Cathardincu Surprisingly incoherent and boring

Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Maidexpl Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

Aneesa Wardle The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Leofwine_draca WHISKY GALORE! is one of the films that helped to cement Ealing Studios's reputation as a fine leading purveyor of British comedies. It's a memorable production that was of course based on the true story of a cargo ship becoming wrecked off the coast of Scotland and shedding its cargo of whisky bottles to the delight of the local populace.What plays out is straightforward stuff indeed; there's not a great deal of narrative structure or plot here as this is for the most part a character piece. The viewer sits back and watches how each of the characters reacts to the unusual situation as the officials try to retrieve the stolen whisky while the locals try to hide their ill-gotten games. It's the sort of film that can write itself, if I'm honest, but the cast make it work.Basil Radford (without his comic partner Naunton Wayne for a change) is fine as the stressed-out captain tasked with retrieving the cargo. A youthful Gordon Jackson is all smiles and James Robertson Justice typically larger than life as the doctor. Joan Greenwood in particular makes an impact as the wife of one of the islanders. WHISKY GALORE! is a farce that works thanks to a fast pace and plenty of little twists in the narrative to keep you watching, and crucially it's also funny in the dated, genteel English way.

vfrizza To all that's been said by other viewers, I'd just like to add that, to me, the comedy derives not only from the sheer situation - a whole cast of beautiful Scottish island dwellers / a ship washed ashore with holds full of precious rare whiskey at a time of dire storage, but from the way this bunch of islanders deal with the 'rules' and go around all of them. A godsend shipment of whiskey in war time is one thing, the armed forces trying to apply some rule to such an unruly population is another, but they also have to deal with 2 even bigger forces, the tide and Sabbath! The inner struggles of these good people to finally manage and have the proper wedding ceremony, and the ensuing traditional ceilidh make the movie a delight of good, unpretentious comedy, while the fond memory that remains is that of mankind working around cultural/historical setting to remain what they are deep at heart, and behave accordingly. And yes, there is also the wonderful Joan Greenwood, with her ragged velvet voice and smooth acting...

Huineman A good whisky needs time to fully express itself; drinking it without its having reached its maturity just won't do. Well, like a great whisky, this film has developed itself over time. Already 65 years old, and that is certainly a long period of ageing, "Whisky Galore" is still crisp, certain, subtle and appealing, what you would expect both a great spirit and a great film to be. Like the perfect sip, it gets ahold of you from the very beginning, captivating the drinker (or the viewer) with calculated pace and timing, keeping your interest from start to finish. The movie deals easily with complex issues, such as the relation between parents and offspring, military and civilian, State and folk, always leaning towards the weaker. Ever gentle, it will make you smile and leave you with a nice reminiscence lingering for a long time: once again, just as a glass of the best scotch would do. Cheers!

duckbaker Glancing through the other comments, it would appear that the most negative response to this one is the suggestion that it wouldn't be much fun to view more than once. Having just seen it for the first time, I can only say that I would happily watch it next week, proving only that it's just about impossible to get complete agreement on anything. For this viewer, the fact that the setup here is so simple means that a great deal of the humor depends on timing and delivery, and this cast obviously relish the job at hand. In fact, some of it seems so obvious that it almost shouldn't be funny even the first time around - but it is not only funny, it's out-and-out hilarious. I think that there was a tendency of light films of this era to try and stretch the feel-good created by the humor to imply that all is, after all, really right with the world, something perhaps easier to believe in 1949 than in 2006. Possibly that wears thin for some, but why split hairs? In my experience, comedy is the most difficult genre for getting a consensus; many of my best friends, for instance, love Woody Allen, the very sight of whom who gives me (and many others) an almighty pain. With that in mind, the fact that everyone who has commented agrees that this movie is very funny - at least once - seems in itself quite remarkable.