terrible if the people here did get a few bottles?" asks his wife. "I mean, if it's all going down to the bottom of the sea..." "That's a very dangerous argument, darling," counters Waggett. "Once people take the law into their own hands, it's anarchy!" For someone who has had the displeasure of working for a Waggett-type character, it's fun to watch him come to grief trying to be a killjoy for everyone else. Yet he's also the only really distinctive character here. The only other role with any meat on it is Bruce Seton's, an Army sergeant home from Africa who is sympathetic to the Todday citizenry but somewhat bland. The others are just bland outright. Mostly they are tweedy codgers differentiated only by their beard lengths and degrees of desire for a drop of the hard stuff. Oh, and one strict Calvinist mother from hell so you don't think drinkers are the only Scottish stereotype on offer here. Even Greenwood, the most notable screen presence in the cast with her trademark (and non-Scottish) husky voice, is wasted as one of two young island sisters being eyed for marriage (in Greenwood's case, by Seton). There's much running around as Waggett tries to uncover caches of purloined liquor, but it seems more frantic than clever. There are some chuckle-worthy lines, some with a clever touch of whimsical darkness about them: (Learning a neighbor has given birth to twins, one laments: "Two souls - What a calamity!") And there's a fine cinematic moment when whisky returns to Todday and we are treated to a scene of the drinkers merrily humming away some unintelligible tune, their alight eyes telling the tale. Unless you're an alcoholic, you'll enjoy one shot of "Whisky Galore!" But even hearty drinkers may find themselves agreeing one is enough.