Review of Whisky Galore! (1949) by Asa B — 28 Apr 2014
Produced by Ealing Studios and directed by Alexander Mackendrick (The Man in the White Suit (1951) and The Ladykillers (1955)), this was adapted from a 1947 book of the same name by Compton MacKenzie, who also wrote the screenplay here.
It's an amusing tale of canny locals in a remote area taking advantage of something big that happens. The result has some very hilarious consequences. On the remote Scottish island of Todday in the Outer Hebrides in 1943, life has been happy for the villagers, and they haven't been affected by rationing.
That is until their supply of whisky runs out, and they're left high and dry, and it leaves the villagers in a gloomy slump. That is until the S.S. Cabinet Minister runs aground. The villagers, including Sammy MacCodrun (John Gregson), storekeeper Joseph Macroon (Wylie Watson) and The Biffer (Morland Graham) go out to investigate, and discover the ship has a cargo of 50,000 cases of whisky.
They pilfer as much as they can, but Captain Paul Waggett (Basil Radford) off the Home Guard is onto the locals. It's got a cheeky sense of humour, and it has a good script with some very funny dialogue along the way too.
Unlike many of Ealings films, it hasn't dated at all, and it has a timeless feel to it. It has some really funny and offbeat performances, and it's tone was carried over into similar films like Local Hero (1983) and Waking Ned (1998).
This review of Whisky Galore! (1949) was written by Asa B on 28 Apr 2014.
Whisky Galore! has generally received positive reviews.
Was this review helpful?
