Whisky Galore (DVD)

Reviews

"Whisky Galore" by Micky B - 29 August 2013

One of the first (and best!) of the post-World War II British comedies; this neat little offering is made even more humorous in the knowledge that it is actually based on a true happening! The year is 1943, and the inhabitants of the isolated Scottish island of Todday in the Outer Hebrides are largely unaffected by wartime rationing. That is, until they completely run out of <i>whisky,</i> and the entire island goes into a kind of mourning! However, in a thick fog,a ship – the “S.S.Politician” – runs aground nearby , and the islanders learn that there is a cargo of 50 000 cases of Best Scotch on board! Being a Sunday, there is nothing that they can do about it immediately. However, at about ten minutes past midnight on (just) Monday morning, roughly 50 thousand cases of whisky mysteriously disappear from the stranded vessel! The commannder of the Home Guard (Basil Radford) and the excise men search the entire island for the missing cargo – but to no avail! The wily, ingenious islanders have secreted their spoils in every liquid-holding vessel they can get their hands on.(including hot-water bottles, ammunition cases, and the local water supply!) Local Scottish customs may now be met, and the shy local schoolteacher (a very young Gordon Jackson) may get married to his fiancee, and also English sergeant (Bruce Seaton) to his beloved, Peggy (Joanne Greenwood.) The remainder of the cast comprises both Scottish and Irish actors, who include James Robertson Justice; Compton McKenzie (who also wrote and directed;) Gabrielle Blunt; John Gregson and Duncan Macrae. If you're as much a fan of true British comedy as I am, then this movie is an ABSOLUTE MUST!!!