Whisky Galore 1949 DVD

 

Ealing Studios 1949

I found this film - naturally, with a glass of whisky (not whiskey) in my hand - good fun. There were some excellent cameos from some well honed actors. As an aside, I was surprised at the early deaths (certainly for these times) of the main thespians. Basil Radford (1897-1952 - just three years after the film) died of cirrhosis of the liver, aged only 55. I hope it wasn't due to whisky; Joan Greenwood (1921-1987), whose husky voice enthralled audiences - to good effect in Moonfleet - died aged 65 of acute bronchitis and asthma; James Robertson Justice (1907-1990) passed away penniless, aged 68; John Gregson (1919-1975) of a heart attack aged only 55; Duncan Macrae (1905-1967), that rather hatchet-faced Scottish actor, aged 61; and Gordon Jackson (1923-1990), who I thought performed poorly in the film, of bone cancer at the age of 66. Not one reached 70. Compton Mackenzie (1883-1972), the author of the original book, partial screen writer of the film, and bit-part actor in it, made the grander age of 89.

The doctor calls (James Robertson Justice)

The scene above was one which occasioned a genuine titter - James Robertson Justice was born to be a doctor; rather Sir Laurence Spratt than this avuncular islander, though.

Down the hatch

Filmed on the island of Barra, the weather was so bad that the original 10-week schedule was overrun by five weeks and its projected budget by £20,000. Due to the main production staff being otherwise engaged at the main Ealing Studios, many of the island team were inexperienced. The director - a debut by Alexander Mackendrick - was not happy with the film. He told Gordon Jackson that it would probably turn out to be a dull documentary on island life...it looks like a home movie. It doesn't look like it was done by a professional at all. And it wasn't.

There was tension between Mackendrick and one of the scriptwriters. The former sympathised with the attempts by the pompous but high-minded Waggett (Basil Radford) to foil the looting of the cases of whisky from the shipwreck;   Danischewsky's sympathy lay with the looters. Due to the lack of accommodation on Barra, the cast were based with the islanders - at least it allowed the former to immerse themselves in the local accent. Although Joan Greenwood was a talented ballet dancer, she could not master the steps of the Highland reel - a local stood in as a body (or legs) double.

Much of the film's humour was directed at Waggett - the English intruder. One film historian sees Whisky Galore as one of several films that show an outsider coming to Scotland and being either humiliated or rejuvenated (or both). Jonny Murray was rather more disparaging, likening the film's portrayal of the islanders to those of the Kailyard school of literature - really a false image. The sense of community, however, was stressed by all contemporary critics.

The film was a financial success. Critics were mainly full of praise: a film with the French genius in the British manner...put together with tact and subtlety...one of the best post-war British films...with the sort of fancy that is half child-like and half agelessly wise. One praised the actors for portraying real people doing real things under real conditions...a talented cast sees to it that no island character study shall go unnoticed. Perhaps that was a major reason for my enjoyment.