Whisky Galore... no wonder Rab C is there!
IT is no mean feat to undertake a remake of one of Scotland’s classic movies – but filming got under way yesterday on a new version of Whisky Galore.
The second retelling of Compton Mackenzie’s 1 47 novel, featuring the exploits of a group of islanders who raid a shipwreck for its consignment of thousands of bottles of whisky, features Rab C Nesbitt star Gregor Fisher and comedian Eddie Izzard.
The novel was inspired by the real-life sinking of the SS Politician off Eriskay in 1 41. The ship was carrying 28,000 cases of whisky and was pillaged by thirsty locals deprived of the spirit in wartime.
Cameras started rolling yesterday in the fishing village of Portsoy, Aberdeen-
Ship was pillaged by thirsty locals
shire, just along the coast from Pennan, which was the setting for another iconic Scottish movie, 1 83’s Local Hero.
As actors gathered in period dress, one scene featured a small boat being rowed ashore stacked with crates.
The original black-and-white Whisky Galore!, starring Gordon Jackson and James Robertson Justice, was shot on Barra during a wet summer in 1 48 and was released in 1 4 .
Scots-born Gillies MacKinnon, who directed gang movie Small Faces, is at the helm of the new venture. A spokesman said: ‘It seems folly to have made the original film in monochrome when the unmatchable colours of land and sea in the area were available.’