Rockets Galore!
Rockets Galore! is a 1957 British comedy film directed by Michael Relph and starring Jeannie Carson, Donald Sinden and Roland Culver. The sequel to Whisky Galore!, it was much less successful than its predecessor.
| Rockets Galore! | |
|---|---|
 UK release poster | |
| Directed by | Michael Relph |
| Produced by | Basil Dearden |
| Written by |
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| Based on | Rockets Galore by Compton Mackenzie |
| Starring |
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| Music by | Cedric Thorpe Davie |
| Cinematography | Reginald Wyer |
| Edited by | John D. Guthridge |
Production company | Rank Organisation |
| Distributed by | Rank Organisation |
Release date |
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Running time | 94 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
It was based on the novel of the same title by Compton Mackenzie. Gordon Jackson, Jean Cadell and Catherine Lacey reprise their roles from the previous film. Ronnie Corbett appears as 'Drooby', with cameo appearances by Richard Dimbleby, Michael Foot and Robert Boothby. It was made at Pinewood Studios with sets designed by the art director Jack Maxsted.
Although not a true sequel to Whisky Galore!, many of that film's locations on the island of Barra were utilised again and many of the characters returned, but often played by different performers. The film was released in America as Mad Little Island.
Plot
In the Cold War era of post-Second World War Britain, the government decides to establish a guided missile base on the Hebridean isle of Todday. The inhabitants are not happy with this disruption of their way of life, and hamper construction as much as they can. An RAF officer, sent to negotiate with the people, falls in love with a local girl and realises what the base would mean to the islanders.
When a missile is finally launched, the guidance system fails and the missile returns to the land, rather than out at sea. As it is technically on privately owned land, the islanders claim it and celebrate their 'victory' by dancing around the site. The RAF tries unsuccessfully to negotiate, but eventually abandons the base.
But some islanders wished the base to remain, with the attendant economic benefits. Inspired and led by Father James, they 'discover' a rare seagull that only nests on Todday, in the hope that tourists will come.
Cast
- Jeannie Carson as Janet Macleod
- Donald Sinden as Hugh Mander
- Roland Culver as Captain Waggett
- Catherine Lacey as Mrs. Waggett
- Noel Purcell as Father James
- Ian Hunter as Air Commodore Watchorn
- Duncan Macrae as Duncan Ban
- Jean Cadell as Mrs. Campbell
- Gordon Jackson as George Campbell
- Alex Mackenzie as Joseph Macleod
- Carl Jaffe as Dr. Hamburger
- Nicholas Phipps as Andrew Wishart
- Jameson Clark as Constable Macrae
- Ronnie Corbett as Drooby
- James Copeland as Kenny McLeod
- John Stevenson Lang as Reverend Angus
- Reginald Beckwith as Mumford
- Arthur Howard as Meeching
- John Laurie as Capt. MacKechnie
- Jack Short as Roderick
Critical reception
Howard Thompson of The New York Times wrote of the film: "the general tone is good-natured, the fun is wholesome, if spotty and somewhat forced, and the color photography of the remote little island is altogether lovely. … But it's a far cry from those succinct, Scotch-inspired hiccups that put Todday (actually the Isle of Barra) on the movie map."[1]
References
- Thompson, Howard (31 December 1958). "Movie Review - Mad Little Island - Screen: 'Mad Little Island'; British Comedy Opens at 55th St. Playhouse". The New York Times. Retrieved 23 February 2014.