Mike Beranek This proto-Local Hero creation, and Wiskey Galore styled film has a perfect mix of ingredients like zany visual gags, class- humour, poking fun of Americans humour and at the English humour plus a dog-eared anti-hero and not to forget stunning Scottish scenery. There's also a tender moment with the singular Yankie character Marshall and a local girl as he reaches some accommodation with all the madness around him. The denouement is predicable on a human level but also has a little twist. Like the trip on the good ship Maggie itself though, it's not the destination or the course plotted that matters - it's the remarkable journey and the salt-of-the-earth ship's company.

Tim Kidner The Maggie. An underrated, gentle little comedy, the sort of which Ealing are associated with. The storyline packs quite a punch on American capitalism as a tycoon gets to believe that, after cutting corners and underestimating the crew of the 'Maggie', he can buy out his mistake with dollars alone.Great cast that play a Clydeside crew, that quietly and cannily let things gently take their course. The scenery is more Whisky Galore than the East-end that is the more usual home of Ealing and the nice black and white photography suits the subject well. Pacing is a far cry from the frenetic of The Lavender Hill Mob and lets it story breathe quietly.It's one of my favourite Ealings. If you haven't seen it, give it a try, you might add it to yours, too!

ackstasis Though 'The Maggie (1954)' is probably the weakest of the five Ealing Studios comedies I've seen to date {the others being 'The Ladykillers (1955),' 'The Man in the White Suit (1951),' 'The Lavender Hill Mob (1951)' and 'A Run for Your Money (1949)'}, it remains an enjoyable British comedy that successfully celebrates the plight of the common man. Directed by Alexander Mackendrick, an interesting director if there ever was one, the film might seem a bit lightweight considering his follow-up directorial effort, but 'The Maggie' promises ninety minutes of cheerful entertainment and delivers just that. The film explores the "clash of cultures" that takes place when a wealthy American businessman unwittingly hires the rascally captain of a battered old Clyde puffer to deliver some expensive cargo. The first half, perhaps the stronger of the two, is a hilarious water-bound chase, as the American, Calvin B. Marshall, struggles to reclaim the shipment he entrusted to the grizzled Captain Mactaggart. The second half is more reserved and reflective, as Marshall experiences a frustrating but ultimately liberating journey of self-discovery.First and foremost, what makes 'The Maggie' work is its assembly of likable, contrasting characters: Mactaggart (Alex Mackenzie), the skipper, was born on his boat, and is hopelessly devoted to it, in a way that only a seaman could be. Though he does occasionally act irresponsibly, he is only trying to make a decent living, a basically honest man despite his opportunistic nature. Calvin B. Marshall (Paul Douglas), on the other hand, is extremely wealthy and successful, and he considers himself such. Though he is currently battling marital problems, he wishes to remedy the situation by delivering a shipment of expensive furniture to their holiday house. Then there's Mr. Pusey (Hubert Gregg), an uptight British gentleman whose prim and proper facade is punctuated by moments of bumbling stupidity; in the film's funniest sequence, Pusey is cleverly framed for poaching and arrested after a violent scuffle with the local magistrate. Another very important character is Dougie, "the wee boy" (played by Tommy Kearins in his only film role), an intelligent but idealistic young lad who helps teach Marshall the importance of kindness and understanding.For the character of Marshall, the film's pivotal moment comes during a 100th birthday celebration for one of Mactaggart's old sea colleagues. After being convinced to stay around and enjoy the party, Marshall finds himself talking to a nineteen-year-old girl with a romantic dilemma. Though she is expected to marry an already-successful young man with a financially-secure future, the girl instead plans to wed a modest fisherman, who would never take her for granted and would always return from the sea and into her arms. This strikes a significant chord with Marshall: his all-important shipment of furniture is, indeed, a material means of repairing his tattered relationship with his wife. What he never understood until now is that the secret behind maintaining a happy marriage is not the presentation of endless streams of expensive but hollow gifts; a loving husband must always show the proper respect and affection towards his wife, otherwise she could never be content with him. Believe it or not, a brief oceanic journey with Captain Mactaggart proves a life-changing experience, turning a selfish and money-obsessed American into somebody respectful enough to name a boat after.

Robert J. Maxwell Paul Douglas came as rather a surprise in this film. First of all, he's as alien among these Gaelic Islanders as Raymond Burr was among the Japanese of "Godzilla." Second of all, after a series of contretemps he must change into a woolly pullover and, although he has the face of a pudgy man, we see that he's not overweight, only a little bulky and lacking in neck. Douglas is Mr. Marshall, the owner of some expensive cargo that has been accidentally shipped to an island via the old and delapidated Scottish puffer called the Maggie.The captain and crew of the Maggie need desperately to get the cargo to its destination so they can collect the payment they need to get the broken-down boat into a shape good enough for it to pass inspection and be relicensed. (Which it is not now.) Essentially the story is a battle of wits between Douglas and the crew of the Maggie. Douglas is a very wealthy American businessman, but not the blustering brutish junkman he was on Broadway in "Born Yesterday." Instead he's a polite, efficient materialist, keenly clever. More clever than the Maggie's crew, or so he thinks.Douglas has a heck of a time tracking down the boat once it sails out of Glasgow with its cargo. He hires an airplane to find it and finally intercepts it at one of the many small fishing villages at which it stops for fuel or other reasons, such as the 100th birthday party of an old man who speaks only Gaelic.Boy, does this ring bells. All peasants on the screen must be a little whimsical and fun loving, when they're not casually getting the job done. It doesn't matter whether they're Greek ("Zorba") or Irish ("The Luck of the Irish") or Okinawan ("The Teahouse of the August Moon"). And the earnest, uptight American or English businessman must learn from them that the law must be interpreted leniently and life is nothing to get particularly upset about.The direction, by Alexander MacKendrick, is functional and the editing just about flawless. The acting is at a professional level. There are no major misjudgments on display. But it's not a zany laff riot either. The pace is generally slow, the slapstick sparse, and the humor is not mean spirited. Oh, the Maggie's crew may be on the right philosophical track okay, but Douglas isn't exactly a heavy. He's not so much angry as frustrated at losing every contest. And at the end, when he decides to jettison his precious cargo, it must come finally as a big relief to him. I'll bet his systolic blood pressure dropped thirty points.There are certainly funnier Ealing comedies: "The Man in the White Suit," "The Ladykillers." But this quiet little film really shouldn't be missed, especially if you're concerned about ulcers or blood pressure.