Tuesday 14 February 2012

Tight Little Island


Based on the book "Whisky Galore" by Compton MacKenzie, this Ealing Studios film is loosely based on the story of the SS Politician, a cargo ship which sunk off the coast of Scotland during WWII. 

The whisky which made up part of the cargo started to wash up on the shores of the islands  on the west coast of Scotland and was 'salvaged' by the locals. 

However, it wasn't long before HM Customs & Excise began to take an interest. The real story is not quite as funny as the film portrays, with quite a few folk finding themselves fined and even ending up behind bars for their efforts.

I was amused to discover that the film was retitled, "A Tight Little Island" for some reason on its release in the US.


Here's a short clip of the locals having themselves a bit of a sing-song to celebrate their windfall, lubricated, of course, with plenty of their ill-gotten gains.

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