Whisky Galore
Whisky Galore (1949)
US Title: Tight Little Island A.K.A: Mad Little Island and Whisky a Go-Go
An Ealing Studios Production
Location
Because the Director, Alexander Mackendrick, was adamant that the film be shot in the Outer Hebrides for authenticity, Whisky Galore was filmed entirely on the Isle of Barra. Most of the action takes place around the village of Castlebay, which really hasn't changed that much between then and the present day! Filming ran heavily over budget by £20,000 (quite a significant amount in those days) due to weather and terrain difficulties but was visually very atmospheric in black and white.
Story Line:
This incredibly funny and charming comedy is regarded as one of Britain's best loved pictures. The film is adapted from the novel by Compton Mackenzie which was based (loosely) around the true story of the sinking of the SS. Politician (or the Cabinet Minister in the film) which ran aground off Eriskay, off South Uist ('Todday' in the film) in 1941 with a cargo of 24,000 cases of Whisky which was subsequently raided by the locals. The ship had been destined for the United States and foundered off Todday, an island drunk dry of whisky through wartime rationing. There is a great gloom throughout the islands at their lack of Uisge Beatha (Gaelic word for whisky meaning water of life) so when the Cargo ship runs aground it is like a gift from the gods. The islanders go about their subtle nighttime raids on the ship ensuring the amber nectar is shared out equally throughout the village. So follows a hilarious race to salvage and hide the whisky before Customs and Excise can catch them. The islanders run circles around the Home Guard, especially the hapless Capt Wagget, a well intentioned but slightly pompous Englishman who cannot comprehend the ways of the locals and their love of whisky. The whisky comes out to celebrate the double engagement of Peggy and Catriona, and is swiftly poured into the islands main water tank when the home guard arrives. As the Customs and Excise officers are keen to catch the culprits, even the innocent Captain Wagget get implicated in the chaos.
CAST AND CREW
| Writers | Compton Mackenzie and Angus Macphail |
| Director | Alexander Mackendrick |
| Producer | Monja Danishewsky |
| Co Producer | Compton Mackenzie
Angus Macphail |
| Art Direction | Jim Morahan |
| Cinematography | Gerald Gibbs |
| Editing | Joseph Sterling and Charles Crichton |
| Music | Ernest Irving |
Cast
| Basil Radford | Capt. Wagget |
| Catherine Lacey | Mrs Wagget |
| Bruce Seton | Sgt. Odd |
| Joan Greenwood | Peggy Macroon |
| Grabrielle Blunt | Catriona Macroon |
| Wylie Watson | Joseph Macroon |
| Gordon Jackson | George Campbell |
| Jean Cadell | Mrs Campbell |
| James Robertson Justice | Dr Maclaren |
| John Gregson | Sammy |
| A.E. Matthews | Col Linsey Wooley |
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