Whiskies Galore: A Tour of Scotland's Island Distilleries

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The SS Politician was an 8000-tonne cargo ship which left Liverpool on the 3rd February 1941 laden with amongst other things 260,000 bottles of whisky, bound for Kingston in Jamaica and New Orleans. The whisky was for the American market and therefore no duty had been paid. She sailed up past the Isle of Man towards the Hebrides where the winds increased to gale force. Extreme care has gone into every aspect of the production – the sturdy set, Steve Roberts’s lighting, Peter Horsfall’s sound, Carol Caldwell’s costumes. Inventive use is made of the auditorium and there is even some dancing. Aside from the occasional (forgivably) wandering accent among a large number of commendable ones, there is little that does not feel thoroughly secure. But an arguably even more intriguing aspect of the SS Politician story remained unknown to all but a few until some 60 years after the event. Barr, Charles (1977). Ealing Studios. Newton Abbot, Devon: David & Charles Publishers. ISBN 978-0-7153-7420-7. Some may baulk at the Scottish clichés on display, but fun is poked equally – even at the English. In the end the good humour and craft win the day in what is a thoroughly enjoyable production.

The authorities, however, did not share this view, not least because the whisky was destined for the United States – and so no duty had been paid on it. Bell, Emily A. (2019). "Singing and Vocal Practices". In Sturman, Janet (ed.). The SAGE International Encyclopedia of Music and Culture. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications. pp.1961–1968. doi: 10.4135/9781483317731.n650. ISBN 978-1-5063-5338-8. S2CID 239288360. Hutchinson, Roger (2007). Polly: The True Story Behind Whisky Galore. Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing. ISBN 978-1-8401-8071-8. There followed a second, attempted, land-borne salvage operation, with the police raiding villages and crofts in an effort to recover the liquid cargo – and the locals secreting their ill-gotten gains wherever they could. Or else they just drank them. The island is largely unaffected by wartime shortages until its allocation of whisky runs out, to the consternation of the islanders, for whom the drink is considered an essential part of their lives.

Broadcast

Kate Muir, writing in The Times, gave the film four stars out of five. She praised the "zippy farce" and in particular, Eddie Izzard's portrayal of Captain Waggett played "with psychotic, obsessive joy and a nod to Dad's Army's Captain Mainwaring". Muir also said that "fans of the original film may find little or no improvement in this remake, but for a new generation this Whisky Galore! will be a pleasure". [2]

Unlike the gentle comedy of Passport to Pimlico, Whisky Galore!'s humour has an often cruel bite, most of it at the expense of the pompous English Home Guard commander, Waggett ( Radford), whose efforts to frustrate the islanders' pursuit of whisky result only in his own undoing.Toby Symonds, of The Film Blog also praised the film, describing it as "visually and aurally gorgeous". [9] Honri, Baynham (November 1967). "Milestones in British Film Studios and Their Production Techniques – 1897–1967". Journal of the SMPTE. 76 (11): 1116–1121. doi: 10.5594/J13675. ISSN 0361-4573.

The rèiteach goes ahead. Fortified by the drink, the normally abstemious George Campbell finds the courage to defy his mother and declare that he will marry Catriona with or without his mother's blessing. [1] [4] Coupe, Rosemary (2010). "The Evolution of the 'Eightsome Reel' ". Folk Music Journal. 9 (5): 693–722. ISSN 0531-9684. JSTOR 25654208. Geraghty, Christine (2002). British Cinema in the Fifties: Gender, Genre and the 'New Look' . London: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-134-69464-8. Waggett's qualities - innocent, decent, not too clever - would have chimed perfectly among the Burgundians of Passport to Pimlico (in which Radford also appeared). But it's exactly these qualities which mark him out as the victim of the wily Todday islanders. The hapless Waggett is comprehensively defeated, and his final humiliation absolute - even his wife bursts into laughter at his fate.Possibly the highlight is Lyzzie Dell’s monstrous Mrs Campbell. Anyone who has ever spent any time in Scotland will find her Holy Wilhelmina act horribly familiar as well as hugely funny. good humour and craft

People came from as far afield as Lewis and, according to reports at the time, few if any regarded what they were doing as stealing; the foundering of the ship made its cargo theirs to save under the ‘rules of salvage’.Daubney, Kate (2006). "Music as a Satirical Device in the Ealing Comedies". In Mera, Miguel; Burnand, David (eds.). European Film Music. Aldershot, Hampshire: Ashgate Publishing. pp.60–72. ISBN 978-0-7546-3659-5. When a Scottish island falls prey to a whisky shortage, the islanders are desolate. But when by chance a ship is sunk with a cargo of 50,000 cases of whisky, they see their salvation. But first they must outwit the English Home Guard commander who is determined to protect the cargo at all costs. Show full synopsis A battle of wits ensues between Waggett, who wants to confiscate the salvaged cargo, and the islanders. Waggett brings in Macroon's old Customs and Excise nemesis, Mr Farquharson, and his men to search for the whisky. Forewarned, islanders manage to hide the bottles in ingenious places, including the ammunition cases that Waggett ships off the island. When the whisky is discovered in the cases, Waggett is recalled by his superiors on the mainland to explain himself, leaving the locals triumphant.