Perhaps there is a kernel of truth in the stereotypes. Perhaps members of the stereotyped groups find a certain comfort and amusement in accepting the widely-held beliefs about them and repeating them. Perhaps the only way of producing commercially acceptable products is to reproduce those familiar representations. I am not sure.

Whilst there are some wonderful characters in the book, such as the officious Home Guard Captain Waggett and the larger than life priest Father Macalister, there are a bewildering number of them. Many characters seem to just dip in and out of the story and it is sometimes difficult to keep up, whilst the novel itself is very dialogue heavy. However, that is no bad thing I guess as it does allow you to become immersed in the gentle intrigue, mischief and humour of the 1940s Hebrides. Hutchinson, Roger (2007). Polly: The True Story Behind Whisky Galore. Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing. p.149-150. ISBN 978-1-8401-8071-8. Duguid, Mark (2013). "Whisky Galore! (1949)". Screenonline. British Film Institute . Retrieved 29 November 2016. Honri, Baynham (November 1967). "Milestones in British Film Studios and Their Production Techniques – 1897–1967". Journal of the SMPTE. 76 (11): 1116–1121. doi: 10.5594/J13675. ISSN 0361-4573. Then things got considerably worse. As the winds drove SS Politician further off-course, at 7.40am a lookout glimpsed land; in desperation, the ship swung away, only to founder on the unseen sandbanks off Rosinish Point on the Isle of Eriskay.You probably know that it has parallels with a real event in 1941 when the SS Politician suffered a similar fate off the island of Eriskay. However, the book (unlike the 1949 film) only has the latter part of its content dedicated to the islanders making off with their alcoholic spoils; the grounding of the ship doesn't happen until half way through the book and the actual search is contained in one chapter. Records the default button state of the corresponding category & the status of CCPA. It works only in coordination with the primary cookie. Barr, Charles (1977). Ealing Studios. Newton Abbot, Devon: David & Charles Publishers. ISBN 978-0-7153-7420-7.

I am in two minds about this book, for I am sure that had I read it in print or on kindle, I would have given it 3 stars only, but the awesome narration by David Rintoul, whom I just cannot praise highly enough!!, rendered it much more enjoyable. His style and Scottish accents delighted my Scotland-loving ears and soul and I could have gone on listening for an ever longer period. To me the book is mainly about two weddings and the osbtacles that two very different men have to overcome to achieve their ambitions of marrying island girls. The worldly, middle-aged English Sergeant-Major Alfred Odd is dead set on marrying Peggy Macroon whose father seems strangely pessimistic about the match and wonders what the rush is, whilst the rather timid school teacher George Campbell has his sights set on housekeeper Catriona Macleod in direct opposition to his own mother (described as an "old Tartar" by the Sergeant-Major). Unhappily the oil that moves the wheels on these islands has dried up. Put more literally the action takes place during World War 2 and whisky is rationed so that it can be sent abroad for trade. A limited supply of whisky is available, but now even that has run out. When the beer runs out too, an elderly resident leaves the bar in disgust, goes home, and dies immediately. That is how important whisky is.The SS Politician was carrying all manner of trade goods, from cotton to medicines to biscuits, but the ship is best remembered for the contents of Hold Number 5: some 264,000 bottles of Scotch whisky.

This cookie is set by Rubicon Project to control synchronization of user identification and exchange of user data between various ad services. Whisky Galore! was produced at the same time as Passport to Pimlico and Kind Hearts and Coronets; all three comedies were released in UK cinemas over two months. [4] Brian McFarlane, writing in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, states that although it was not an aim of releasing the three films together, together they "established the brand name of 'Ealing comedy'"; [86] Duguid writes that the three films "forever linked 'Ealing' and 'comedy' in the public imagination". [9] The film historians Duguid, Lee Freeman, Keith Johnston and Melanie Williams consider 1949 was one of two "pinnacle" years for Ealing, the other being 1951, when The Man in the White Suit and The Lavender Hill Mob were both released. [87] The authorities, however, did not share this view, not least because the whisky was destined for the United States – and so no duty had been paid on it.Martin-Jones, David (2010). Scotland: Global Cinema. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 978-0-7486-8654-4.

This charming book first published in 1947 is a fictionalized version of an actual event that occurred off the Scottish island of Eriskay in 1941. During WW II and before the U S entered the war, Great Britain was in dire need of armaments which it could not produce for itself in sufficient quantities, nor could Britain pay for the armaments entirely in cash. The deal eventually brokered was that the U S would ship munitions in convoys of “Liberty Ships” to Britain. In return, Britain would pay for the munitions is cash AND whisky, this made whisky scarce in Scotland where it was – and is – a crucial component of Scottish island life from taking a few daily drams to high ceremonial occasions. Murray describes Kailyard as "images of Scotland that portrayed it as parochial, cut off from the modern world, small-town, hapless lads, winsome lassies. They certainly weren't something you could recognise yourself in". [52] The music for Whisky Galore! was composed by Ernest Irving, who had been involved in several other productions for Ealing Studios. His score incorporated adaptations of themes from Scottish folk music to include in his compositions, [38] and used the Scotch snap musical form to reinforce the theme. [39] The musicologist Kate Daubney writes that Irving's score "Seems positively lush with its expansive seascapes and emotive expressions of anxiety in the community". [40] The opening music to the film begins with English brass notes, but this changes to Scottish melodies; Daubney describes how the "balance of material evokes the English-Scottish relationship which will emerge in the film's story". [41] The Hebridean islands of Big and Little Todday (actually Eriskay) are out of whisky when the book begins. Life is hell. One of the islands’ oldest inhabitants dies for want of the stuff. Worse, there are two couples who desire (or are being talked into) marriage. These marriages cannot happen if whisky is not to be had. The two islands are in competition in various ways, including religion – Big Todday is Protestant of some sort (never specified?) and Little Todday is Catholic.Daubney, Kate (2006). "Music as a Satirical Device in the Ealing Comedies". In Mera, Miguel; Burnand, David (eds.). European Film Music. Aldershot, Hampshire: Ashgate Publishing. pp.60–72. ISBN 978-0-7546-3659-5. At first, the authorities were not hugely concerned. The eight cases containing the money were first reported to be covered in fuel and water; then presumed swept away by the seas. At one point, the head of the salvage operation was said to have given a few away as souvenirs. In the book there are 2 fictional islands of the Outer Hebrides called Great Todday (Protestant) and Little Todday (Catholic) in the year of 1943. While the islanders may have their mild religious clashes (in the book this takes the form of rivalry of which island's people settled there earlier and what their origins are as well as about the observation of Sabbath), they are united on one front: when the provision of whisky starts thinning out and then cut off, the "Drought" affects morale very badly on both Islands, much to the consternation of the snobbish British Home Guard officer, Captain Waggett (who is in mortal fear of losing the war because of the locals' callous behaviour). How these two men manage to clear the way to matrimonial bliss (Sergeant-Major Odd and Peggy's pre-wedding (or reiteach) and wedding play a big part in the latter part of the book, whilst George and Catriona's nuptials must wait a little bit longer) coupled with the ending of the dram drought on the islands of Little Todday, and its larger neighbour Great Todday, form a charming and gentle tale. A poorly written book, though fun in a cosy sort of way. Wartime rationing creates a whisky drought on two neighbouring Hebridean islands during the early 1940s. The future matrimonial happiness of various parties is threatened, as is communal harmony, the morale of the local Home Guard and the authority and dignity of its commander. Fortuitously, the drought ends; some funny business ensues and all’s well that ends well. Wedding bells peal and the Catholic Church receives a new convert.