218. Whisky Galore! (1949)

Directed By Alexander Mackendrick


Synopsis

An island in the outer Hebrides runs out of Scotch! But as providence would have it a ship carrying 50,000 cases of the stuff has an accident off the coast. The islanders play a cat and mouse game with the authorities to get the whisky.

Review

This is the second Ealing comedy on the list, and even if it is not as good as Kind Hearts and Coronets it is still thoroughly enjoyable. The whole story surrounds a community of islanders parched for some whisky, and even if their characterisation is quite stereotypical it makes for quite an amusing film.

The film starts off in the format of a documentary on the islands, and this makes for quite an original framing for the story inside it. The documentary is quickly abandoned for the farce, but it is still an interesting device.

It is quite a short film, being under 1 hour 20 minutes, but it really didn't need any more time. The scenes of the final chase are quite successful in creating both laughs and suspense and the predicament the islanders find themselves in is funny enough to carry the whole film. The romantic sub-plots were a bit unnecessary, however.

Final Grade

8/10

Trivia

From Wikipedia:

In the United States, both the novel and the film were called Tight Little Island, as a ban existed at the time on using the names of alcoholic drinks in titles.

In France, the movie was retitled Whisky a Go Go, after which a Paris discothèque and later a West Hollywood nightclub were named, ultimately giving the English language the term go-go dancer.

Heroin Galore: