History Film / WhiskyGalore

* HomeGuard: The trope namer, no less, shown here as a vaguely silly citizen militia (rather like it would later be depicted in ''Series/DadsArmy'', comparisons with which are very obvious in TheRemake). George, the second-in-command, can't go out to the ship because he's grounded (although he escapes by climbing out of his bedroom window), and another militiaman's mother uses his helmet to feed chickens. Captain Waggett is the sort of fellow who will put up roadblocks on the island just to look busy, despite the fact that the only road on the island is a circle — meaning that if the Germans were to invade Todday, they could just turn around and go the other way. Waggett takes his job so seriously that he decides to guard the wrecked ship and later find the looted whisky, even though it isn't really his business.

''Whisky Galore!'' is a 1949 film directed by Alexander Mackendrick, based on the 1947 novel by Compton Mackenzie — which was in turn based on a real-life incident that occurred in 1941.

* AdaptationNameChange: The SS ''Politician'' was renamed ''Cabinet Minister'' in the film.

* HomeGuard: The trope namer, no less, shown here as a vaguely silly citizen militia (rather like it would later be depicted in ''Series/DadsArmy'', comparisons with which are very obvious in TheRemake). George, the second-in-command, can't go out to the ship because he's grounded (although he escapes by climbing out of his bedroom window), and another militiaman's mother uses his helmet to feed chickens. Captain Waggett is the sort of fellow who will put up roadblocks on the island just to look busy, despite the fact that the only road on the island is a circle — meaning that if the Germans were to invade Todday, they could just turn around and go the other way. Waggett takes his job so seriously that he decides to guard the wrecked ship even though it isn't really his business.

** Early in the film, Waggett shows what an oaf he is by building a barricade on the island's only road. Late in the film that barricade is used to delay Waggett and the revenue police, while the islanders abscond with the whiskey.
** Waggett is shown in his first appearance arguing with a ship captain, trying to get the captain to take away his .303 caliber ammunition; it's the wrong calibre for his rifles. Later, one of his boxes is used to hide some whisky, which gets Waggett in trouble when he does ship out the ammunition.

* ChekhovsGunman: Being the island's telephone operator, Peggy is able to listen in on calls, which helps her father (and everyone else) to anticipate what Waggett's doing when the latter becomes determined to find the whisky.

* ChekhovsGunwoman: Being the island's telephone operator, Peggy is able to listen in on calls, which helps her father (and everyone else) to anticipate what Waggett's doing when the latter becomes determined to find the whisky.

* HomeGuard: The trope namer, no less, shown here as a vaguely silly citizen militia (rather like it would later be depicted in ''Series/DadsArmy'', comparisons with which are very obvious in TheRemake). George, the second-in-command, can't go out to the ship because he's grounded. Another militiaman's mother uses his helmet to feed chickens. Captain Waggett is the sort of fellow who will put up roadblocks on the island just to look busy, despite the fact that the only road on the island is a circle — meaning that if the Germans were to invade Todday, they could just turn around and go the other way. Waggett takes his job so seriously that he decides to guard the wrecked ship even though it isn't really his business.

* TheRemake: Released in 2016 after more than a decade in DevelopmentHell. Largely follows the plot of the original movie, but adds a sub-plot concerning a government red box that was also on the ''Cabinet Minister''.

* HomeGuard: The trope namer, no less, shown here as a vaguely silly citizen militia (rather like his it would later be depicted in ''Series/DadsArmy'', comparisons with which are obviously in TheRemake). George, the second-in-command, can't go out to the ship because he's grounded. Another militiaman's mother uses his helmet to feed chickens. Captain Waggett is the sort of fellow who will put up roadblocks on the island just to look busy, despite the fact that the only road on the island is a circle — meaning that if the Germans were to invade Todday, they could just turn around and go the other way. Waggett takes his job so seriously that he decides to guard the wrecked ship even though it isn't really his business.

There's romance going on, at least. Catriona Macroon, daughter of the island's postmaster Joseph, has gotten engaged to meek schoolteacher George Campbell, although George's domineering mother refuses to sanction the marriage. Catriona's sister Peggy, the telephone operator (Joan Greenwood), has also gotten engaged to Sergeant Odd, an islander who has just returned after fighting the Germans in North Africa. The only person on the island who seems to be having a good time is Captain Waggett, commander of the local Home Guard, who takes his job of guarding a barren, windswept island far too seriously.

The tedium of wartime life on Todday is suddenly interrupted when a cargo ship, the SS ''Cabinet Minister'', runs aground offshore. The cargo ship, it so happens, was carrying fifty thousand cases of whisky. The islanders immediately mobilize to loot the whisky before the ship sinks, but they have to overcome the opposition of Captain Waggett, who takes it upon himself to prevent looting at all costs.

A [[TheRemake remake]] was released in 2016 after nearly a decade in DevelopmentHell; directed by Gillies [=MacKinnon=], it starred Gregor Fisher as Joseph Macroon and Creator/EddieIzzard as Captain Waggett.

* StockFootage: The clip used for the sinking of the SS ''Cabinet Minister'' is the same as that used for the sinking of the Jervis Bay in ''Film/SanDemetrioLondon''.

* VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory: Inspired by the true story of the SS ''Politician'', a ship that ran aground offshore of the Hebrides in February 1941, carrying 22,000 cases of malt whisky (and millions of pounds in cash, something this film omits).

''Whisky Galore!'' is a 1949 film directed by Alexander Mackendrick.

There's romance going on, at least. Catriona Macroon, daughter of the island's postmaster Joseph, has gotten engaged to meek schoolteacher George Campbell, although George's domineering mother refuses to sanction the marriage. Catriona's sister Peggy, the telephone operator (Joan Greenwood), has also gotten engaged to Sgt. Odd, an islander who has just returned after fighting the Germans in North Africa. Still, the only person on the island who seems to be having a good time is Captain Waggett, commander of the local Home Guard, who takes his job of guarding a barren, windswept island far too seriously.

* AgeGapRomance: Sgt. Odd is rather embarrassed when Peggy calls him old and then specifically notes that he's 17 years older than she is. She marries him anyway.

* CurseCutShort: Fortified by LiquidCourage, George says to his mother, "I've told you my terms, and if you don't like them, you can go to--you can go to Glasgow!" (Earlier his mom had threatened to go to Glasgow to live with her sister.)

* MyBelovedSmother: George's overbearing, domineering mother. She refuses to permit his marriage to Peggy. She ''locks him in his room''.

* SeriousBusiness: The islanders are very, very upset that they can't get whisky anymore thanks to the war.
* SleepingSingle: Capt. Waggett and his wife sleep in separate beds. In this instance it sort of fits Waggett's starchy, fussy personality.

* SuddenDownerEnding: The closing narration talks about how the island had plenty of whisky, but that eventually they drank it all, and whisky got too rare and expensive for anyone to afford, and "they all lived unhappily ever after." That is, except for Peggy and Sgt. Odd, who weren't whisky drinkers. This was no doubt due to the Hays Code, which stipulated that no film where a crime is committed can end with the criminals profiting from it.

The setting is Todday, a fictional island in the Scottish Outer Hebrides, DuringTheWar. (The film was shot on the Outer Hebrides island of Barra). Life is grim in Todday, because there is no whisky due to wartime rationing and shortages, and to the people of Todday, life is not worth living if there's no whisky to drink.

There's romance going on, at least. Catriona Macroon has gotten engaged to meek schoolteacher George Campbell, although George's domineering mother refuses to sanction the marriage. Catriona's sister Peggy Macroon, the telephone operator (Joan Greenwood), has also gotten engaged to Sgt. Odd, an islander who has just returned after fighting the Germans in North Africa. Still, the only person on the island who seems to be having a good time is Captain Waggett, commander of the local Home Guard, who takes his job of guarding a barren, windswept island far too seriously.

The tedium of wartime life in Todday is suddenly interrupted when a cargo ship, the SS ''Cabinet Minister'', runs aground offshore. The cargo ship, it so happens, was carrying fifty thousand cases of whisky. The islanders immediately mobilize to loot the whisky before the ship sinks, but they have to overcome the opposition of Captain Waggett, who takes it upon himself to prevent looting at all costs.

A [[TheRemake remake]] was released in 2016 after nearly a decade in DevelopmentHell; it starred Gregor Fisher as Joseph Macroon and Creator/EddieIzzard as Captain Waggett.

* HomeGuard: The trope namer, no less, shown here as a vaguely silly citizen militia (rather like his it would later be depicted in ''Series/DadsArmy''). George, second in command of the unit, can't go out to the ship because he's grounded. Another militiaman's mother uses his helmet to feed chickens. Captain Waggett is the sort of fellow who will put up roadblocks on the island just to look busy, despite the fact that the only road on the island is a circle and German invaders could land anywhere. Waggett takes his job so seriously that he decides to guard the wrecked ship even though it isn't really his business.
* LiquidCourage: George can't face his mother and tell her that he's marrying Peggy whether mom likes it or not--that is, until he's had five shots of the whisky liberated from the cargo ship.

The setting is Todday, a fictional island in the Scottish Outer Hebrides, DuringTheWar. (The film was shot on the Outer Hebrides island of Barra). Life is grim in Todday, because there is no whiskey due to wartime rationing and shortages, and to the people of Todday, life is not worth living if there's no whiskey to drink.

There's romance going on, at least. Catriona Macroon has gotten engaged to meek schoolteacher George Campbell, although George's domineering mother refuses to sanction the marriage. Catriona's sister Peggy Macroon, the telephone operator (Joan Greenwood), has also gotten engaged to Sgt. Odd, an islander who has just gotten back on leave after fighting the Germans in North Africa. Still, the only person on the island who seems to be having a good time is Captain Waggett, commander of the local Home Guard militia, who takes his job of guarding a barren, windswept island far too seriously.

The tedium of wartime life in Todday is suddenly interrupted when a cargo ship, the SS ''Cabinet Minister'', runs aground offshore. The cargo ship, it so happens, was carrying fifty thousand cases of whiskey. The citizens of Todday immediately mobilize to loot the whiskey before the ship sinks--but they have to overcome the opposition of Captain Waggett, who takes it upon himself to prevent looting at all costs.

* AgeGapRomance: Sgt. Odd is rather embarrassed when Peggy calls him old and then specifically notes that he's 17 years older than he is. She marries him anyway.

** Early in the film Waggett shows what an oaf he is by building a barricade on the island's only road. Late in the film that barricade is used to delay Waggett and the revenue police, while the islanders abscond with the whiskey.
** Waggett is shown in his first appearance arguing with a ship captain, trying to get the captain to take away his .303 caliber ammunition; it's the wrong caliber for his rifles. Later, one of his boxes is used to hide some whiskey, which gets Waggett in trouble when he does ship out the ammunition.

* HomeGuard: The British Home Guard, a vaguely silly citizen militia. George, second in command of the unit, can't go out to the ship because he's grounded. Another militiaman's mom uses his helmet to feed chickens. Captain Waggett is the sort of fellow who will put up roadblocks on the island just to look busy, despite the fact that the only road on the island is a circle and German invaders could land anywhere. Waggett takes his job so seriously that he decides to guard the wrecked ship even though it isn't really his business.
* LiquidCourage: George can't face his mother and tell her that he's marrying Peggy whether mom likes it or not--that is, until he's had five shots of the whiskey liberated from the cargo ship.

* {{Narrator}}: A narrator sets the scene in Todday, and closes the story by explaining how the village eventually ran out of whiskey and was unhappy.
* SeriousBusiness: The islanders are very, very upset that they can't get whiskey anymore thanks to the war.

* SuddenDownerEnding: The closing narration talks about how the island had plenty of whiskey, but that eventually they drank it all up, and whiskey got too rare and expensive for anyone to afford, and "they all lived unhappily ever after." That is, except for Peggy and Sgt. Odd, who weren't whiskey drinkers. (This was no doubt due to the Hays Code, which stipulated that no film where a crime is committed can end with the criminals profiting from it.)

** A sailor aboard the ''Cabinet Minister'' worries that they're too close to land. The captain barks "I tell you we're nowhere near any island!" Immediately after he utters these words the ship runs aground.

* TitleDrop: The closing narration says that the islanders had "whiskey galore!"
* VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory: Inspired by the true story of the SS ''Politician'', a ship that ran aground offshore of the Hebrides in February 1941, carrying 22,000 cases of malt whiskey (and millions of pounds in cash, something this film omits).

* ExcitedShowTitle: ''Whisky Galore!''

* SuddenDownerEnding: The closing narration talks about how the island had plenty of whiskey, but that eventually they drank it all up, and whiskey got too rare and expensive for anyone to afford, and "they all lived unhappily ever after." That is, except for Peggy and Sgt. Odd, who weren't whiskey drinkers.

There's romance going on, at least. Catriona Macroon, the telephone operator, has gotten engaged to meek schoolteacher George Campbell, although George's domineering mother refuses to sanction the marriage. Catriona's sister Peggy Macroon (Joan Greenwood) has also gotten engaged to Sgt. Odd, an islander who has just gotten back on leave after fighting the Germans in North Africa. Still, the only person on the island who seems to be having a good time is Captain Waggett, commander of the local Home Guard militia, who takes his job of guarding a barren, windswept island far too seriously.

The tedium of wartime life in Todday is suddenly interrupted when a cargo ship runs aground offshore. The cargo ship, it so happens, was carrying fifty thousand cases of whiskey. The citizens of Todday immediately mobilize to loot the whiskey before the ship sinks--but they have to overcome the opposition of Captain Waggett, who takes it upon himself to prevent looting at all costs.