Whisky Galore! (Tight Little Island) poster & wallpaper
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Basil Radford, Joan Greenwood, Catherine Lacey, Bruce Seton, Gordon Jackson ... see more see more... , James Robertson Justice , Gabrielle Blunt , Wylie Watson , Jean Cadell , Morland Graham , Duncan Macrae , Jameson Clark , Finlay Currie , John Gregson , Alastair Hunter , Norman Macowan , A.E. Matthews , Henry Mollison , Frank Webster , James Woodburn , James Anderson

Originally released in Great Britain as Whisky Galore!, Tight Little Island is a comedy predicated on the notion that all Scotsmen are lushes. The tiny Scots Island of Todday suffers from a wartime wh... read more read more...isky shortage. Luck of luck, a ship full of the precious liquid is wrecked on a reef. The islanders conspire to smuggle the whisky off the ship right under the noses of the pesky British revenue officials. Numerous clever comic complications occur before the happy ending--which, we are told by the narrator, was not so happy once all the whisky was consumed. Tight Little Island is regarded by devotees of British comedy as the best and most representative offering from the short-lived Ealing Studios. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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82% liked it

991 ratings

Critics

100% liked it

8 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 23 min.

Directed by: Alexander Mackendrick

Release Date: June 1, 1949

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Stats: 108 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (108)

  • RossCollinsUK
    June 20, 2011
    RossCollinsUK
    A very accessible comedy thriller for a 1940s black & white movie. Full of Dad's Army, home guard humour and George Formby type characters. Explains a lot about the conservative ways of Scottish island live nowadays too...
  • matertenebraum
    February 10, 2011
    matertenebraum
    Delightful post-war British comedy illustrating for the umpteenth time the fighting spirit of the "ordinary Joe" (or in this case Jock) when set against the pomposity of the would-be ruling classes. Capt Waggett (Basil Radford) is the real star here as the middle class representa... read moretive of stiff upper lippery. Surely Jimmy Perry and David Croft must have drawn on him when they were dreaming up the Capt Mainwaring character for the long-running BBC TV sit-com "Dad's Army". Even one of Waggett's lines ("I was waiting to see when you'd spot that", a comment usually made when Mainwaring had just uttered some piece of logistical nonsense) made an appearance. Unmissable example of British comedy rooted in the style that made Ealing so succesful
  • fb1142797643
    January 8, 2010
    fb1142797643
    [Warning: Some might say this review contains spoilers, though I personally wouldn't have minded reading any of these comments beforehand.]

    I love many of those little British comedies of the '50s and early '60s, and I know this is regarded as a classic and one of the first of i... read morets breed. But this film really frustrated me. The premise of an isolated, unhappily "dry" island suddenly finding itself with a motherlode of contraband alcohol is so wonderful, but the execution just doesn't pay off like it should.

    I envisioned a plot about the amusing repercussions of sitting on this bounty. Some people will get too drunk. Other people will do unwise things while drunk. Other people will covet others' stashes, resulting in a comic series of thefts and quarrels. Great fun. But instead, a large chunk of the film is devoted to simply *getting* the whisky and setting the story in motion. And once the town has its booze, not much happens beyond the authorities trying to claim it back. Very little in the way of human comedy results -- just car chases and action scenes. Furthermore, the final *minute* or so suddenly adds a buzzkill conclusion which comes off like something hastily inserted after the temperance board protested an early screening. What a drag!
  • flixsterbum
    December 27, 2007
    flixsterbum
    The granddaddy of movies like "Waking Ned Devine" and "Saving Grace". A group of islanders, after a severe whiskey shortage, hit the mother lode when a ship full of whiskey runs aground off the coast. And the rest of the movie is them keeping the good stuff away from the Home G... read moreuard captain, intent on confiscating the looted goods. It's fun and funny and holds up really well fifty years later. The characters are fun, especially the older folks as they gleefully imbibe. I was chuckling throughout. This one's ripe for a remake, and they wouldn't have to change much to keep it as funny as it is.

View All Whisky Galore! (Tight Little Island) Reviews

Critic Reviews

Philip French
July 31, 2011
Philip French, Observer [UK]

A colourful contribution to the current debate on the future of Scotland. Full Review

Derek Malcolm
July 29, 2011
Derek Malcolm, This is London

Basil Radford, Joan Greenwood, Catherine Lacey and Gordon Jackson are among the players who got fed up with drinking cold tea and pretending it was the hard stuff. Full Review

Peter Bradshaw
July 28, 2011
Peter Bradshaw, Guardian [UK]

Beguiling, subversive and a complete joy. Full Review

David Parkinson
July 28, 2011
David Parkinson, Radio Times

Adapted by Compton Mackenzie and Angus MacPhail from Mackenzie's own novel, Alexander Mackendrick's sublime film is one of the jewels in the Ealing crown. Full Review

Jamie Russell
July 27, 2011
Jamie Russell, Total Film

A whimsical tale of Celtic self-reliance vs English stuffiness, this wee comedy dram warms the heart as surely as a blended malt. Full Review

Fernando F. Croce
September 25, 2009
Fernando F. Croce, CinePassion

Mackendrick's already evident feeling for mordant human clashes ruptures the studio's coziness Full Review

April 4, 2011
New York Times

Click to read the article Full Review

April 4, 2011
Variety

Click to read the article Full Review

July 22, 2008
Variety

Click to read the article Full Review

Thomas M. Pryor
February 11, 2006
Thomas M. Pryor, New York Times

Click to read the article Full Review

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