Film Forum

U.K., 1949
Directed by Alexander Mackendrick
With Basil Radford, Joan Greenwood, Catherine Lacey
Approx. 82 min. 4K DCP.

Canny but parched-by-wartime-whiskey-shortages Hebrides islanders take on hapless Home Guard boss Basil Radford (minus perennial sidekick Naunton Wayne) in a pitched battle over a wrecked cargo of booze. With original author Compton Mackenzie as Captain Buncher. Released in the U.S. as TIGHT LITTLE ISLAND.

Reviews

“Beguiling, subversive and a complete joy.”
– Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

“Another happy demonstration of that peculiar knack British movie makers have for striking a rich and universally appealing comic vein in the most unexpected and seemingly insular situations.”
– Thomas M. Pryor, The New York Times