Whisky Galore! (1949, b/w)

BBC TWO, 12.25PM ★★★

 Compton Mackenzie helped adapt his own novel, which was inspired by a real incident where a ship bearing 50,000 cases of whisky ran aground off the Hebrides. Starved islanders, fed up with rationing, unite against English bureaucracy to sneakily scavenge the scotch from under the noses of Customs and Excise in this quietly subversive comedy. This was Ealing Studios’ first US box office hit and packs plenty of punches.