19th April 2018

Whisky Galore!(couplet)

Title Whisky Galore

Director Gillies MacKinnon

Date release 2016 May 5

Type Movie

About the Story

This story takes place during W.W.2 on a little remote island called Toddy off the coast of Scotland. The island has been untouched by the war until the pub runs out of whisky and cannot get any more because it is not available for them to purchase under war conditions.

This lack of whisky matters because the island culture includes it in every-day life as well as on any important occasion such as weddings. “Whisky is the water of life and to a true islander life without it isn’t worth living “said McCroon speaking at the wake.

The island population… is a diverse group of people ranging from oddly bonkers to mildly mad who behave in very humorous and Scottish ways.

The situation develops when a ship with a cargo of 50,000 cases of whisky bound for New York is wrecked on a rocky outcrop in full view of the island people.

The islanders have to go out in heavy seas in the dead of night to off load the whiskey before the ship finally sinks. It was Saturday night just after the rescued ship’s crew were put up in a local boarding house for the night, when everyone in the village came out to help remove the whisky. Minutes before they put to sea the clock strikes midnight which means it is now Sunday and the village priest won’t let the people go out on the Sabbath. The villagers have to go home, hoping the ship won’t sink until Monday.

It then becomes a battle between the islanders, the customs and excise people, and the pompous officer of the home guard, Captain Waggot to get hold of the whisky. Monday comes and the whiskey is recovered under the dark of night by the villagers.  For this to happen Sargent Todd (a good guy who likes one of the village girls) has to turn a blind eye to the activity and pretends he has been taken hostage in the middle of the night He joins forces with the island population to hide the stolen whisky and to deceive those who would take it from them.

Within the plot are the love stories between Mr McCroon’s (the postmaster) daughters and the teacher George Campbell and Sergeant Todd. Sargent Todd is English (much to Mr Mc Croons despair!) and was an officer who had been in the North Africa campaign, and was now assigned to the home guard on the Island of Toddy. Working under Captain Waggot it is his job to train them in the skills needed to keep the island out of German hands. Sargent Todd, who loves Peggy McCroon is tasked with training the home guard villagers, who are not really up to the task of being soldiers. They are very disrespectful of his boss, Captain Waggot, and go out of their way to go behind his back.

George Campbell at some 30 years old is kept under lock and key by his domineering mother who does not approve of his love the McCroon girl. She makes it difficult for George who has to get the courage of a skinful of whisky before he can confront his mother with his plans to marry.

After many funny adventures the islanders manage to deceive all the officials who would take their whisky and keep it for themselves. The final triumph is to hold a wedding party for the McCroon girls and provide the stolen whisky which makes it a very good party.

Interesting characters

I thought Mr McCroon was interesting because he was cross about the way his life was changing. His wife was gone and now his daughters were going to marry and leave him, and he did not have any whisky for comfort or celebration of the wedding “how are we supposed to have a wedding without any whisky” says McCroon when negotiating with Sargent Odd who wants to marry his daughter.

Through-out the movie he is the key character that brings all the different stories together, As postmaster he is a leader in the community and a lot of folk are pretty scared of his grumpiness, yet he is still well liked and respected.

During the whisky theft he is clever and manages to confiscate some important documents that enable him to bargain with the officials later, allowing the islanders to keep their whisky.

His character softens over time and he allows his daughters to marry and celebrates with them. We see him change into a more fun type of person throughout the movie as life moves forward.

The teacher, George Campbell was an interesting character also. He seemed to be unusually under the control of his mother for a man his age, but kutrener was tough enough to stand up to his mother and gave George the courage, under the influence of large amounts of whisky, to make his plans to his mother clear.

kutrener tackled the mother openly and was very strong. “Your George will soon enough be my George and I will not be sharing him. You will no longer control George or interfere in anything he does or use your sanctimonious bible bashing to use as blackmail to his mild nature” It would seem George was not so much afraid of his mother, but very fond of her and not wanting to offend her.

Challenges the characters had to overcome

The first challenge the characters had to overcome was to live a few weeks without whisky! One of the older villagers died at the mere thought of this and the film shows the male villagers attending his wake drinking tea! They are very out of sorts and find life may not be worth living, (in a very funny way)

The villagers had to be brave, and skilled seamen in their small boats, going out in rough seas to steal the whisky from the sinking ship. The ship had been piloted by skilled seaman who had succumbed to the rocks of the Scary Doo!

They had to climb deep in the hold of the ship, on a very steep angle, and carefully remove the heavy wooden cases of whisky in a full storm. The villagers had to get off the ship in split second timing before it finally went down and then row back through the Scary Doo to the safety of the Island

The very next challenge was finding a good place and hiding the whisky from Captain Waggot, which honestly wasn’t that hard as he was a bit of a fool, however he was a nuisance. Talking to his wife Captain Waggot said” if it ends up in Davy Jones’ locker it is an act of God if it ends up Joseph McCroon’s locker it is an act of thievery”. Captain Waggot was described as “beyond bonkers, mad, delusional and idiotic”, by the Islanders

The last challenge the characters had to overcome was out-smarting the customs and excise men , all very experienced, knowing what to look for, which was unlike Captain Waggot as they actually knew what they were doing. However the Islanders were more cunning and they worked as a team to distract the officials while they more cleverly hid the whisky from the first hiding place. It took a lot of effort and scull duggery.

Messages I took from the Text

A message I took from the story was that sometimes desperate situations required desperate actions. The Islanders have been living through a long war and had to go without a lot of necessities, let alone luxuries. Losing their minuscule allowance of whisky was a step to far!

No one was hurt by their actions. Captain Waggot ego took a hit, but he was a pain in the neck. He set himself above the common person in the village and did not empathise with their culture. In many ways he deserved their cunning way to get around his demands of them.

Who I would recommend this Film For

I would recommend this film for someone how likes some good Scottish humour with a basis in a true event. The story shows the will of human spirit and what can be achieved by a group who suffer and work together.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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  1. Achievement Achievement with Merit Achievement with Excellence
    Form developed personal responses to independently read texts, supported by evidence. Form developed, convincing personal responses to independently read texts, supported by evidence. Form developed, perceptive personal responses to independently read texts, supported by evidence.

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